14th May 2021 — On Wednesday 5th May, St Mary’s Young Enterprise company, ‘Mushy Peas’, represented the school at the virtual Area Final, competing against schools from Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Bristol.

Thirty girls in Year 12 took part in the Young Enterprise Company Programme this year. 'Mushy Peas' created a fun-filled card game to raise people’s spirits, particularly given the challenges faced by everyone this year, in order to bring friends and family closer together. The colourful, dynamic game can be played either as an App or as a printable pdf.

Led by Managing Director, Saskia, the team submitted a professional ten-page report telling the story of their company in advance of the Area Final. Saskia, Khalilah, and Emily represented the team at the finals by giving an assured presentation on Zoom and skilfully answering a range of probing questions from the judges.

The judges were fulsome in their praise, saying theirs was a ‘very confident presentation with energy and enthusiasm and great use of visuals’, the product was ‘innovative with great foundations for growth’ and that the team had ‘adapted brilliantly to accommodate the challenges of COVID’. All in all, they came across as a ‘well thought-out, researched, inclusive and considered company’ that has created ‘a scalable business with a real future’.

The girls won awards for Best Report, Best Presentation, Innovation and the overall trophy for the Best Company in Wiltshire.

The girls showed incredible resilience and positivity to thrive in the face of very challenging circumstances this year. It has been an exciting journey and they have developed a whole host of skills that will be invaluable in their careers. By virtue of winning this round, they are now looking forward to representing St Mary’s Calne at the South West Regional Final to be held online on Tuesday 25th May.

23rd April 2021 — Following the announcement that St Mary's Calne Tennis Academy (SMCTA) won the County Education Award in March, we're delighted that the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has now awarded SMCTA with the South and South West Regional Education Award.

Director of Tennis, Jonathan Hayes, commented: 'This is the highest award that SMCTA has received to date and it demonstrates the progress of the coaching programme at St Mary's. The coaching team will be attending the Regional Award virtual ceremony in the coming weeks, and we are very proud to be representing St Mary's on the night. SMCTA has now been nominated for the National Education Award for the very first time and we will be competing against the remaining five regions in England, Scotland, and Wales.'

The LTA's County and Regional Team will be invited to St Mary's to present the coaching team with the awards and certificates when Covid-19 restrictions allow. We look forward to sharing this experience with you very soon!

14th December 2020 — This academic year, St Mary's Calne has chosen to support The Harbour Project charity, an amazing project aiming to ‘be a family for every individual who seeks asylum or is granted refugee status in Swindon, and to help them to rebuild their lives’.

The pupils were extremely keen to support the charity, and to do something in addition to the fundraising during the school's Charity Week and Mufti-day events. Some of the Year 13 girls decided to create pairs of tracksuit bottoms, with all the profits going to The Harbour Project. 'We were mindful that the trackies needed to be practical, whilst also functioning as a powerful tool, reminding everyone about the importance of supporting those less fortunate than ourselves, particularly during these unprecedented times' said Nell.

The trackies are selling like hot cakes in the School Shop - well done girls!

14th December 2020 — Congratulations to 2013 Leaver, Zoe Spicer, who commissioned as a 2nd Lt into 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards on 11th December at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS).

Zoe has competed on an equal basis with the boys in all aspects of military life and has been awarded The Bahrain Communication and Applied Behavioural Science Prize and The Commandant’s Commendation. She was also in the top 5 students in her intake and will be the first girl to join The Queen's Dragoon Guards, where she will be based in Norfolk.

Zoe's parents wished to thank 'the wonderful staff who taught and supported her through St Mary’s' for their 'belief in her abilities and huge encouragement which helped to get Zoe where she is today!'

9th November 2020 — Although school riding competitions have been very rare this term, the St Mary's Calne girls made the most of the competitions that were on offer over Half Term.

Rectory Farm held two days of Arena Eventing over the last few days of Half Term and, although the weather was far from perfect, the girls had a fantastic time with some great results. We were well represented over the two days, with entries in all the classes. On the first day, Honor (Year 9) finished in 8th place in the 80cm class. Fifi (Year 10) rode a fantastic round to finish in 2nd place in a large and competitive 90cm class, qualifying for the Eventers Challenge Championships at Hickstead with the 90cm team of Eva (Year 9), Fifi (Year 10), Isla (Year 9) and Philippa (Year 8) finishing in 6th place. Fifi also had another great result on the second day, finishing in 8th place in the 1m class.

It was great to see the school so well represented and well done to Carlotta (Year 7), Honor (Year 9), Philippa (Year 8), Eva (Year 9), Isla (Year 9), Niamh (Year 7), Amelia (Year 8), Poppy (Year 10) and Annabel (Year 11) who all competed over the two days.

Alice and Sadie (both in Year 11), competed at Bicton International Horse Trials, in the BE100Open 3DE class - a long format event in the 'old fashioned format'. It was a fantastic opportunity for the girls to really get an insight into what three-day eventing is all about.

On day one, Alice led the competitive field after the dressage on a score of 25.5, with Sadie hot on her heels on 28.6. On XC day, both girls jumped clear through all phases, just adding some time penalties around the XC course in very wet and muddy conditions.

After passing the trot up on the Sunday morning, both girls again jumped clear, with Alice finishing in 6th place and the highest placed pony, and Sadie in 11th. Lara (Year 11) also competed at Bicton in Ou18 100, finishing in 6th place. Bicton was a successful venue for the St Mary's Calne girls!

Sisters, Clemmie (Year 9 ) and Isla (Year 10), had a very busy Half Term, with Isla winning the 90 and 100cm Show Jumping at Chard. Clemmie, on her old pony Sunny, won the 70cm Regional NSEA Championships, and both girls also competed for St Mary's in the Eventers Challenge at Pontispool.

20th August 2020 — In these unprecedented and unsettling times, when so many people around the world have lost loved ones and suffered due to COVID-19, our thoughts at St Mary’s are with all those who have been affected.

Our Year 11 girls have faced the unexpected challenges of the times with great resilience and flexibility and we are very proud of them. Naturally, it was disappointing for them not to be able to sit their GCSEs to show how hard they had worked and all they had learnt. The confusion over the last few weeks about how the grades were to be awarded has undoubtedly added to the anguish felt by students across the country. We congratulate the girls on how they have responded to these challenges and we are very pleased that their outstanding results reflect their talent, flair and hard work across the whole range of subjects.

Although the girls could not sit their exams, they have nonetheless been very busy. The girls participated in A Level taster sessions through our online remote learning platform, ‘Calne Connected’, and several of them have been volunteering in their local communities. Many of the girls participated in the fundraiser ‘Run 5, Donate 5, Nominate 5’ (originally ‘Run for Heroes’) which called on people in the UK and all over the world to walk or run 5km, donate £5 to the NHS and tag five friends to do likewise.

Octavia Sanger, from Winchester in Hampshire, used her initiative and decided to learn a new skill - by teaching herself how to make a film. She spent June and July filming a documentary about people's experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, interviewing 35 people, both adults and children, across the world (including the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, the USA and Nigeria) for her film, Life in Lockdown. The 75-minute film looks at seven key areas: school, work, faith, exercise, the virus, relationships and family life and deals with how the pandemic has altered people’s lives. Octavia used her mother’s camera and learnt filming and editing skills as she went along. She was delighted to be interviewed about the film by BBC South, and her documentary, Life in Lockdown, will soon be available to view on the Amazon Prime streaming platform.

Headmistress, Dr Felicia Kirk, commented: ‘I have been very impressed by the girls and how they have reacted positively to the changing circumstances which we have all faced. It has been a difficult and unprecedented time and they have navigated the situation admirably. My heartfelt thanks go to all of the teachers and pastoral staff who have supported the girls so well and who have really gone the extra mile to deliver the curriculum (and indeed extra-curriculum) through ‘Calne Connected’. The girls can now look forward to a new, exciting chapter in their lives as they commence their Sixth Form studies at St Mary’s Calne in September.’