We were delighted to present this year's Junior Play, The Idiot Judge and other Stories, an anthology of four short plays, in the last week of the Summer Term. The plays were taken from a collection of dramatizations of old folk tales from all the corners of the globe, written by Steve Fitzpatrick in the 1980s.
Congratulations to our UV (Year 11) students for a very successful round of GCSE examinations. Over half of the grades awarded to St Mary’s Calne pupils were an 8 or 9 (roughly the equivalent of the old A* grade) and nearly three quarters of grades were at grades 9-7 (equal to A*-A in the letter grading system). This is a particularly impressive achievement when considering that this year group faced the challenge of being the first GCSE cohort to be marked at pre-pandemic standards, despite experiencing disruption to their education.
We are delighted to celebrate the achievements of our 2023 Leavers who, as a year group, have been fondly described as ‘optimistic, enthusiastic and hard working with a strong sense of community spirit’. These qualities have certainly served them well, with 70% of all grades being awarded at A*-A which is the highest since 2011.
The Chair of Governors, Mr Svante Adde, has announced that after eleven wonderful and very productive years, Dr Kirk has made the difficult personal decision that now is the time for her to retire from her role as Head of St Mary’s Calne.
The Independent Schools' Tennis Association was once again held at Eton College from the 2nd – 4th July 2023. St Mary’s entered pairs for all three girls’ competitions including the U19, U15 and U13 trophies.
On Saturday evening, the UVI girls, families, guests, and staff gathered for the annual Lily Ball. The evening is a highlight of the Summer Term and the final event for our Leavers and this year was once again kindly sponsored by The Calne Girls’ Association and the Parents’ Guild of St Marys.
There was much excitement on Saturday 1st July as the whole school gathered to celebrate a fabulous 150th Anniversary Founders’ Day together.
Last Sunday, on the hottest day of the year so far, almost 200 pupils and staff of St Mary’s Calne gathered at Bowood House and Gardens to celebrate our 150th Anniversary, with a whole school picnic and walk through its beautiful grounds. The special picnic event was inspired by the tradition of picnics that took place regularly in the past, often on Ascension Day.
Wonderful news for Beatrix, UVI (Year 13), whose essay 'The Purpose of Gothic is Entertainment' was chosen to appear in an upcoming edition of the English and Media Centre's revered quarterly magazine, emagazine. Their readership includes A Level teachers, students, and academics across the country.
On Friday evening, we had the pleasure of welcoming Radley College to school for a Post-GCSE Social. The theme was 'Black and White with a Dash of Tartan', and everyone dressed to impress! We welcomed the boys with mocktails in the beautiful Lime Kiln Garden and then moved on to a delicious sit-down meal in the Dining Room - wonderfully and kindly decorated by some of the parents.
On the 27th June, 35 UIV pupils headed to the Victoria Rooms to compete in the annual Bristol Latin Play Competition 2023 . This was the first time St Mary’s had entered since the pandemic, and we were very excited to tread the boards once again at this wonderful celebration of Latin Drama.
Last week, a member of the St Mary's faculty was fortunate enough to be invited to a special audience with the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsey Hoyle. Mr Curran, Head of Geography, is also a part-time reservist in the British Army. Serving in the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, he was one of just a handful of reservists to be selected for this event.
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