St Mary's School, Calne

St Mary's School
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 / 51.441; -2.008
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

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "309482 - St Mary's School (Calne)". Charity Commission.
  2. ↑ http://www.privateschoolfees.co.uk
  3. ↑ Kay Stedmond (1986). St Mary’s School Calne 1873-1986. B. A. Hathaway. ISBN 0-948640-10-3.
  4. ↑ "The Companies". School website.
  5. ↑ "Boarding". School website.
  6. ↑ "The Medical Centre". School website.
  7. ↑ "Food". School website.
  8. ↑ "The Curriculum and Academic Subjects". School website.
  9. ↑ Jack Grimston; Julia Llewellyn Smith (14 December 2003). "Focus: Orf to the circus". The Sunday Times.
  10. ↑ John Calder (24 September 1998). "Obituary: April FitzLyon". The Independent.
  11. ↑ "Eva Rice". timrice.co.uk.
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