St Mary's School, Calne
 | |
| Established | 1873 |
|---|---|
| Type | Independent day and boarding school |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Headmistress | Dr Felicia Kirk BA (University of Maryland), MA (Brown University), PhD (Brown University) |
| Chaplain | Rev. Jonathon Beach |
| Founder | Canon John Duncan |
| Location |
Curzon Street Calne Wiltshire SN11 0DF England Coordinates: 51°26′28″N 2°00′29″W / 51.441°N 2.008°W |
| DfE number | 865/6016 |
| DfE URN | 126513 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Staff | 90~ |
| Students | 350~ |
| Gender | Girls |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses |
3 (Junior) 4 (Senior) |
| Colours |
Navy, Light Blue and White |
| Companies |
Edmund Rich Grosstete Moberly Osmund Poore |
| Website | School homepage |
St Mary's School is an independent day and boarding school in Calne, Wiltshire for girls aged 11 to 18. The school is a registered charity.[1] Charging £8,800 per term for day pupils and £11,750 per term for boarders makes it the 8th and 10th most expensive HMC day and boarding school respectively in the UK.[2]
History
St Mary's was founded in 1873 by Canon John Duncan, Vicar of Calne, who worked for over thirty years to establish it as an 'outstanding' girls’ school.[3]
Houses and Companies
The school is divided into five Companies, all named after bishops with local connections: Edmund Rich (sometimes called Ed Rich), Grosseteste, Moberly, Osmund, and Poore. Each girl remains in the same Company throughout her time at the school. The Companies are similar to houses in other independent schools, except that they have nothing to do with the house a girl sleeps in. The Companies compete in sport, drama, music, and other activities such as public speaking and maths challenges.[4] There are currently seven boarding houses at St. Mary's. Each year group from LIV to UVI stay in their respective houses. The houses are School House, St. Prisca's, St. Cecelia's, Gibbins, Joyce Walters, Florence Dyas and Helen Wright. The newest house among all is Florence Dyas, the new home to LVI girls, which was opened in September 2014.
Facilities
Around 80% of the girls board. Day girls are actively welcomed into the Boarding Houses where in most Houses they have places allocated within dormitories which facilitates staying overnight in House. Between the ages of eleven and fourteen, girls sleep in dormitories in three junior houses called School House, St Prisca's and St Cecilia's, each of which has a Housemistress or Housemaster and a Deputy Housemistress, as well as a Day Housemistress. After the age of fourteen, girls have their own single study room in one of four senior houses. Florence Dyas and Helen Wright are houses for Sixth Form students. Rooms are en-suite and are equipped with personal shower cubicles.[5]
The school has a medical centre, with Registered Nurses and a counsellor. Independent Listener services are also provided for the girls.[6]
The school has a dining room, run as a cafeteria, and serves meals three times a day for all staff and students. The Helen Wright House also has its own dining area, where Upper Sixth students are allowed to have breakfast and lunch in House instead of the school's dining room. Food is reviewed by the food committee, which consists of representatives from each year group. In 2005, the school won the Tatler Award for Best School Food.[7]
Extracurricular activities
In addition to music, drama and sports clubs and practices, there is horse-riding, cooking, debating, photography and a range of art and craft clubs, as well as First Aid. Many students choose to pursue the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in the sixth form. They also have the opportunity to take part in the RADA Advanced Communication Skills course.[8] The lower sixth run a Young Enterprise company.
Former headmistresses
° Miss Richardson 1873 – 1876
° Miss Jones 1876 – 1883
° Miss Pells 1883 – 1885
° Miss Leeson 1885 – 1888
° Miss Florence Dyas 1888 – 1911
° Miss Rachel Donaldson 1911 – 1915
° Miss Marcia Matthews 1915 – 1945
° Miss Joyce Field 1945 – 1946
° Miss Elizabeth Gibbins 1946 – 1972
° Mrs Joyce Walters 1972 – 1985
° Miss Delscey Burns 1985 – 1996
° Mrs Carolyn Shaw 1996 – 2003
° Dr Helen Wright 2003 – 2012
° Dr Felicia Kirk 2013 to date
Notable alumnae
- Laura Bechtolsheimer MBE — Gold medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
- Clare Cameron — sister of Prime Minister David Cameron
- Jade Jagger - Jewellery designer, daughter of Sir Mick Jagger
- Lady Emma Herbert — circus trapeze artist and stuntwoman.[9]
- April FitzLyon — biographer and translator.[10]
- Belinda Stewart-Wilson — Actress.
- Rosamund Strode — Benjamin Britten's musical assistant and amanuensis for the last 12 years of his life
- Roya Nikkhah — Journalist and Broadcaster
- Elizabeth Moir — educationalist.
- Eva Rice — singer-songwriter and novelist, daughter of Tim Rice.[11]
- Tara Sutton — war correspondent.
Bibliography
- Kay Stedmond (1986). St Mary’s School Calne 1873-1986. B. A. Hathaway. ISBN 0-948640-10-3.
References
- ↑ "309482 - St Mary's School (Calne)". Charity Commission.
- ↑ http://www.privateschoolfees.co.uk
- ↑ Kay Stedmond (1986). St Mary’s School Calne 1873-1986. B. A. Hathaway. ISBN 0-948640-10-3.
- ↑ "The Companies". School website.
- ↑ "Boarding". School website.
- ↑ "The Medical Centre". School website.
- ↑ "Food". School website.
- ↑ "The Curriculum and Academic Subjects". School website.
- ↑ Jack Grimston; Julia Llewellyn Smith (14 December 2003). "Focus: Orf to the circus". The Sunday Times.
- ↑ John Calder (24 September 1998). "Obituary: April FitzLyon". The Independent.
- ↑ "Eva Rice". timrice.co.uk.
External links
- Profile on MyDaughter
- ISI Inspection Reports - St Margaret's Prep & Senior School
- St Mary's School - Charity Commission