2020-21 Archives

The Confirmation Service was originally planned for December last year, so it was with huge relief and great joy that we were finally able to hold it on the evening of Tuesday 22nd June.

After a year and a half of hardly any live music, the Fourth Form Music Festival Concert on the evening of Thursday 17th June was an eagerly anticipated event in the Music Department calendar. We were treated to sixteen of our talented junior musicians performing to an audience of their very supportive peers who provided the welcome sound of claps and cheers.

UVI Maths In A Level Mathematics, there are many questions concerning projectiles flying through the air, with students calculating anything and everything they can about them: including the range, time of flight and highest point the projectile reaches. Last Wednesday 16th June, we had the opportunity to put all of our knowledge to the test by firing a rounders ball with a three-man catapult.

VOTW With the sun shining for our official unveiling, our ‘gratitude’ flags fly above the Art courtyard to carry positive reflections and sentiments out to the wider community. Arabella Dorman (St Mary's Alumna), Dr Kirk and Luke Bromwich (Headmaster at St Margaret’s Prep) recognised the pupils, staff and governors that contributed to the project, as well as the logistics and planning involved from across the Calne Foundation Trust.

Bryn Terfell On the evening of Wednesday 16th June, 9 outstanding finalists performed in the 6th Sir Bryn Terfel Song Prize. Each singer had prepared a Baroque Aria, and English Song and an own choice piece to wow the adjudicator, Mr Huw Williams, Director of Music at Bath Abbey.

Elan Fryar LVI (Year 12) student Elan has had a most successful few weeks in Music. Just before Half Term, she passed her Grade 8 singing with Distinction and a total score of 136/150, an excellent achievement; last Thursday, she was awarded the Sir Bryn Terfel Song Prize for the third year running, against stiff competition from students in LV-UVI and also last week she learned that an essay she had entered into the Newnham College Cambridge Music Essay Competition had been awarded a Highly Commended certificate.

Last Thursday 17th June, the whole of UV (Year 11), LVI and UVI (Years 12 and 13) along with several members of staff, gathered in Chapel for a live Q&A with Katty Kay: BBC North America news anchor and author of several bestselling books on women, confidence and success.

French Exchange This year has marked the very first pen pal exchange for our LVI (Year 12) and UVI (Year 13) French students with the Lycée Ihi-Tea No Vavau in Bora Bora, French Polynesia. The girls have had the opportunity to exchange letters with students who are learning English and are preparing their baccalaureate. This has been a great experience for them to practise the language as well as develop their cultural understanding of the French speaking world.

On the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese calendar, the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival takes place. As the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the date of the festival varies from year to year; this year the festival fell on 14th June.

On Friday 11th June, the whole school dressed up in the colours of the Kenyan flag (black, red, and green) and donated £1 to the charity Kit4Kenya. This charity was started by Tom Sweetnam when he was aged 17. His school appointed him charity rep and he decided to join this with his love of football to create a charity.

LV DofE June On Monday 14th June, most of the LV (Year 10) set off on their Bronze DofE expedition hoping to complete their first DofE Award. Each team met their instructor from Wild Country Consultants and had a full kit check including water, hats and sunscreens before leaving school.

WotW Trip On Wednesday 9th June, A Level and GCSE Drama students embarked on the first Theatre trip of the year to Oxford to see Rhum & Clay's War of the Worlds.