St Marys Calne - Oxygen 2014

MAGAZINE OF ST MARY ’S CALNE

OXYGEN the essence of life at St Mary ’s

2013 - 2014

OXYGEN the essence of life at St Mary’s

Oxygen captures the energy and ethos of St Mary’s Calne and is inspired by scientist Joseph Priestley, who discovered oxygen in Calne in 1774.

News 01

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From the Headmistress In the Library The Calne Foundation Trust Model United Nations Springfields Mentorship Programme Young Enterprise Chapel News Company News National Science and Engineering Week Modern Foreign Languages Enrichment Weeks Charity Activities CGA Lectures Lecture Series Founders’ Day Sixth Form and Beyond...

Examination Results Leavers’ Destinations Lily Ball Florence Dyas House

Sports Reports 18

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Sports Reports Inter-Company Sports Day Lacrosse Equestrian Fencing Cross Country Netball Athletics Skiing Swimming Hockey Tennis

Trips and Expeditions 02

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Charity Project in Zambia LIV Form Activity Week in Bude Chamber Choir Tour to Paris French Trip to Rouen German Trip to Berlin History of Art Trip to Florence Challenge & Adventure Cultural Trip to Nepal Classics Trip to Sicily History of Art Trip to Paris Geography Fieldtrip to Poland Duke of Edinburgh’s Award America Exchange

Reviews 08 Wiltshire SN11 0DF Telephone: 01249 857200 Fax: 01249 857207 Email: office@stmaryscalne.org www.stmaryscalne.org

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Evita The Music Scene Music Examination Results Centre Stage LAMDA Results Artist in Residence Art Forum

From the Headmistress It’s been another tremendously busy and exciting year here at St Mary’s Calne. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the staff, parents and governors who have supported the girls in everything that they have done through many thousands of hours of commitment.

It is very important to me that we continue to develop the breadth and depth of what girls can get involved with in the school, so that they are able to grasp all the opportunities which are theirs for the taking.

Of course our examination results have continued to be first-class, but not everything can be readily measured and I really value

extra-curricular achievement too – our aim is a truly holistic education. I am particularly pleased how our girls have been active in the community this year, both locally and internationally. The first article shows how our girls have been able to contribute to, and get to understand, education in Zambia.

Our girls have also travelled to Nepal and

Poland as well as many other European countries, developing their understanding of their connection to other cultures and the difference they can make in the wider world.

I hope you will enjoy reading about and being reminded of the achievements of the remarkable girls that we have here.

Dr Felicia Kirk BA (University of Maryland), MA (Brown University), PhD (Brown University)

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Trips & Expeditions

dnesday After two year s of planning and fundraising, on We ber s of staff 23rd October, 14 very excited girls and two mem embarked on their adventure to Zambia.

They had volunteered to help build a girls’ school in the Chama region for the Anglican Street Children’s Programme. The Chama region is in a very remote part of Zambia and the nearest secondary school is located over 80km away.

The trip was organised in conjunction with The Livingstone Arts, Cultural and Sporting Events Development Organisation (LACSEDO) and The David Livingstone Bicentenary and Livingstone 2013 Initiative (set up by a St Mary’s Old Girl) to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Dr David Livingstone, and was focused on helping The Anglican Street Children’s Programme, the Initiative’s official charity.

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The aim of the Programme is to bring children back into the education system and away from child labour and life on the street and, in particular, to help girls who are often denied an education and forced into marriage at an early age.

and it is raining!

We land at 6am local time in Lusaka Chipata, where to up We catch a small internal flight r of The ecto we are met by Father Katete (Dir members me), ram Anglican Street Children’s Prog sing a who n’ Unio of the press and the ‘Mothers’ hands. our e shak they traditional Zambian greeting as ted gree are we re whe We are then driven into town and es itari dign n tow by the Bishop’s representatives, and thank us for the local clergy who all welcome us rtant our impo coming a long way and tell us how their ‘girl view s bian visit is in changing the way Zam . After ation educ an children’ and the girls’ right to to Twembi up drive to lunch, we climb aboard our bus pig wild a , ately rtun where we will start work. Unfo at ges char and bus our on the road takes a dislike to n mea does it not; does us, the bus survives but the pig ght! toni well that the local village will eat very

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After a very long journey and a good night’s sleep, we make our first stop of the day to meet the District Commissioner and the Minister of Education to obtain permission to work on the school and to tell them why we have come to help.

They are delighted to hear about the proje ct and tell us that they are very keen for ‘girl children’ to be educated and to have aspirations of a different future than that of early marriage and domesticity. We all celebrate with ice cold drinks and make our way back on the bus to the villag e which is to be our home for the next five days. As soon as they hear the bus, droves of children come running and everyone cheers as we get off. We seem to go on shaking hands for hours and then we are informed that they have a surprise waiting for us: they pull back a grass screen to reveal a flushing toilet and a shower! Everyone laughs at our shocked faces as we had been prepa red to use a traditional ‘long drop’ toilet and a bucket of water for washing. The shower and toilets will form part of the ablutions block for the dormitories wher e the girls will board during the week. We eat a lunch of pasta, chicken ‘shee ma’ which is a maize porridge, and a cabbage and onion salad, followed by fresh fruit; this is typical of how we eat all week. Afterwards, we are whisked off for a rehearsal of how to greet the Chief using traditional Senga. Once this is mastered, we walk to the Chief’s ‘palace’ where he is sat waiting for us. We give him our best rendition and present him with the gifts we have brought; he is really move d and expresses his thanks for our help over and over again.

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work as much We get up at 5.30am to ensure that we can go off to draw Some ).

(29°C cool as we can while it is still some walk away, 2km t abou pump water from the village s for the brick the ct colle to back into the main village and start will we e wher area the out foundations, some mark hour an t abou for drive some and to dig the foundations big 30 gallon to collect water from the Luangwa river in s. The girls brick ng maki for and nt drums to use for ceme have raised we ine mach ng maki brick have a go at using the it look: make men the as easy as it funds for and don’t find With ess. proc the lete comp to it often takes two of them work stop to time is it 40°C over to temperatures soaring be can es Giggl . shade the in ren and play with the child bubbles and heard all around the camp as we introduce e. We befor seen not have ren balloons which the child out sent has ation Educ of ter learn today that the Minis when that say to es villag local the all official notification to who een eight of age the r unde girl our school is built, any ten) as g youn as e (som iage marr early has been forced into . ation educ to n retur and ands husb can legally divorce their

Today we need to dress smartly as we are off to church. The church is outdoors, situated under an enormous mango tree. Everyone comes and shakes our hands over and over again. There is plenty of singing and dancing and the traditional Anglican service is translated into English so we can follow. A couple bring their new-born baby (seven days old) to the service and ask if the St Mary’s team will give him a name – we are all delighted to be asked and we soon agree on the name George. We then introduce ourselves to the whole congregation who cheer and clap.

After lunch it soars into the 50s and we have no option but to rest until it is cooler. Around 4.30pm we start work again until the stunning African sunset marks the end of our day.

6am and we are ready for work, stacking bricks into proper stacks ready for the main bricklaying of the , along foundations to begin. We help make more bricks Some . ations found the of part with digging the final the of the team help to prepare the breakfast and tidy ry prima local the visit we fast, camp. After our break school; there are over 500 children aged seven plus on the school register and only five classes. After to pass introductions to the Head Teacher and a chance class a ed assign each are we nery, on our gifts of statio with play I and in Baldw Mrs s. to help with the lesson the pre-school children who sit and wait all day until in their older siblings have finished school. Mrs Baldw them teach I catch, and heel cartw to teaches them how As nursery and finger rhymes, making the children laugh. many by back ed follow are we camp, we return to our we children who want to continue to play. After lunch, have who rs village the and Chief the are summoned by us. We arranged some traditional music and dancing for a dance m perfor to invited get and ally watch enthusiastic Form UVI the red, prepa g nothin have in return. As we village lead us all in the Macarena - this makes the whole er. laught erupt into fits of

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6am and the building beg ins! Our team are in their element mixing cem ent and learning how to lay bricks and keep eve rything square - a useful skill for their CV! This continues until lunchtime when it becom es too hot to work – around 55°C. As the chi ldren congregate, shouts of ‘TEO’ echo aro und the camp. The girls help Teo to teach the locals the hokey cokey which everyone enj oys under the shade of the elephant fruit tree.

More building continues as it cools. Eve ryone is ready for an early night after a busy day .

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5.45am and we are up and moving the big cement bricks that have been made in the brick machine over to where the foundations are nearly complete, this takes the whole morning and we are soon ready for a break. At 11.30am visitors arrive; they are Bishop William (who is in charge of the whole Eastern Diocese) and his wife, Mary, who have come to see the project; they are very impressed by how hard the team has worked and that we are all girls. We have a big lunch and chat readily with him and he thanks us over and over again for coming.

After this, we take the Bishop to meet Chief Twembi and again perform our traditional greeting which makes him very happy.

He is impressed by how quickly we have picked up the local language and is convinced that we are all actually Zambian! This is our last night together on the camp and everyone shares their best memories of the week, it also makes us a little sad that tomorrow we have to leave. We present gifts to all those who have looked after us and there are lots of speeches expressing thanks and gratitude to the UK visitors who have come a very long way to help them develop a future for the next generation of girls.

4am start. We are travelling to Mfuwi today where we will be having a real treat – a safari. The journey is very long and we encounter a problem with the trailer which contains our luggage. As the roads are not tarmacked and are very bumpy, the trailer cannot cope and the towbar falls off! All the luggage has to come into the bus and the broken trailer is left on the side of the road. We stop in Chipata to have lunch with the Bishop, who is pleased to see us again, but don’t stay long as we still need to reach our final destination.

As the night draws in, we reach Kapani Lodge just on the edge of the Luangwa National Park and we are introduced to our host for the next 24 hours, Mario, who quickly gains some admirers! He makes us very welcome and shows us all to our lodges; there are squeals of delight to be heard as everyone sees a real bed and finds there is hot water. A candlelit supper awaits us once we have had a shower and we eat whilst watching a hippo wallow in the mud – perfect!

Safari day - another early start - we have a luxuri ous breakfast and then pile into the jeeps. Willy and Shaddy, our guides, come and greet us; we have met them before as they visited St Mary’s last summer and we are soon underway. Around every turn there seems to be a new collection of different animals; cameras click away as we spot elephants, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, warthog, baboon, four different species of antelo pe, many different birds and then everyone gasps as we come across a pride of lions, with a male, three females and six cubs. They have just had a kill and have very full tummies as they sleep and relax in the sun.

When we return to the lodge, lunch is ready and we meet Karen, the leader of Project Luangwa, and five girls from her girls’ club who join us to eat. (Project Luangwa is a charitable organisation established by Aardvark Safaris as part of their commitment to responsible tourism - their aim is to create an effective, coordinated approach to helpin g local communities improve their long-term economic prospects whilst avoiding negative impact on the environment and wildlife.) The girls are shy at first, but soon they are laughing and chatting to the team. Karen explains that her club has been set up for girls who have had a very poor start in life and they are safer with her at the Project than they are at home .

The Project has been helping local schoolgirls to acquir e school blouses and they also asked us for second-hand bras. After lunch, we are able to present our bras (all 327 of them!) for her to take back to the Project.

This provides a great photo opportunity, as all the St Mary’s team, the Project Luangwa team and Mario pose in bras! After they leave, Mario takes us to meet Kate (a British lady) who has set up a jewellery business and is training local women; some of the profits made help with an antisnaring project. We eagerly look at what is on offer and some of us buy gifts to take home. It is then time to pack and leave for the airport.

We say our goodbyes and thank everyone for lookin g after us; we wish we could have stayed here for another night. On our way, we stop at an Artisan village where we stock up on gifts of wood en animals and fabrics to take home. We check in at Mfuwi airport and wait for our flight to Lusaka; it is sad to leave the Luangwa Park behind.

At Lusaka, we change planes and head off to Dubai before boarding our plane to Heathrow.

Many of us sleep all the way home. It has been a tiring week packed full of once in a lifetime experiences and memories.

Mrs Karen Paddock Charities Co-ordinator

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ttes’ vre ‘The Magalde Field, Eloise Le Fe Juliet Baker, Hebe n, lla Francesca Pu

Guevara Henriet

ta Page

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Eva Perón Isabella Grive

Magaldi Marina Jodrell

Eva Duarte

Isobel Smith

We have immersed ourselves in the life of Eva Perón, as conjured up by the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the magical lyrics of Tim Rice, Patron of our Drama and Music Departments at Calne. The story of Evita, created by the world famous musical team, focuses on Eva’s early rise to fame, her questionable career history from small-time actress to presidential first lady and then six tempestuous years in power before dying at just 33 years old.

Ranging from poignant and mournful dirge to tango and salsa sensational, with a touch of strictly pantomime, it is not surprising this late 1970’s musical continues to be a hit around the world.

The Guevaras

Elsbeth Giles, Jessic

a Enthoven

The achievement of the Evita cast cannot be underestimated: this is a particularly young senior school cast, ranging from 13 to 16 years. Even more thought-provoking is the fact that, while we have some wonderful seasoned actors on stage, many of our performers in Evita are new to The Delscey Burns Theatre, including some of the lead performers, who are not only making their stage debuts, but commanding major roles, including Isobel Smith and Hannah Drew. The learning curve has been exciting and fast – and the progress phenomenal for the performers.

For myself, as Director of Drama, the full circle has turned. It is tremendous to see so much new talent emerge in another great show by Sir Tim Rice. I still remember the absolute thrill of discovering the sheer volume of St Mary’s talent when directing my first Calne musical Jesus Christ Superstar in 1992. This feeling has never left me.

Miss Lilian Leadbetter (Director of Drama, January 1992 - December 2013)

Eva Duarte/Perón Hannah Drew

Chè Eliza Leng

Imogen Juan Perón

Dobie 9

News

n Julian Foxo

In the Library The Telegraph Bath Children’s Literature Festival As part of St Mary’s Calne sponsorship of the festival, we were delighted to welcome the Guest Artistic Director, award-winning author David Almond, to the school and to meet Children’s Laureate, Malorie Blackman.

On Monday 30th September, David spoke to St Mary’s LIV and MIV Forms as well as children from visiting prep schools All Hallows, Hanford, Marlston House, Port Regis and St Margaret’s. His talk explored the nature of the imagination and how it is something that we all possess. He explained that his love of words and printing began as a baby and everyone, from his parents, teachers, other authors and the library, helped him to become a writer. The excitement of seeing his work published was something that everyone could relate to and his love of everything to do with the process of writing was infectious.

He read an excerpt from the famous Skellig and took a huge number of questions from the children about where he gets his ideas and inspiration from, before signing their books. Everyone left the talk feeling that we all have the potential to be writers as we all possess the wonderful gift of imagination.

On Friday 4th October, the UIV Form travelled to the Guildhall in Bath to meet and listen to award-winning author and Children’s Laureate, Malorie Blackman.

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Malorie Blackman is a very high-profile writer of young adult and children’s fiction, so this was a very well-attended and prestigious event. St Mary’s musicians entertained people as they arrived, nine girls had the opportunity to interview Malorie before her talk, and Isobel Slater and Jessica Westwood very bravely got up in front of the audience to introduce the event.

Malorie’s talk centred on her new novel, Noble Conflict, which explores complex issues such as the price of freedom, what is justifiable for ‘a greater good’ and if there is any such thing. She doesn’t give answers to the big questions, but presents the issues for debate and discussion and lets people make up their own minds.

She explained that honesty is really important to her and, although her books are primarily aimed at teenagers, she does not shy away from complex moral issues and hard-hitting storylines. When asked, she said that there was nothing she wouldn’t write about, but she always tries to handle her subject with sensitivity and would never write about

anything gratuitously – there is always hope even if the story is not a happy one.

Malorie also spoke about her role as Children’s Laureate and how she wants to encourage more children to read for pleasure whatever the medium and whatever the subject matter. She also gave advice to the budding writers: to write about things you care about, and to write with passion and commitment. She described herself as a ‘life vampire’, always listening and observing what is going on around her to help create different ‘voices’ and not just her own over and over. She spends a lot of time creating her characters – writing mini-biographies and really getting to know them – as her plots come more easily to her than they do.

She also advised people to keep going – she wrote a lot and had a lot of rejections before she got published and it took time to gain the confidence to share her work with others.

It was an interesting, thought-provoking evening and a wonderful opportunity to meet such a prolific and talented author.

Dave Shelton Visit On Tuesday 4th March, author and illustrator Dave Shelton spoke to the LIV and MIV Forms about a career that took him from doodles to an award-winning children’s book, giving an entirely new and unique perspective on how to become a published author – the ‘cheat’s route’!

Dave studied illustration at university and was involved in The Horrible Histories magazine series. He also produced covers and illustrations for other people’s books, but he wanted to tell his own stories. He loved comics and posted them online, and created short story books for friends which were published at Waterstones… well, photocopied at Waterstones!

His Good Dog, Bad Dog comic series, which featured canine police dogs with Laurel and Hardy-esque traits, was published in The Guardian newspaper and later turned into a hardback book published by DFC comics. As comics are time-consuming and not hugely lucrative, Dave decided to write

and illustrate a children’s book, without being entirely sure whether or not he could!

His book, The Boy and a Bear in a Boat, started life in a sketchbook. Dave liked drawing bears and, having not read Life of Pi, he started work! Drawing helped Dave to develop his idea and play around with it – to develop characters and progress the story.

He enjoyed the fact that he could write about what he wanted to draw - such as giant sea monsters - although he did have to spend time learning how to draw the sea.

Having done what he wanted to with the book, he then had a slight crisis of confidence when it came to the cover design and tried to create what he thought was expected of him, instead of what he wanted to do and it wasn’t working. In the end, the cover was completely different from what anyone expected and the gridlined blue background with tattered old book style edges, a squashed fly and a tea stain won the Inky Tentacle Award for Best Cover. Dave also won the Branford Boase Award for Best First Children’s Book and was nominated for a Carnegie Award.

When asked who his favourite character is, he said that he loves the bear and that he is rather like the bear as they both love tea and play the ukulele! Dave was kind enough to stay behind to sign and illustrate books after his talk and we were thrilled each to take away our own original bear illustration.

Since the beginning of the academic year, Dr Kirk’s study has played host on a bi-monthly basis to a veritable salon of the literary minded. The Headmistress’ Book Club, fuelled by elderflower pressé and the kitchen’s famous chocolate brownies, meets on a regular basis to discuss books from outside the school’s curriculum; this year the focus has been on experiences in education, taking in J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye by way of Sittenfeld’s Prep and Bunting’s All Loves Excelling.

This thriving society is always looking for new members, and anyone who’s willing to speak their mind and contribute to a lively discussion would be more than welcome!

Mr Camron Miller English Teacher 11

Trips & Expeditions

We arrived at Bude in the late afternoon and were warmly greeted by all the staff. Once we found our dorm, we had a little time to unpack our bags; this was a struggle because we had a lot of stuff and not much space! Once we’d successfully unpacked, we headed to the dining room for a hearty supper and then made our way onto the Astroturf to meet our tutor. His name was Rob and, after learning a little about him, we progressed to the beach to play some fun games. We then made our way back into the complex to get ready for the evening disco.

It was great fun and we had a blast dancing on the stage and making some new friends. We were in bed by 10.30pm and were all exhausted and ready for sleep!

An early start, up at 7am, for our early morning run. After breakfast, we headed out to collect our wetsuits for the first activity – body boarding. It was great fun and I was really pleased as, despite this being my first attempt, I managed to ride two waves well.

In the afternoon, we went outside to do the team trail, an amazing course of tunnels and tightropes ending in a slide with water –

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super fun! The evening activity was karaoke; fun and amusement was had by all and bed was much-needed after a really busy day!

Another early start to complete our morning run, consumed multiple slices of toast with jam, then spent the morning canoeing - one of my favourite activities of the week. It didn’t disappoint; great fun had by all, with almost everyone falling in (including the instructor and Miss Matts).

We then went back for lunch and had a little time to get ready for our afternoon’s activity – mountain boarding. I have to admit to being a little nervous but, in fact, it was great fun, improved further by the appearance of the sun. We spent the afternoon going downhill on a board – a bit like a skateboard but with thicker wheels. Success on the mountain board relied on good balance and an ability to lean forward on the board – definitely needed some courage at points to lean forward when the hill was a bit steeper.

After mountain boarding, we headed back down the canal – a 25 minute walk – to a supper of BBQ chicken. The evening activity was a fancy dress disco; I wore a luminous onesie and other great outfits included Lady Gaga, hoola ladies and gypsies. Lots of dancing was done, so we were all tired when heading to bed and were fast asleep very quickly!

We woke up to lovely weather and got ready for another early run, followed by a large breakfast to fill us up ready for the day ahead.

Today’s morning challenge was high ropes and we were all very excited.

moved on to attempt some bouldering, this is low level climbing where you traverse the rock face and we managed to successfully traverse a number of rock faces as a group.

The climbing and bouldering was hard and needed strength combined with flexibility, not always easy!

Supper was followed by a talent show with an amazing array of acts – Lucy came second with her unaccompanied singing.

There were fabulous options in the high rope challenge; I decided to tackle ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ and was really thrilled to get right to the top accompanied by Maisie and Rose – hurray to us all! Finally, I tackled ‘All Aboard’ – a large pole with a platform at the top. The object was to get four people onto the platform and lean back. Teresa, Rosie, Rose and I climbed the pole and, with a large amount of effort, we made it to the platform. This was a difficult challenge, but we all enjoyed it tremendously.

We then had a packed lunch outside in the sun before we headed off for our afternoon’s activity – climbing.

At the climbing, we had four main walls to scale and I attempted the two harder climbs alongside some of my friends. We then

After our run and breakfast, surfing was our first activity of the day. This was a fun activity and we were lucky enough to have some great waves to practise our surfing. Although this was my first time, I managed to kneel on the board and ride the wave – very exciting!

The afternoon saw us at the canal kayaking.

I managed to stay dry until five minutes before the end when Miss Matts decided to push me into the water! It was cold but really refreshing as the sun was shining and all our kayaking had made me very hot. In the evening, the Super Team certificate was awarded and, as always, we were ready for sleep when bedtime came, even though it was our last night.

Wow, I couldn’t believe this was our last day – no run today as we all had to pack.

Abseiling was our first activity and, although I’m a little scared of heights, I still managed

to complete the descent, using my rope to lower myself down.

After a small break, it was sadly time for our final activity - caving. This was my absolute favourite activity of the week. Although the cave system was man-made, it didn’t make the squeeze any less tight! This activity went very quickly and, before I knew it, we were outside having our final lunch. We thanked our tutors, said goodbye and loaded our luggage onto the coach for our journey back to school. We were all sad to go, but happy to see our parents again.

We all loved our time at Bude. Thank you to Mrs Thompson, Frau Jones, Miss Matts and all the tutors at Bude – what a fantastic trip to end our year.

Jolie Ryan-Dawes LIV Form

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News

The Calne Foundation Trust It has been another busy and successful year for The Calne Foundation Trust (CFT).

Although only established in 2012 for the benefit of St Mary’s Calne and St Margaret’s Preparatory School, the Foundation has made huge progress over the past year and has embarked on an energetic and purposeful programme of activities to raise the profile and generate funds for the benefit of the excellent causes for which it was established.

10 Year Vision Under the leadership of the Headmistresses, Dr Kirk and Mrs Cordon, the schools have been working on their medium and long term strategic plans. The ‘10 Year Vision’ which reflects the core values of the two schools has been announced. The schools aim to provide the best all-round education for their pupils and to offer opportunities to access this high quality education to those from every background through bursary and scholarship programmes.

The Calne Foundation Trust supports the schools in their development aims.The strategic plan for the next 10 years focuses on making all-round improvements in a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular areas. In the short term, the emphasis is on strengthening and broadening the opportunities available to pupils of both schools in sport. For St Mary’s, future plans thereafter include the continued development of the teaching and learning environment with a particular emphasis on Art and Science, supported by a modern Library and a Performing Arts Centre for musical concerts, recitals and lectures. For St Margaret’s, the immediate focus will be upon enhancing some of the essential ‘functional’ rooms and areas, with a medium term target of dedicated Science, Art and DT spaces.

The CFT can help to accelerate the development programme by raising money to assist in the funding of specific projects and a full size astroturf was built this summer thanks to the generosity of a small group of current parents. The astro will bring huge benefits to both St Mary’s and St Margaret’s pupils by providing an all-weather pitch for hockey and lacrosse, and 9-12 tennis courts for use in the Summer Term.

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of Sing by Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber, followed by a rousing Land of Hope and Glory, in which the audience was encouraged to participate!

Proposed Sports Complex

The schools have also been investing in the sporting improvements by building three additional netball courts and putting in floodlighting for both the astroturf and the new netball courts, and further sports improvements are planned.

The Armed Forces Fund Another key focus for The CFT this year has been The Armed Forces Fund, working in conjunction with Radley and Downe House.

Various events and activities have taken place over the past 12 months which have raised in excess of £20,000.

Cantabile In November, we were delighted to welcome the Warminster Military Wives Choir who, together with the Chamber Choirs of St Mary’s and St Margaret’s Schools, gave us the most sensational evening of choral enjoyment in aid of The Armed Forces Fund.

Music during the concert ranged from songs by Cole Porter and U2, to a stunning performance of Vilja from The Merry Widow

by Mrs Bethan Dudley Fryar, accompanied

by St Mary’s Chamber Choir. The Cantabile Company’s Finale was a fabulous rendition

We were delighted that General Sir Mike Jackson, formerly Chief of the General Staff and Head of the Army until 2006, supported us and gave a powerful address, helping us to fundraise to the tune of over £6,000.

Opera gala night The evening of Wednesday 5th March was certainly a night to remember! In the spectacular surroundings of the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, our talented singers shared the stage with international operatic stars and created an evening of dramatic, poignant and memorable operatic colour.

Setting the tone for the evening, guests were welcomed by six Guardsman in full uniform complete with bear skins – much to the delight of the girls (and supporters), many of whom managed to get their photos taken with them.

The evening was introduced by the extremely charismatic and charming Aled Jones, who had kindly given up his time to support not only this wonderful cause, but his good friends from the Royal Academy – our own Director of Vocal Studies, Mrs Bethan Dudley Fryar (soprano), Hilary Summers (contralto) and Neal Davies (baritone). These outstanding singers joined our Opera Ensemble and Chamber Choir, amazing the audience with their incredible voices. We were treated to a highly entertaining programme of music from Wagner, Rossini and Bizet, to Gilbert and Sullivan and Gershwin. Pianist Kamila Radzvilaite, St Mary’s Musician in Residence, also took to the stage, enthralling the audience with her playing. The evening raised £11,500 for The Armed Forces Fund.

Evita The retiring collection from the Autumn Production generated £2,836 for The Armed Forces Fund before gift aid.

Bursary Fund The establishment of a Bursary Fund plays a vital role in assisting able pupils to enjoy the benefits of a Calne education.

The CFT has embarked on developing a capital fund to help finance bursaries in the long term. The parents of the 2013 Leavers generously raised over £43,000 last year for the Bursary Programme, and the parents of the 2014 UVI Form also enthusiastically embarked on forming a syndicate to fund a full or part-bursary. Thank you to everyone who has supported this initiative; your gifts make a real difference:

‘…my two years at Calne were the best of my life so far… I was given opportunities that would have otherwise been completely unavailable to me… I cannot stress enough how invaluable the gift of completing my Sixth Form Education at St Mary’s has been. I believe that because of my time at Calne I have grown to be a confident, well-rounded young woman who strives to be the very best that I can be - wherever that may lead in the future.’

Katey Cook (2009-2011)

Donations to all of The CFT Funds are always very welcome. Donations can easily be made through a will as well as during one’s lifetime, and the use of Gift Aid helps us enormously, as well as offsetting some of the cost for higher rate tax payers.

I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of our donors and volunteers for their support over this past year.

Mrs Cari Depla Director of Development 15

Chamber Choir Tour

Following a short Eurostar journey, St Mary’s Chamber Choir arrived, extremely excited, in Paris. Having hopped on a bus, we caught our first glimpse of the magnificent city and soon found the Comfort Hotel.

We greatly enjoyed ourselves and hope that our audience did too! Then came the longawaited French boulangerie lunch which, unsurprisingly, we devoured with delight; however, sadly, the occasion was slightly marred by Hannah killing a pigeon with an inadvisedly large chunk of bread!

In a matter of moments, following some shocking French accents, we reached our rooms and unpacked. However, as is the custom with many busy St Mary’s trips, there was no time to relax and we headed out in the gathering dusk for a delicious traditional French bistro supper.

Day two marked our first active concert day on tour.

Despite getting lost on the way to breakfast (still in the hotel!), we were soon full of croissants and French bread and departed shortly after nine for Saint Sulpice, a beautiful and awe-inspiring church in which we were very privileged to be singing.

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Our repertoire included Mozart, Duruflé and Bednall, all accompanied by Mr Martin Ford, Assistant Organist at Westminster Abbey.

La Madeleine is a wonderful building, with marble columns stretching to the sky. By this point, we had completely settled into Parisian life and felt confident as we sang to an audience of 200, enjoying the fabulous acoustic of the ancient church. There was a great turn-out of supportive St Mary’s parents, which was lovely to see.

Trips & Expeditions

Although we could not go to the iconic Eiffel Tower afterwards, the Tour Montparnasse gave us wonderful panoramic views of the city, especially as the Eiffel Tower began to light up as it grew dark.

Friday saw perhaps the most eagerly anticipated event of the whole trip: Notre Dame, which was as incredible as reputed and even exceeded our expectations. Although quite nervous, as we had heard that the audience would be large and only 25% of the choirs who apply get to sing there, we were put at our ease by a successful rehearsal. Judging by the rapturous applause we received from all areas of the cathedral following our recital, we decided that it hadn’t gone too badly!

Mr Sutton later took delight in telling us that we had sung to more than a thousand people.

We were then allowed to explore the Isle de la Cité and grab a spot of lunch. In the afternoon, we headed off to Chantilly, to a small but beautiful church in the hub of an English community.

The welcome was wonderful and we instantly felt at home. We performed our whole repertoire as our grand finale and we were even asked to do an encore of Maiden Most Gentle. We all agreed that, whilst the audience was considerably smaller than in Notre Dame, it was just as gratifying and enjoyable.

We were lucky enough to be generously entertained with a selection of French delicacies, although we were all soon feeling rather full of macaroons!

We loved meeting members of our audience, including a collection of St Mary’s parents, who were incredibly complimentary. After a long journey back, we headed off to bed full of excitement for what the next day would bring…

Saturday marked our day off and, armed with sunglasses and Mickey Mouse ears, we drove to Disneyland Paris. Many of us hadn’t been before and the excitement was almost palpable!

The weather was beautiful and we were quickly immersed in the colourful and enchanting atmosphere. Buzzing with people, the park had an incredible vibe and, along with parades of characters, exhilarating rides and sunshine, it proved to be a fantastic way to relax.

Sadly, by now our trip was coming to an end; however, Mr Sutton still had some tricks up his sleeve to finish the week on a high. In glorious weather, we set off on a boat trip up the Seine, providing us with a perfect view of the Paris Marathon, although we were very relieved that we were onlookers rather than participators!

There were plenty of photo opportunities in front of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and the A Level History students could hardly contain their excitement on seeing many monuments and architecture linked to King Henry IV of France. We savoured the beautiful sights of the city for the last time (for now…) as we drove to the Gare du Nord to board the Eurostar back to St Pancras.

We would like to thank our Music Staff: Mr Sutton for directing us and coping with a group of excitable teenagers; Mrs Sutton, Miss Collings, Mme Wilkinson and Mr Ford for organising such a great itinerary, and Edward our informative tour guide. Roll on next year!

Rosie Tabor and Amelia Saer LVI Form 17

Sports Reports Our teams have achieved a great deal of success this year and we can feel very proud of our results and progress. The first phase of our Vision for Sport is well underway, with the completion of a full size, floodlit astroturf for September 2014, as well as three additional floodlit netball and tennis hard courts, so we can look forward to even more exciting sporting seasons to come with top class facilities. Other schools will now be able to travel to us for fixtures after their midweek lessons and added courts will allow us to field more teams.

Competitive sport is important at St Mary’s, but we are also great believers in sport for all. As day-to-day life becomes more sedentary for many, the next phase of the Vision for Sport, a multi-purpose Sports Complex, will place greater emphasis on health and wellbeing. As we are able to offer even more alternative activities, every St Mary’s girl can find an activity to enjoy now and continue with when she leaves. The complex will also ensure that our sports programme is not hampered by the inclement weather we have seen in recent years.

Recipients of the major awards were as follows:

Annabel Wright, our outgoing Games Captain, set the highest of standards for the school to aspire to, both in training and in competition. She has been ably assisted by 25 fellow UVI Form, who have represented the senior teams and continued to raise the profile of sport with their enthusiasm and dedication.

The end of the Summer Term did not mean the end of our girls’ sporting achievements. Iona Westwood represented England on their U19 Lacrosse Tour to the USA. Closer to home, in Birmingham, two of our elite athletes qualified for the ESAA English Schools Finals: Yasmin Watling, having recently moved up to 3000m, came in a respectable 24th in a very tough field; Grace Chambers, competing in the high jump for the first time at this level, jumped superbly, clearing every height first time, including the winning height of 1.69m, and was crowned 2014 National High Jump Champion - a truly outstanding achievement.

In the first week of the Summer Term, we celebrated many individual successes, as well as team progress, at our Sports Presentation Dinner.

Simon Dennis, our guest speaker and Gold Medal winner at the Sydney Olympics in the Men’s 8, presented the awards to the Most Improved and Player of the Year in each sport at every level.

An additional award was created this year for Jemima Brown, who was awarded an Excellence in Sport Award for her contribution across six sports.

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Junior

Intermediate

Senior

Endeavour

Alicia Whitaker

Laura Steel

Emily Clarke

Sportsmanship

Olivia Guy

Charlotte Paterson

Sophie Nye

Outstanding

Sophie Pratt

Mattie Carr

Annabel Wright

Mrs Heidi Marvin Director of Sport

afternoon th Tuesday 17 June saw a beautiful Day. The rts Spo for ns with ideal conditio petitive com so ed look r team lists had neve treat. a for in e wer we and we knew that and up ered limb ies pan With the Com events the d, ahea tion peti ready for the com s. heat m 100 the in t star g got off to a flyin by way the led re) (Poo rs Grace Chambe tshire a comfortable distance but, as Wil nty Cou m 100 and on County Champi less. no ect exp ld wou we record holder, the for dard stan the set , It did, however a ikin a An Dian . tion peti rest of the com rd reco putt t sho the hed (Moberly) smas re with a massive 9.44m and the Poo on ed inat dom Team ior Company Sen ling Wat ana Ari and min Yas the track, with sing cros by love rly siste demonstrating or the 1500m line together. The juni 13 only with e clos very competition was th st e. plac 5 and 1 ting points split

The most exciting part of the competition is always the relay races at the end of all other events. The 4 x 1 00m was a tight contest and Poore did we ll to win both the junior and the senior races, as well as the senior canon relay. Th e junior canon relay was won by Gross tete who led with a comfortable 23 sec ond lead. Even with all of this excitement , nothing could overshadow the big race of the day: the staff v LVI Form relay! Wi th lighting speed, the staff won the A string and the LVI Form the B string.

The Victrix Ludorum for each age group was awarded to Caroline Brenchley (Poore) in the juniors and shared by Jemima Brown (Moberly) and Grace Chambers (Poore) in the seniors.

Final results with the junior and senior points combined were:

st 1 - Poore 2nd - Grosstete 3rd - Moberly 4th - Ed Rich 5th - Osmund

‘A great effort and performance by all competitors.’

Miss Helen Carruthers Head of PE

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Sports Reports

Given the chance of a full length match, St Mary’s Lacrosse Teams have become increasingly hard to beat.

Both the U15A and the U12A remained unbeaten throughout the whole season in our full fixture list.

All our A Teams beat CLC and all ten teams were undefeated against St Helen’s and St Katharine’s.

Nevertheless, trophies, arguably one measure of success, seem to be coming down to seven minutes each way (tournament games) and here we still have ground to cover. With the senior squad returning from a profitable and highly enjoyable USA tour, we got off to a great start, winning the inaugural Sherborne 8s, beating Queen Anne’s and an experienced Haberdashers’ Monmouth 1st Team in the process. A few weeks later, at the Welsh Rally, the U15s retained the trophy and, the following weekend, both the U15 and U14 Teams won their respective County Tournaments. The 2nd Team, having beaten Godolphin in the morning, found themselves having to replay them in the final and frustratingly ran out of steam, just falling shy of the trophy. The 1sts were also one goal short in their match against Godolphin (having beaten Marlborough and Sherborne en route) - we edge ever closer to last year’s National Champions.

At the Senior South West Schools’ Tournament, the 1sts again qualified for the Premier Division, beating Downe House and CLC, and losing only to both St Swithun’s and Godolphin by one goal, to finish 3rd in the South West.

An impressive 30 St Mary’s players were selected to represent the U19 and U15 Dorset and Wiltshire County Teams and, although a huge honour, with no time to fit in a training session and learn to play as a team, the tournament never brings out the best in everyone and one can be forgiven for secretly thinking we would have done better with our own school team!

The second half of the Autumn Term saw the 1st XII beat Radley with a last minute goal, 20

followed closely by an epic encounter with Bristol University. The term finished with a very competitive and exciting fixture with Queen Anne’s. Although we narrowly lost the senior matches, the U15A and B and the U13B Teams won, and the U14As drew 6-6 with one of Queen Anne’s most promising teams – a huge improvement on last season’s 2-14 deficit. The success of the A Teams has been largely due to the improved standard of the B Teams, who have provided more competition and are enjoying more matches, and more success, each season.

The presiding memory of the Spring Term was one of rain, waterlogged pitches, rescheduled games and hired astros.

Wycombe Abbey’s grounds staff did everything they could to get the 7 Schools’ Invitational Tournament played and this was a great competitive start to the term. It also helped us to establish our position with only seven weeks to go before Nationals (although we were not to know that the U15 and U14s would only play one more match before the event). The U15s finished an honourable 2nd behind Stowe, having beaten Downe House, Queen Anne’s and Wycombe.

The 1sts really rose to the challenge, drawing with Berkhamsted, Queen Anne’s and Wycombe, and showed the high standard of which they are capable, but there were times when we threw away possession, not coping well enough under intense pressure.

Exciting times - the talent and potential were certainly there, we just need to put it all together.

The build up to National Schools always brings excitement and eager anticipation and, with a new venue (Surrey Sports Park), this year was no exception.

After the 1sts had done so well last year, the pressure was on and expectations high; the U15s knew they had a real chance if they could hold it together and the U14s were keen to demonstrate the huge progress they had made. With the U15B and U13As entered into the Rathbones National Schools Championships for the first time, there was much to look forward to. The 1sts scored 34 goals on the first day, conceding

only nine, and took their place in the top division. Now more of an expectation than an ambition, it did mean that on day two we needed to compete with the top 16 schools in the country and not just be content to be there! Despite the disappointment of a few narrow defeats, we were given a lifeline in the play-offs against Downe House - could we grab it? We created chances and even scored first but, in hindsight, I’m not sure we ever really believed we could beat them and were forced out of the tournament at the quarter final stage. Nevertheless, this does represent progress and a huge achievement for all the girls who played. The 2nds endured a series of one goal defeats on the opening day of the Championship, doing nothing for our confidence and consequently placing us in a lower division than we would have liked, but on day two the 2nds started in Division Two with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. With three wins and a draw in the morning group, it was CLC in the quarters and the team pulled off a 3-1 win (having lost to them the day before). The tournament trophy was looking like a realistic goal, especially when we scored first against St Swithun’s in the final, and with five minutes to go, the trophy was still within our grasp, but we were running out of steam.

St Swithun’s made one final push and took the lead. No trophy, but we were certainly satisfied with runner-up medals.

The draw is everything at National Schools, especially for the U15s: only one team from each of the eight sections advances to the quarter final stage, so there is no chance for slip-ups. On paper it was always going to be us or St Swithun’s (although we would rather not have endured nearly throwing it all away against St Helen’s and St Katharine’s), so our 2-1 defeat against them knocked the wind out of us.

We can now look back and realise that more composure and greater confidence not to force the ball in attack would have done it, but it felt like the end of the world on the day! The U15Bs, a team with considerable strength and depth, were sadly not as ready for their Nationals experience and, despite their best efforts on the day (including victories over Wycombe Abbey and St George’s Harpenden), the poor weather and lack of match practice, along with missing two of their key players who had been promoted to the As, meant they underperformed. However, they fought hard and are all certainly stronger from the experience.

Arguably, the team who produced the best tournament play were the U14s. Runnersup in their section to Lady Eleanor Hollis, they had done enough to secure one of the quarter final places, finishing in the top eight in the country.

Here we met St Catherine’s, Bramley, who proved too strong despite a great team effort.

In the end, the two teams we lost to were the finalists; we know the goal for next year now.

The draw certainly didn’t help the U13s: their first game of the tournament was against Benenden, the eventual winners. Just after a downpour, the team started the day nervous and cold, struggling to find the confidence to play at their best. This was all part of the experience and the team regrouped and went on to build momentum and show the standard of which they are capable, winning four matches and drawing with St Swithun’s in their final match.

After the U15 and U14 SW Tournament was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, it was a relief to see the sun for the U13 and U12s. The U12s really had a chance to win; they had worked hard all season and deserved success. We should have been pleased with being runners-up in the SW, but losing 2-1 to the winners Queen Anne’s, who we had beaten in the morning, left us feeling very flat.

DORSET AND WILTSHIRE COUNTY SELECTION 2013-2014

Our tournament play came down to too many one goal defeats. We were in every match, competing with the best - the opposition have to play well to beat us, but we want more.

With greater composure under pressure and increased self-belief going onto the pitch, we will be able to turn these scores around.

U19A XII Annabel Wright (Capt) Emily Clarke Olivia Erwin Olivia King Georgina Higgins Rebecca Randall U19B XII Eleanor Dove (Capt) Bonnie Bartlett Tabitha Ellis Eleanor Nye Taya Sellers Isobel Smith Laura Steel Lucy Rogers U15A XII Emily FitzPatrick (Capt) Jemima Brown Kitty Bevan Jess Patel Sassie Patel Iona Westwood Georgia Williams Katie Rae

The captains have certainly played their part this season, taking on more responsibility to organise, enthuse and guide their teams, and we are hugely grateful for their efforts.

1st Team Captain, Annabel Wright, set a fine example for all to follow and Gemma Briston got the right balance in the 2nds.

Emily FitzPatrick, Jessica Westwood, Caroline Brenchley and Tegan Dixon-Clarke also all contributed significantly to the success of their teams. I thank them all, but I’m sure they would all likewise wish me to thank their coaches: Mrs Thompson, Miss Maksym, Miss Abendanon and Miss Glazer, without whom none of this would have been possible. With the addition of Miss Smith, current England World Cup international player, to the coaching staff next year, we can all work together to do even better.

Mrs Heidi Marvin Director of Sport

U15B XII Hannah McLintock (Capt) Imogen Ellis Gemma Enthoven Naomi Green Georgia Lane Fox Phoebe Love Jessamy Money-Kyrle Jessica Westwood SOUTH WEST SQUAD 2013-2014 U19A XII Emily Clarke U19B XII Olivia Erwin Olivia King Rebecca Randall Annabel Wright U17 ENGLAND ACADEMY SQUAD Jemima Brown Iona Westwood U19 ENGLAND ACADEMY SQUAD Emily Clarke U19A WALES Annabel Wright (Capt) U19 WALES DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Emily FitzPatrick Jess Patel Sassie Patel 21

News

Model United Nations and Debating Model United Nations (MUN) is a new addition to the myriad activities that St Mary’s offers.

Today, not only do we need to be educated young women with intelligence, conviction in our creeds and the ability to hold our own on any front, we also need to be able to deliver our message articulately with confidence, to understand others’ views and to think analytically at all times. These are the skills that are enhanced and cultivated in the MUN Club, especially when driven by the goal to win an MUN conference.

During the year, we learnt as a team how to debate (argue) properly with our advancing public speaking skills, which were further enhanced by a visit to the Bath MUN conference. By learning to support our arguments with facts and data, we were able to gain an insight into current events and world politics. One of our main goals was to try to find hypothetical solutions to world problems as a team, such as world hunger, whilst learning about the views of different nations. In the process, we learnt from the leading establishment in international negotiations: the United Nations. The UN is able to come to peaceful resolutions with over 100 countries with different economic, political and religious backgrounds. Consequently, this pushed us to work harder as we aspired towards learning that kind of ingenuity and expertise.

More events in school will be taking place to promote and encourage further participation amongst all year groups, so that they can learn these skills that translate from school to work and other aspects of life. Debating is a skill for everyone and Calne, which is a microcosm of the world, is the perfect place to learn and practise these skills.

Osarhiere Akpata LVI Form

SPRINGFIELDS MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME Towards the end of last year, St Mary’s established a link with our close neighbour, The Springfields Academy (a residential specialist school) and, following meetings with their Principal and Deputy Head, a Mentoring Programme was put in place involving eight of our UVI Form girls.

Every Wednesday evening during the Autumn Term, the girls enjoyed meeting up with the children aged 7-12 years old. The activities they took part in included art workshops; a BBQ and rounders; sports such as football and cricket; a Halloween party complete with apple bobbing and games; a karaoke night, and general games in their grounds such as man-hunt, wink murder and duck, duck, goose. During anti-bullying week, the girls engaged with the children through drama to talk about the issues surrounding bullying.

The aim of the Mentoring Programme is to help the children to develop their self-belief and social and communication skills. Some of the children are quite shy and the programme has helped them to interact with other young people and to become more confident, developing an important life skill. For our girls, it is important in helping them to develop their own sense of responsibility and empathy, and highlights the importance of belonging to and helping the local community. The Programme is also relevant to the subjects that some of the UVI Form girls wish to study in the future (Experimental Psychology and Nursing), so it was a very useful experience for them, as well as being fun.

The Mentoring Programme continued with the LVI Form girls taking on their new roles in the Spring Term. Bertina Chan, who assumed the role of Head of Outreach and Springfields on the Head Girl’s Team, commented that it is a challenging, but utterly unique experience. She said that they had ‘big boots to fill’ when they took over from the UVI Form, but they have enjoyed taking part in outdoor games, ranging from pop lacrosse to ultimate frisbee, and indoor activities such as dodge ball and karaoke.

She also said that the Programme allows them to develop their interpersonal skills further whilst forming bonds with the children.

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YOUNG ENTERPRISE This year, the LVI Form took the Young Enterprise world by storm, forming their company ‘Origins’ in October 2013.

Led by Managing Director, Franziska Goess-Saurau, and Deputy, Zoe Bassett Bolam, we strived to introduce new and innovative products to the British market. Our logo, a compass, incorporated the beginning of an adventure.

To raise initial funds, we held a series of cake sales and sold £500 worth of shares. Drawing on skills within the group, especially those of our Creative Directors, we came up with two products: a unique treasure hunt box for children and stylish t-shirts for the teenage market. These two aimed to combine vogue and voyage, evoking every child’s sense of adventure, every teenager’s sense of style and every parent’s sense of pride.

Our primary product was a treasure hunt box aimed at children aged 5-11. The box contains three themes: sun, sea and safari, and ten clues which lead the child around the house. Our characters on the treasure hunt cards were drawn by Olivia King, the Creative Director, and computerised by Lina Kumasaka.

Our boxes were extremely well-received, selling 85 overall including sales at St Margaret’s and St Mary’s PGSM Christmas fairs.

We were even sent a letter from a satisfied customer saying that it ‘helps with young children’s focus, motivation, counting and reasoning skills.’

The t-shirts were designed to act as a complementary product to the boxes, with three hand-drawn designs decided upon after market research. For their promotion, we ran a fashion show, using contributors from every year group to encourage the participation of the whole school. With live music, models and mocktails, the event’s amazing atmosphere created a buzz that made the t-shirts cool and we received around 70 orders on that night alone. Our total sales reached 131 t-shirts.

After deducting costs, we were left with £858 of profit after tax.

Despite stiff competition at the Wiltshire County Final, the judges seemed impressed

by our unique products and our intriguing advertisement, with blue footprints and compasses forming a trail on the floor to our stand. We won overall, putting us through to the next round, and also came away with prizes for the Best Report, Best Teamwork and Best Customer Focus, with Mia Millman winning an award for ‘Outstanding Individual’ contribution.

Working on our products, trade stand and presentation, we began to prepare for the South West Finals in Swindon Steam Museum.

We knew that this would be tough and the standard even exceeded our expectations, but we held our own. Despite sadly not winning overall, we were awarded the prize for the Best Presentation and Kevin Hall, our advisor, won the award for the Best Advisor, nominated by members of the team, which was wholly deserved.

Young Enterprise brought us closer together and we learned so much from the whole experience, especially confidence and determination in demanding situations. Thank you to Mr Cleaver and our advisors, Kevin and Pam, for making it all possible.

Rosie Tabor Company Secretary 23

Trips & Expeditions

On Sunday 8th June, the UIV Form left Calne for Rouen. We were woken up at 7.30am; the majority of us had packed the previous evening, so we just double-checked the list and were ready to go. The coach left at 8.45am and we were all very excited, but not quite prepared for the long journey ahead of us. The journey, although long, was very amusing, but we were very grateful to get off and stretch our legs when we got to the ferry after three hours on the coach. When we arrived in France, we were overjoyed, but then we were reminded that we had another two hour journey left; nevertheless, when we finally arrived in Rouen, we were still very loud and energetic!

We waited for the families to come, having been told they spoke very little English, we were extremely nervous. After seeing my friends leave one by one, I became more and more nervous until, at last, my family came.

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We were all very excited to see each other again after spending one night with our host families and we were very interested to see how it went for our friends. All in all, it was a very good start - we understood the majority of what our families said and my family could speak English, for which I was very grateful. Everyone seemed to have had a good first night.

We went on a guided tour around Rouen: we saw the cathedral and churches, which were very pretty, and we learnt about their history.

We also learnt about the intriguing history of Rouen’s houses.

After walking around, doing some shopping and admiring the unique French fashion, we went to the cinema to watch Maléfique (Maleficent) in French. It was very exciting and we found buying popcorn very educational! We then went back to our host families having learned some new French words which we used in our conversations.

Today we went for French lessons at a language institute which was very big and fancy. I personally found this very educational and very useful for the week ahead. In my class, we would start by talking about ourselves and then we would play a game where we would have to describe an object and the others would have to guess the object we were describing.

After the French classes, we went to a cooking institution where we made tarte aux pommes. This was great, because now my cooking skills have grown and it was very inspirational working with French chefs. My partner and I watched some of the other chefs cooking their meals – it was very exciting to see them working. We enjoyed the tarte aux pommes after they were cooked; they all tasted surprisingly good, despite some of us not being the most amazing cooks!

We had another French lesson today and my class learned how to describe other people in detail, we also played some more games. We then said thank you to our teachers and set off for Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry. The coach journey was about two hours, but we managed to keep ourselves entertained! When we got to Bayeux, we went round the shops to buy presents for our families and we bought ourselves ice cream as it was a very hot day - we had been lucky with the weather so far.

We had a tour of the tapestry which told us about the Battle of Hastings. The tapestry was very long and about 1000 years old, but it was in very good condition. After that, we went into a museum and saw what their armour may have looked like and we also enjoyed a film about the tapestry.

We spent the whole day at the Normandy D-Day landing beaches. It was about a two hour drive, but it was well worth it. We went to see Sword Beach, Gold Beach and the American cemetery; it was very interesting and educational. When we were at Gold Beach, we saw some veterans who fought in WW2 re-visiting the areas where they had fought 70 years before. After that, we watched a film about D-Day, where we saw the fighting and heard Winston Churchill speak.

We also saw the statue of Lord Lovat, the great grand uncle of a St Mary’s pupil. We then returned to the meeting point to re-join our host families and spoke about our day with them.

After a very successful week in France, where we all picked up some more French, we had to say goodbye. We were very sad to go, we had had a very good week and enjoyed going to see the historical monuments, but were happy to return to England to see our families. The coach journey home seemed surprisingly short!

Elisabeth Wolf UIV Form

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News

Chapel News After sixteen years as a chaplain in the Royal Air Force, starting in a new context as a school chaplain was rather a daunting prospect. That was the position I found myself in back in September. I need not have worried - the year has been exciting, fascinating and rewarding in equal measure.

On Sunday 8th September, I was licensed as the Chaplain of St Mary’s and St Margaret’s Schools by the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam. It was a lovely service involving the whole school community. The focus of the service moved around the chapel from font to lectern to altar, as each aspect of Christian ministry was affirmed and celebrated. The Chamber Choir rose to the challenge of performing after less than a week of term, giving us beautiful renditions of Choral Variations on Ave Maris Stella by Philip Moore and The Lord Bless You and Keep You by John Rutter. That service set the tone for the rest of a very busy term.

In November, the UVI Form produced a very moving Remembrance Service, marking the occasion with well-chosen poetry, prose and song. The items they chose skilfully and movingly allowed us to call to mind the sacrifices made in the two world wars and in more recent conflicts.

This year, Confirmation classes proved to be hugely popular and I was very grateful for the assistance of my predecessor, Father Peter Giles, in helping to run six groups every week. For our quiet preparation service, we went to the tiny village church at Calstone Wellington. It was a dark night and the church was not easy to find in the driving rain; however, the intimate, candle-lit setting provided the perfect place for our reflections.

It was also the ideal venue for three girls to be baptised and the ancient font was put into 26

use when, in the midst of their friends, Tean Choroszewska and Sassie and Jess Patel made their promises and were baptised.

Three weeks later, on Saturday 30th November, 41 girls were confirmed by the Bishop of Ramsbury, the Rt Rev Dr Edward Condry.

On the same day, whilst her friends were being confirmed in Calne, Georgina Hope was being received into the Church of Scotland, having gone through the same preparation as everyone else.

At school, Bishop Ed met the girls over breakfast before the service, his warm and open manner managing to put everyone at ease. The service in the parish church was very well-supported, the congregation just about squeezing in, and Bishop Ed spoke very engagingly. When the girls had renewed their baptismal vows, he took a sprig of rosemary and used it to sprinkle water from the font over them as a reminder of their baptism. In the interests of equality, he then invited one of the girls to do the same to him – Agatha Gurney doing the job very effectively and managing to soak the Bishop! After the service, the girls re-joined their families for a reception at school, each girl receiving a beautifully decorated, individual cake.

A week later, we were back in the parish church for the school Carol Service. At both Confirmation and Carol Services, the Chamber Choir was at its very best and we were treated to items by Felix Mendelssohn, John Taverner, R Vaughan Williams, David Willcocks and John Rutter; the Junior Choir and String Sinfonia also performed beautifully. The highlight for

me however was the congregational carols – a wonderful way to end the term and take us into the Christmas holidays.

The Spring and Summer Terms did not prove quite as hectic as the Autumn Term, nevertheless, we enjoyed a full range of chapel services. Many girls and staff spoke at weekday chapels and more girls than ever took an active role in Sunday services. A voluntary Ash Wednesday Service was wellsupported and the final Sunday service of the Spring Term saw us travel through the events of Holy Week in a single hour.

On Friday 9th May, three girls, Annabelle Bishop Hannah McLintock and Francesca Swallow were confirmed at the Roman Catholic service at Downside Abbey by the Bishop of Clifton, the Rt Rev Declan Lang. It was a magnificent service in an awe-inspiring setting. It was lovely to see the last of the 45 girls who had started the Confirmation classes back in September finally confirmed.

As the term draws to a close, I look back on a really great year with a lot of thanksgiving.

That the journey from ‘Padre’ to ‘Father Jonathan’ has been such a smooth one is down to the warmth and welcome of the whole school community, girls and staff alike, and I look forward to all that the next academic year will bring.

Father Jonathan Beach School Chaplain

Sports Reports

Equestrian News from the top…

Jessica Mendoza (UVI Form) Show Jumping At 18, Jessica is currently 16th in the Team GBR rankings in only her first year.

As a member of the Junior European Championship Team, her double clear helped them to finish in Silver position; 2nd at The Horse of the Year Show, just 1.19 seconds behind the winner in the Young Riders Championship, and third at the World Class Programme British U23 Championships at the London International Horse Show, Olympia. This summer, she competed at The Europeans in Arrezzo, Italy, as part of the Junior British Team, but it is the mark that she is making so soon on the Senior International Show Jumping circuit that is so impressive: a 2nd place in Belgium at the Lier Champions Tour 2* on Spirit T, as well as winning the leading rider prize for her consistent performances in November and January, means that her future looks very promising.

Franziska Goess-Saurau (LVI Form) Eventing This season, Franziska has moved up to Junior Trials (U18). At Rockingham Castle, she finished 6th out of 60 in the International 1*, which made her the highest placed junior/ young rider and also the highest placed amateur. In June, her 11th place at the Junior National Championships meant she made the long list for the British Junior Event Team for the Europeans 2014. Coming 6th at Barbury Castle International Horse Trials only added to her case.

Lucy Rogers (UVI Form) Dressage Lucy recently secured a place on the British Dressage U25 High Performance Squad, part of their programme for elite British Young Riders, for the second year running. A place on this prestigious camp provides individualised training for 25 selected horses and riders from all over the UK, building up for national, international and world class squads.

Lara Kuropatwa (UIV Form) Dressage Lara, 13, had an incredibly successful week representing Great Britain at the Addington International Dressage Competition: she was placed on both her rides at each stage of the competition, qualifying for the final where she finished in 5th place overall. In June, she was selected as first reserve for the GB Pony Dressage Team at the Europeans.

School Teams St Mary’s was again well-represented at the annual Inter-Schools One Day Event at Stonar in September. Results were impressive, as we have come to expect, and the team of Bonnie Bartlett, Lauren Booth, Hope PleydellBouverie and Francesca Swallow came 3rd in the BE90; individually, Francesca was 3rd and Bonnie the overall individual winner.

In November, several teams competed in a West Wilts Show Jumping Competition.

Most teams were placed and the team of Lauren Booth, Pandora Briselden, Flora Guy and Sylvia Rutherford won Class 4; Lauren was 4th and Flora 6th individually.

Our own annual NSEA Show Jumping Qualifier is always a highlight of the equestrian calendar, thanks to the dedication and efficiency of the organisers, parents, staff and girls, and this year

was no exception, well, apart from the dreadful weather! St Mary’s riders produced some impressive individual and team performances.

In Class 4 (1m/1.05m) the course looked big in the outdoor arena, but Georgia Williams rode a superb round to finish 4th individually, and our team of Bonnie Bartlett, Lauren Booth, Pandora Briselden and Georgia finished an impressive 2nd to qualify for the NSEA Championships.

In Class 5, with the jumps up to 1.10m, our team of Bonnie, Lauren, Georgia and Gemma Enthoven rode four excellent rounds to finish 2nd amidst strong competition and also qualify for the NSEA Championships 2014 at Addington in October.

In May, St Mary’s entered a team in the Inter-Schools Show Jumping class at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and the team coped very well on the day. In August, six girls competed at the National Schools Championships at Hickstead. The teams did amazingly well, particularly considering the level of competition, with both the Junior and Senior Teams finishing 5th. Individually, Hope Pleydell-Bouverie was placed 9th and Rosie Leng 10th out of the 156 strong field.

Mrs Heidi Marvin Director of Sport

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News

Company News Each girl and member of staff is a member of one of the five Companies into which the school is divided. The Companies are named after Bishops, each with an association to the Diocese of Salisbury. The Company structure allows girls to mix with other girls in different year groups. Each Company runs charitable activities throughout the school year.

Starting as the new Head of Poore in September, I knew I would have a hard act to follow when taking over the reins from Mrs Malcolm; however, I was sure that it was a great Company of which to be taking charge. Finishing in 2nd place at the end of last year, 1st really was the only place to aim for!

With the first competitive Company event of the year, Junior Cross Country, we started as we meant to go on – finishing 1st.

A truly cohesive effort from the Fourth Form Poorites, everybody gave it their best shot and Caroline Brenchley (MIV Form) and Ariana Watling (UIV Form) both finished 1st in their year group, securing us the highest (or lowest as it is in cross country) points.

The juniors continued their sporting year in a similar vein, with 1st place in swimming, netball and, of course, Sports Day. The seniors also played their part, coming 1st in tennis and athletics.

The Company Shout was, as ever, an exciting (and loud) event, where the girls came together in true Company spirit with their 28

rendition of The Bare Necessities.

Isabella Grive and Leonora Pearce led the rehearsals and performances superbly and they deservedly won the vocal ensemble.

With a high scoring set of performances throughout, including one from Millie Marriott Webb who won the brass section, the Company was delighted to win the overall music competition; a welldeserved victory!

Fundraising was a prominent part of our year, with both Poore and Helen Wright House choosing Dorothy House Hospice as their nominated charity. A pyjama sale, hoody sale, a pyjama-themed mufti day and a collaborative Spinathon with Moberly, where we cycled a total of 1407km (the distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats) saw us raise a total of £1286.19 - thanks to all of you who supported us!

Our Company Supper was an evening of celebration and all of the girls dressed up in a splendid array of colours and costumes to fit in with our ‘Carnival’ theme. Winning the fancy dress prizes were Mary Petherick (Fourth Form), Hannah McLintock and Rosie Leng (Fifth Form) and Lucy Evans

(Sixth Form) with their spectacular headdress, Indian Chief outfits and purple body art respectively.

As well as a fine menu, the evening was topped off by modern magician and mentalist, ‘Hoodwinker’.

He entertained us with thoughtprovoking tricks, including mindreading and unfathomable predictions, which were seemingly impossible. Certainly, he provided an exciting ending to a great evening!

Finally, Founders’ Day arrived and the allimportant announcement of the Company Cup. Having finished in 1st place in both the Autumn and the Spring Terms, we were hopeful that we might secure the cup; however, other Companies were hot on our heels in both terms and our lead was only by two points at most, so there was the chance that we may have been overtaken in the race. Yet there was no need to fear, as it was announced on Founders’ Day by Mr Rothwell that the winning Company ‘by a significant lead’ was Poore – well done to all Poorites!

Miss Helen Carruthers Head of Poore Company

Another strong year under the leadership of Alice Rowse and Rosie Dalley, we hit the Autumn Term running straight into the Company Shout. Here we were given the Disney song I Just Can’t Wait to be King from The Lion King.

Practice after practice made perfect and what a masterpiece we produced! We won the Company Shout with a very clever rewrite of the words, changing them to ‘King George’, and some fun masks.

In the Autumn Term, we managed to raise £220 for our charity, Street Child Project in Zambia. This was the charity that a group of girls helped in Zambia during October Half Term (see page 2).

The money raised went towards buying a brick machine so that we could help build a school.

Lots of Blues and Credits were accumulated, but we just did not have enough points to be in the lead at the end of the Autumn Term.

We were sat in 2nd position but, as blue people will tell you, we like a fight!

In the Spring Term, we had a change of Head and Deputy to Zoe Bassett Bolam and Olivia King respectively. The first big event they had to organise was the Company Supper, for which the theme was PIXAR characters.

The supper was a spectacular celebration of

Pixar movies; girls dressed up in the most fabulous costumes from Toy Story, Cars, UP and Finding Nemo to name just a few. The food, as ever, was amazing: steak and skinny chips followed by ice cream factory (tradition now!) and it was a lovely social evening for all the blue people. Winning costumes were Georgia Murdoch as the House from UP, Lauren Dickson and Annabelle Mastin-Lee as Slinky Dog from Toy Story and Davina Gray as Nemo from Finding Nemo.

The Fourths, under the organisation of Flora Eliot-Cohen, produced an outstanding project on China during Enrichment Week and, even with a rather weak looking dragon, but a fabulous film on Chinese wildlife, we managed to win the Fourth Form Enrichment Cup! We raised money for Water Aid, our new charity for the year, by doing a Sponsored Spin; a joint affair with Poore, we managed to cycle 1407km (Land’s End to John O’Groats) raising £351.

the UIV Form Team also came 2nd and the Seniors managed 4th place. The lacrosse was not good... no more to be said!

By the end of the Spring Term, we had moved down to 3rd position in the rankings!

The Summer Term soon came upon us with tennis and athletics everywhere. Sports Day was a big affair with some fantastic individual performances: Diana Anikina, Jemima Brown, Flora Guy, Harriet Jackson and Ila Shetty all winning their events. Huge congratulations to Jemima Brown who jointly won the Senior Individual Trophy. At the end of the day, we were 3rd overall.

Company Tennis was another hard-fought session for us. The LIV, MIV and UIV Form came 2nd so, overall, we won the Junior Tennis.

The LV Form came 2nd and the LVI Form were 4th, so we came equal 3rd in the Senior Tennis.

Overall results for the Langridge Cup were better than expected: we came 2nd to Poore, but we will be like a phoenix and rise again.

Roll on next year! Huge congratulations to all the blue people, we had a fantastic year.

Mrs Natalie Baldwin Head of Moberly

Inter-Company Netball was well-fought and the LIV and MIV Form combined came 2nd; 29

News

Our guest speaker was Mr Michael Thexton, who spoke about his experiences of being held hostage on Pan Am aircraft, flight 73, in Karachi in 1986. The evening was filled with delicious food and excessive amounts of elderflower, and allowed us to get to know some of the girls in other year groups.

In the Spring Term, Osmund held a quiz night which challenged the general knowledge of many of the girls. To try to promote the Osmund ethos around the school and in everyday life, a Company flag and song were created.

Osmund started the academic year with the famous Company Shout. This year, the theme was Disney movies, so the whole Company shouted out the lyrics to We’re all in This Together from High School Musical.

This was great fun, with each year dressing up as different stereotypical student groups from a typical high school, singing together in front of all the other Companies. The entire Company spent hours learning the dance moves and words to the song, allowing us to reach 4th place overall (at least we weren’t last!). This was a great victory for Osmund and the points contributed to the rest of the year’s achievements.

The next event for the Company was our ‘Around the World’ themed Company Supper run by our Company Head, Eleanor Dove. This encouraged many imaginative costumes, like globes and an amazing Easy Jet plane. Kristen Know, Mia Millman and I dressed as air hostesses, winning the best costume prize.

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Osmund raised £700 by fundraising for the International Citizen Service. We sold many Company mugs with a photograph of all the girls and teachers in the Company, and a Company tea towel, where every member of Osmund drew a picture of themselves to be printed onto the towel.

The Autumn Term finished with the InterCompany sports matches, where everyone played either lacrosse or netball. Osmund brought home victory when both the Junior and Senior Lacrosse Teams came 1st overall. The Junior Netball Team came 3rd and the Senior Netball Team came 1st, which was amazing, collecting many points for the Company. During the Summer Term, the tennis matches commenced and all the teams played to their best, winning the majority of their matches. Both the LVI and MIV Form Teams came 1st and the UIV Form Team came 3rd overall.

All matches contributed muchneeded points towards the Company total. Well played to all girls who took part.

Our motto, ‘Osmund Optimus in Omnibus’ (meaning Osmund is the best in everything!), was thought up by girls in the LV Form.

Next year is going to be a good one for Osmund; the new Company Shout song is Happy Talk from the musical South Pacific and the vocal ensemble is already being composed for the competition in the autumn.

Game on!

I would like to end this year by saying a huge thank you to the old Student Company Head, Eleanor Dove, and to Mrs Rothwell, our Head of Company. We look forward to competing next year for the Company Cup. Jessica Mather LVI Form Student Head of Osmund Company

The highlight of this year was undoubtedly the trip to visit Nepal at Easter, and particularly the day we spent at the Nammo Buddha Primary school.

Ed Rich pupils have been fundraising for CFENC (The Charitable Foundation for the Education of Nepalese Children) since 2009 and one of their main projects was to raise money to build a new school, as the old building was rundown, leaking, cold and damp. To read more about our trip to Nepal, please see page 53.

On returning to the UK, some pupils decided to continue their fundraising efforts, and Jess and Sassie Patel and Eve Webster were sponsored to eat for £1 a day over a week in the summer holiday. The sale of garments we brought back from Nepal raised additional money for the charity and we are grateful to Tabitha Clark, Annabel Dring and Chloe Waller for their individual fundraising efforts.

Furthermore, each pupil in Ed Rich was tasked with raising £30 for the charity over the holidays by doing odd jobs around the home or in their local community.

During the course of the year, in our fortnightly Company meetings, we have had the opportunity to consider the identity of Ed Rich and have explored several areas including the history of Ed Rich, what values we hold and what we wanted to adopt as our Company motto. We decided on the motto Stronger Together and ordered a large flag to display in Company competitions.

The pupils were interested to learn that Edmund Rich was born in Abingdon and, between 1219 and 1222, he was appointed vicar of the parish of Calne and treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral, before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. He studied, and later lectured, in both Oxford and Paris, where he is reported to have introduced the study of Aristotle. The site where he lived,

and later taught, in Oxford was formed into a medieval academic hall in his name, which became St Edmund Hall.

Cambridge University also has a college named after him, the second oldest of the four Cambridge Colleges for mature students. We found out that Edmund’s motto was: ‘study as if you were to live forever, live as if you were to die tomorrow.’

In October, we all enjoyed a ‘safari’ themed Company Supper which was great fun. Lily Marriott, our Sixth Form Head of Company, used her graphic design skills to create a spectacular safari themed invitation and menu, and organised the Company to dress up in costumes. Sophia Guinness and Rosie Tian really looked the part with their lion and zebra painted faces and the staff also made a great effort.

We also finished 2nd in many of the InterCompany activities this year: Senior Netball, Senior Lacrosse, Senior Sports Day and the Fourth Form Enrichment Cup.

We welcomed a new team into posts of responsibility in the Spring Term, with Franziska Goess-Saurau taking on the role of Head of Company and the following pupils supporting her: Senior Company Games Captain: Imogen Dobie Senior Charity Representative: Olivia Hope Head of Fifths: Lily Innes Fifth Form Games Captain: Iona Westwood Fifth Form Charity Representative: Eve Webster Head of Fourths: Sophie Mallinson

Sadly, we did not manage to win any of the Inter-Company competitions this year, but all members demonstrated commitment and determination with some strong individual performances, particularly on Sports Day: Rosie Horwood came 1st in the junior discus and 2nd in the 100 metre final; Sophie Mallinson was 3rd in the 75 metre hurdles; Naomi Green was 3rd in the senior shot; Charlotte Fenton was 3rd in the 1500 metre final and Lily Innes was 2nd in both the senior triple jump and 100 metre final.

Fourth Form Games Captain: Jemima Ellis Fourth Form Charity Representative: Katya Green Music Representatives: Maria Perry and Lizzie Prater

Mrs Sue Foreman Head of Ed Rich Company 31

News

Grosstete’s year started with lots of energy in the Company Shout.

Much talent was displayed, with special mentions for Maia Jarvis who won the piano class, Elsbeth Giles who won the string class and Mariella de Soissons who won the vocal class and went on to claim overall victory for the soloists, receiving the Cecilia James Prize.

As well as the soloists, a host of ensemble talent was on show, not least in the dramatic ‘Shout’ finale.

The theme this year was Disney and we presented an Arabian-inspired version of A Whole New World from Aladdin, complete with a magic carpet ride for some lucky LIV Form Grosstetians! Sadly, we were cruelly robbed of victory, despite (in our opinion!) being the true champions, but much fun was had by all nonetheless.

A new innovation for the Companies this year was regular Company meetings and Grosstete made the most of this time for some inter-year group bonding. Quizzes, games, competitions and performances all helped the girls to get to know each other better and allowed different year groups to get involved in leading activities. We also used 32

the time to create and vote on a Grosstete logo and motto and, in the end, we couldn’t resist a good pun, choosing ‘A Head Above The Rest’ as a sign of our competitive spirit, as well as giving a nod to the translation of Grosstete – fat head!

One of the highlights of the Company year is our Company Supper and this year we highlighted our Company pride by opting for a ‘letter G’ theme. Girls and staff came dressed in things beginning with G, and the dining room was soon filled with giraffes, goths, grannies and grandpas (surprisingly convincing considering the average age in the room was about 15), gnomes, gymnasts and even two appearances by Bishop Grosstete himself (as modelled by Head of Grosstete, Imogen Giddins, and special guest Father Jonathan).

The food was delicious as ever and, once we were contentedly full, we ended the evening with a competitive game of bingo.

Grosstete continued the noble tradition of a lamentable performance in the sporting arena and it seemed for a while that, despite having many sporting stars in our midst, we would languish at the bottom of the tables for all the sporting fixtures this year. However, some excellent performances in the Inter-Company Tennis Tournaments gave us the boost we needed in the Summer Term and we came a very impressive 2nd place at Sports Day – clearly the girls had been training hard, as this was a massive improvement on last year.

Unfortunately, this success didn’t propel us to overall victory in the Langridge Cup, but we’re sure next year will be our time!

The final major Grosstete endeavour this year was fundraising for our Company charity, PROPS. PROPS help children and young people with physical and learning disabilities to learn independent living skills, gain qualifications and find employment opportunities. They are based close by in Bristol and we were delighted to be visited by representatives from the charity who ran a t-shirt printing workshop with the UIV Form girls with some great results. Our biggest fundraising achievement came from our Student Head and Deputy Head of Company, Imogen Giddins and Gemma Briston, who ran the Bath Half Marathon in the spring and raised over £1000 – an amazing achievement! Imogen and Gemma have been a fantastic team leading Grosstete this year and we wish them well in their future endeavours as they leave St Mary’s and go out into the big wide world.

We are delighted that Isabella Tottenham has been chosen as our new student Head of Company and she has already shown her commitment by organising a scrumptious tea to celebrate the end of the year.

As I will be leaving at the end of the Summer Term, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the girls for all their hard work and spirit. It has been my pleasure to lead Grosstete and I wish Mrs Greenly, Grosstete’s new Head of Company, many successes as she takes on the role.

Miss Ruth Collings Head of Grosstete Company

Sports Reports

Fencing The girls have continued with their fencing coaching this year and how well they have come on! They train hard every Wednesday night, have competed in three competitions and are going from strength to strength.

Bath Schools’ Fencing Competition The Fencing Team went to The Royal High School in Bath to compete in the Bath Schools’ Competition. They have held the cup for the last two years, so the pressure was on the captain, Lucy Evans, and the team.

Royal High had a large team and there were a few GB fencers in the group rounds. Our girls had between four and ten duels - some of them quite feisty!

The Public Schools’ Fencing Competition at Crystal Palace There were over 1,401 competitors from over 104 schools entered into the Public Schools’ Fencing Competition and it was the first time that St Mary’s Fencing Team had entered. With a squad of ten girls (slightly depleted due to illness), we set off for an overnight stay in a hotel so that we would be fresh for our competition the next morning. After a good night’s sleep and a very good breakfast, we set off for Crystal Palace and were met by a sea of school minibuses from all over the country. Once we walked into Crystal Palace, it was mind-blowing to see hundreds of fencers!

We settled in and awaited our call. We had girls in the Senior - Chloe Waller, Junior - Charlotte Wailes-Fairbairn and Georgia Wheatley, and Mount-Haes Foil - Imogen Davis, Helena Gray, Anna Hastie, Alessia Rago,Victoria Rassmuss, Alicia Whitaker and Alice Wade.

The girls were split into pools and had bouts with four other girls. It was a basic knockout round: the first fighter to five points against their opponent and, if you did well, you were put through to the next pool.

We had eight of the ten girls go into the 2nd pool and it was now getting a lot harder: we were starting to meet national and international fencers (Hong Kong, Ghana, France, Italy, Russia, Jersey and Spain).

At the end of the 2nd round, Anna Hastie had won all of her bouts which put her top of her pool and she was in 11th position overall.

The 3rd pool beckoned and we had five girls through: Helena Gray, Anna Hastie,Victoria Rassmuss, Alice Wade and Alicia Whitaker. We never expected this and the nerves started to kick in. This time, the girls had to fight to 15 points against their opponent - extremely hard work, but they got a rest after every five minutes of fighting.

Overall scores: U13 Joint 3rd Amy Hunter

Alessia Rago U14 1st Victoria Rassmuss 2nd Imogen Davis 4th Louise Charlesworth-Herbert

Alice Wade

Alicia Whitaker 6th Helena Gray U17 2nd Helena Boase 3rd Georgia Wheatley 4th Erica Chung

U18 2nd Chloe Waller 3rd Lauren Wheatley 4th Penny Dowler

Lucy Evans In the U17 age group, the girl who came 1st was a GB Champion who is on track for the Rio Olympics, so Helena, Erica and Georgia had stiff competition! Overall, after the points were counted up, we beat Royal High by five points to make us Bath Schools’ Champions for the 3rd year running. Congratulations to all who took part.

We then hit the 4th pool, it was just so exciting. We had Anna Hastie, Victoria Rassmuss and Alice Wade in the last 32 - amazing! Victoria Rassmuss was up against a GB fencer who was extremely tactical and quick. Alice Wade put up a hard fight but, unluckily, she lost as well.

Anna Hastie managed to beat her opponent with a very nailbiting bout: 15-14.

Anna was into the last 16 of the competition. After a short break, she was called to her next round. She was up 10-8 when, sadly, she had an asthma attack. We were given a ten minute medical rest but we had to concede the match.

We will be back next year! Huge congratulations to all the girls; they were fantastic and gave everything they had - what an experience!

Mrs Natalie Baldwin Head of Activities and PE Teacher 33

St Mary’s continues to develop talent in cross country running. Regular weekly training sessions, older girl participation and greater numbers encourage others to take part and we have a very pleasing increasing pool of talent and a building enthusiasm for longer distance running.

Cross country running, or hare and hounds as it was first known, originated in public boys’ schools. It provided an opportunity for the boys to burn off some energy and was a means of keeping their high spirits in check; it was simple, competitive and fun, and ultimately led to Inter-House competition. These Inter-House/Company competitions continue to take place today more than 150 years on, with the sport, unlike many others, still retaining some of its simplicity - although time-keeping and spikes have certainly been a positive addition!

St Mary’s Inter-Company Cross Country Competition provided the opportunity for all girls to compete. It was really pleasing to see the commitment of the girls, whether regular runners or not, making a real effort to secure points for their Company, with great individual performances from Harriet Austin (LIV Form), Caroline Brenchley (MIV Form) and Ariana Watling (UIV Form) who finished in 1st place in their year groups. Moberly were the overall winners.

This season, we held our first home fixture against Malmesbury School, which was a great success. It gave our athletes another opportunity to compete over a course they were familiar with and was excellent preparation for the North Wiltshire Cross Country trials to come. Our runners stormed home winning each age group.

In the ESAA Cross Country Cup at Sir John Colfox School in Bridport, St Mary’s Intermediate and Junior Teams performed well. The course had a challenging steep ascent and descent which tested all runners; however, the Intermediate Girls put in an outstanding performance to finish in 2nd 34

place – Yasmin Watling 1st, Ariana Watling 8th, Grace Chambers 10th, Charlotte Fenton 20th, Jemima Madden 22nd, Diana Anikina 23rd (Top 4 Score). The Junior Team felt disappointment and satisfaction in equal measure: Caroline Brenchley was sadly unable to complete the course due to injury, having positioned herself 2nd leading into the hill climb; however, the rest of the team stepped up putting in some excellent performances to secure 3rd place overall - Flora Guy 7th, Lucy Fitzpatrick 14th, Harriet Austin 20th, Ella Malik 24th and Emma Warley 28th.

Both St Mary’s Teams went on to compete at the Regional Round of the ESAA Cross Country Cup held at Leweston School, Sherborne, where tricky muddy conditions led to a challenging run for all competitors. The Intermedaite Team put in some pleasing performances, with Ariana Watling finishing 15th and Jemima Madden 32nd out of 56 runners. Those girls who stepped up at the last minute ran well in this their first high level competition; however, the team sadly missed the expert running of their captain, Yasmin Watling, (due to injury) which would undoubtedly have secured the team a higher overall position than 10th. St Mary’s Junior Team also put in some pleasing performances, with Caroline Brenchley finishing 17th and Lucy Fitzpatrick 19th out of 63 finishers. Overall the team finished 9th out of 12 schools.

The North Wiltshire Area Cross Country Trials held at Grittleton House School saw considerable success for St Mary’s runners in all age groups: the Minor Team (LIV Form) and the Junior Team (MIV and UIV Form) finished 1st. At the Wiltshire County Cross Country Championships, also held at Grittleton House School, qualifying St Mary’s runners once again put in some excellent performances. Conditions were very wet underfoot, but it was a dry day and the course held up surprisingly well. It was the first race back for Yasmin Watling (Intermediate) and she put in a fantastic controlled run to finish 3rd out of 38 competitors securing the Bronze Medal; her

sister, Ariana, not to be outdone, finished 3rd in the Junior event, again securing Bronze. Also in the Junior competition, Lucy Fitzpatrick and Harriet Austin (both a year young) finished 11th and 16th respectively, with Lucy achieving a young competitor’s certificate for her run. In the Minor Girls age group, four St Mary’s runners finished in the top 15 out of 52 competitors: Davina Gray finished 2nd, Ella Malik 3rd, Annabel Fenton 12th and Shubha Shetty 13th impressive results.

Yasmin Watling (IG), Ariana Watling (JG), Davina Gray and Ella Malik (MG) all went on to compete for Wiltshire at the Regional Cross Country Championships at Kings Park in Bournemouth. Conditions for this event were challenging: high gusty winds and wet ground made the run demanding. Yasmin put in a great performance to finish 8th; Davina finished in 19th place and Ariana finished in 24th position (all out of 50 runners). Sadly Ella, who was running well on the first lap, went over on her ankle and was unable to complete the course. Both Yasmin and Ariana were selected to compete for Wiltshire at the ESAA National Cross Country Finals held at Donington Park Leicestershire.

They both ran well in a quality field and will undoubtedly have benefited enormously from the experience again this year.

It has been a very pleasing season with some notable success - success we will continue to build on next year.

Congratulations to all runners who have shown the necessary determination and commitment to train hard and reap the reward of glory for themselves, their team and the school. Well done.

Mrs Sally Hornby Cross Country Coach

NATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING WEEK

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Not All Scientists Wear White Coats!

The week commenced with an inspiring talk by Dr Philippa McKernan, a chiropractor who is co-authoring research projects into pain management and the placebo effect, and is also lead author for a project on lone worker safety.

This year has been a busy and successful year for the MFL Department. They launched the popular and informative LOL (‘learning of languages’) newsletter, which includes information about the languages learnt and events run at St Mary’s, cultural information on countries across the world, interviews with staff who speak another language and much more; they have also seen notable achievements in language competitions.

Old Wives’ Tales Our Sixth Form scientists gave a chapel on old wives’ tales and the scientific theories behind them. Ever wondered whether carrots actually enable you to see in the dark? There is some scientific explanation for this: they contain beta carotene which prevents Vitamin A deficiency.

However, this myth only gained popularity in WW2 to help explain the accuracy of fighter pilots in night time air raids.

Bridge Building Competition The LIV and MIV Forms were given a brief to design and construct a bridge out of drinking straws, spaghetti, balsa wood, string, plasticine and sellotape under a strict time limit. LIV Form designs had to cover a span of 30cms and the MIV Form had to cover 50cms. Each bridge was weighed and then tested using mass weights; various designs failed or were regarded as having an unfair advantage (being taped to the desk either side of the span!), but each Form produced a winning team and everyone showed much enthusiasm and displayed lots of engineering skills.

LIV Form Ella Fenton, Amalie Macnaughtan and Rose Morley MIV Form Camilla Lewin, Lucy Fitzpatrick, Jemima Ellis and Lauren Booth

UIV Form visit to the Big Bang Fair at the NEC Birmingham Welding with white chocolate, the science of superheroes, a stand run by the BBC about slow-motion cameras, a massive exploding watermelon, a bicycle attached to a blender for making smoothies, and optical illusions and types of glasses to see how our brain adapts to what we see, were just some of the activities on offer this year.

GCHQ and ALL Competition The UIV Form took part in a National Language Challenge Competition, run and judged

by GCHQ and the Association of Language Learning (ALL), designed to test linguistic skills and promote a greater take-up of language learning in schools.

The girls worked in small groups to create a presentation on a town or area of their choice where their target language was spoken. Our winning presentation on the Somme was submitted to GCHQ and, following a preliminary round at the University of Bristol, Anna Hastie and Jessica Westwood were selected to attend the final at their headquarters.

Anna and Jessica were asked to research a specific town or region in a country where the language they are studying is spoken and then present on it to the GCHQ and ALL judges in that language. Entries were in French, Spanish, German and even Mandarin, giving the judges a tough time to pick the best team. Despite not being the winners on the day, it was a fantastic achievement for both girls to have made it to the final and they received a well-deserved certificate of achievement.

Oxford German Olympiad All of our Fourth Form pupils learning German took part in the Oxford German Olympiad competition, run by the University of Oxford, on the theme of 1914. Several of our entries were commended: Frances Arnold, Rosie Horwood and Maia Jarvis. Pilar Lopez Guillen’s entry - a film poster for a silent film and a blurb about Charles Chaplin - was Highly Commended, and Pilar and her parents were invited to the awards ceremony at the Bodleian Library to receive her prize.

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ts from the Fifth and Sixth en ud st an rm Ge ur fo h, rc In mid-Ma ys immersing ourselves in da ur fo t en sp e W in. rl Be Forms went to redibly iting the sights of this inc vis d an , re ltu cu d an ge ua the lang mpanied by Mrs Jones and co ac e er w e W y. cit nt ra diverse and vib oup njunction with a larger gr co in t en w e w d an , on ins Mrs Wilk School in Marlborough. of students from St John’s

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Trips & Expeditions

On Thursday, our first day, our flight to the city arrived late in the evening.

Our hotel was in the district of Prenzlauer Berg, an area noted for the amount of historic buildings that still stand there; our hotel was housed in the top floor of a former factory. After checking in, we went right away to have dinner at a nearby pizzeria, a meal for which all of us were thankful after our long day travelling.

The next morning, we were woken by the sound of builders at work in the courtyard just outside our window, which began with typical German efficiency exactly at 8am!

After a delicious breakfast, we left and made our way by tram to the centre of the city, which didn’t take long as our hotel was only a short ride away from Alexanderplatz and the beautiful buildings of the Hackescher Markt. We spent the entire morning on a walking tour, guided by a German-American repatriate whose words about Berlin, past and present, were fascinating to hear – it gave us a lot to think about and much to unlearn.

We visited many of the most well-known landmarks of the city, such as the concert hall and the two churches at opposite ends of Gendarmenmarkt (both Protestant and both identical in design, but one belonging to persecuted French Huguenots and one to German Lutherans), the Berliner Dom, the Fassbender und Rausch chocolate shop and, finally, the iconic Brandenburg Gate. The contrasts of the architecture we saw were fascinating, as centuries-old buildings stood beside post-war blocks of flats and modern buildings that are still works in progress. We also saw some poignant memorials: one in Bebelplatz in memory of the book-burning that took place there under the Nazi regime

and the other a memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust, which consisted of 2,000 rectangular concrete blocks of various shapes and sizes with narrow pathways between them for visitors to walk through. As one walks deeper amongst them, they become taller and taller and the sky begins to disappear – it’s an almost claustrophobic experience and the blocks are reminiscent, perhaps, of gravestones.

In the afternoon, we visited the German Parliament, the Reichstag building, and were given a tour inside, including into the Bundestag (the equivalent of the House of Commons) itself. Its architecture is very unique and there are many reminders of the importance and presence of the public: for instance, there’s a glass ceiling at the top of the building through which tourists and the public can look down and see Parliament in session and, for those inside, it’s also a reminder that the public is always watching and should always remain the priority.

The next morning, despite getting lost and confused by the public transport system on the way, we visited Hohenschoenhausen, a former prison under the Communist government in East Germany that mainly housed political prisoners and those trying to leave for the West. The site is now a memorial and museum, largely operated by those who have personal connections to the museum: for instance, the grandfather and uncle of the young man who showed us around had both been imprisoned there.

After that, we split up: most went shopping while others visited the beautifully designed

Berliner Dom and some of the art and architecture museums on Museumsinsel.

We met up at the Kaufhaus Des Westens (‘Department Store of the West’, usually abbreviated to KaDeWe), the largest department store in Europe, where we especially enjoyed the cakes and crêpes!

On Sunday, our last day in Berlin, we visited Checkpoint Charlie and the museum there.

The last sight we visited was the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall. The Wall is now covered with graffiti and artwork - some professional, but much done by members of the public (many tourists still leave their names or messages there), and the colours and vibrancy of the artwork were very striking on so rainy and grey an afternoon. We saw a lot of graffiti in Berlin, but often it seemed to add to rather than spoil or detract from the buildings and sites where we saw it: for instance, although much of the Reichstag was reconstructed in the post-war years, part of the original building still stands and it’s possible to read graffiti left by the Russian soldiers when the building was captured.

Much of the graffiti we saw related to politics, culture and society in Berlin, which became a part of history itself.

After walking along the East Side Gallery, we went back to our hotel to collect our luggage and then returned to the airport. Although all of us were glad when we finally got back to school and to bed at 3am, we all greatly missed Berlin and the exciting opportunity it gave us to improve our knowledge of the language while learning about the culture and history, and we would love to go back.

Tesni Beautyman LVI Form 37

ievement the girls a sense of ach We have aimed to give ulum and ric cur agement with the through pro-active eng want we at wh of p a clear sense have striven to develo than her rat , eks e during the we them to learn and achiev be occupied. how we want them to of w deliver a clear sense Enrichment Weeks no ts, with jec sub en purpose betwe cohesion and common ure uct str the ng embedded in cross-curricular thinki a of n tio implementa of the week through the oted of the three weeks dev o tw in thematic approach s me the umn and spring to enrichment. The aut ’ e of Britain’ and ‘China Fac ing were ‘The Chang wed allo r me week in the sum respectively. The final ued val hly hig g-standing and greater flexibility for lon . de Bu to LIV Form trip experiences, such as the rk with e the opportunity to wo The girls also now hav ir the n eve or ir year group others from outside the in the int po key a ese weeks are phase of education. Th ty and bili nsi po res e demonstrat calendar, where girls can viding pro o als ilst wh ls, younger gir support their peers and ir own portunity to develop the them with a valuable op ication skills. leadership and commun ls of ild self-esteem, allow gir Enrichment aims to bu mote pro and ne wess to shi all levels of academic pro independent learning.

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work they se of ownership of the They should feel a sen of girls. ether as a community do through working tog ness of e where the girls’ aware Enrichment is also a tim portunities raised and there are op global or local issues is incorporated charitable endeavours for social education or weeks. into the structure of the year and we have really shone this Our Fourth Form girls se unique achievements during the are very proud of their experiences.

People, in one form or another, have lived in the British Isles for over 800,000 years, and few countries in the world can lay claim to such a rich tapestry of history and cultur e. 63 million people live in the UK, 53 million of whom live in England. Whilst 72% of the population declare thems elves to be Christian, Britain is a welcoming home, for the most part, to people of many faiths and backgrounds. 3% of Britons are Muslims and a further 1% are Hindus. In the 2001 Census, 390,000 people declared their religion to be Jedi Knight, making them the 4th largest religion in the country, though I am still unsure of where they go to church!

Great Britain is a complex and unique place with many attributes of which we can be proud . Britain can claim the invention of many of the world’s most important creations, from the steam engine, telescope, jet engine, electric motor, television, stainless steel and the hypodermic needle to the pneumatic tyre, lawnmower and tin can.

Britain saw the birth of some of the world’s greate st people, from Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Sir Isaac Newton, Florence Nightingale, Admiral Lord Nelson, Jane Austen, Willia m Shakespeare, Boudicca and Charles Darwin, to John Lennon, David Attenborough, J.K Rowling and Hannah Cock croft.

London is home to people from over 90 countries and is approaching a demo graphic spectrum of almost 50% white British people and 50% people from other ethnic groups. London is hailed by many as a global example of an integrated multicultura l society.

This week was a celebration of British life and cultur e, and the girls had the opportunity to learn a great deal about how this nation has metamorphosed and evolve d over time.

The Classics, English and History Departments, for example, looked back to the events that formed Britain today . The PE Department exhibited sports of the future, such as extreme frisbee, and the Religious Studies Department exam ined how Christianity has shaped our lives over the years. The girls had the opportunity to learn a little Polish, create their own Damian Hirst inspired artwork, or see how the Mulberry brand has adapted to the current economic climate.

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rse that made sition into the Year of the Ho It was not only the timely tran r all, one in vant Enrichment theme. Afte China an appropriate and rele perspective, et is Chinese. To put that into five of all people on the plan the entire e age as our girls or under than China has more people the sam d. , Germany and Italy combine populations of the UK, France world’s second es in almost every way. As the China is a country of extrem as the USA wn at a rate seven times as fast largest economy, that has gro the 91st richest seem surprising that China is over the last ten years, it may – below Bosnia, mined per capita (per head) country in the world when exa at a dramatic whilst China has progressed for example. This means that million e potential. China has over 1 rate, the economy still has hug ld. wor the in ntry cou ber of any millionaires – the highest num ntion, giving the forefront of design and inve Historically, China has been at alcohol, silk, the mechanical clock, matches, tea, the world paper, printing, the . Today, China is th fillings – the list is endless compass, gunpowder, iron, too of all things of production of goods, with 20% the world leader in the mass than 90% of borders. In some cases, more all kinds being made inside her for example. na: shoes, umbrellas and toys specific goods are made in Chi ctices than any emic traditions and cultural pra China has arguably more end , tai chi, the Kite making and tea ceremonies other country in the world. few. The girls and Feng Shui to name but a Beijing opera, lucky numbers tial arts, Chinese week with workshops on mar enjoyed a varied and exciting e but a few. lions – and calligraphy to nam art – including making dancing

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While the LIV Form were in Bude, the MI V and UIV Form took part in a variety of trips and activities…

The MIV Form visite d @Bristol to explo re, learn about and be enthu sed by Science and Te chnology.

They solved the case of ‘the petrol statio n bandit’ using the Forensic Sc ience techniques of fin gerprint analysis, fibre and ha ir microscopy, and tre ad pattern comparison. In the planetarium, they we re tre ated to a wonderful displa y and explanation of the nig ht sky, and learnt abou t the life cycle of a sta r an d bla ck holes. After an after noon of exploring the exhibits, making mini tornad os and building bridg es, the girls returned happy and excited about Scien ce.

The UIV Form took part in a day’s Bush craft course in Oxford. They lea rnt how to make a fire without matches so that the y could cook their lunch; they pla yed ‘Predator’, which was a game all about stealth and camoufl age; they made bracelets with parachute string and, finally, lea rnt how to make animal traps.

The Maths Departm ent organised a trip for the MIV Form to Beaulieu Na tional Motor Museum , Abbey and Palace House to learn about the histo ry of motoring. The muse um houses a collecti on of over 250 automobiles an d motorcycles, tellin g the story of motoring on the roads of Britain fro m the dawn of motoring to the present day. The gir ls ha d the opportunity to sit in some of the vehicles , such as the ‘Outspan’ orange car and a 1960’s Lo ndon bus.

Mr Dan Curran Head of Enrichmen t

The MIV Form explo red the coastal features at Lu lworth Cove, Durdle Door and Durlston Head , looking at the processes of co astal erosion and the different coastal landforms, co mpleting written ass ignments and sketches.

The MIV and some UIV Form girls spent a day designin g and building mode l speedboats with po lystyrene, card, a small battery powe red motor, a switch and some wires. In the afternoon, they tested their speedb oats for stability, speed and load carry ing in a water tank.

The winning design was a catamaran, which was very fast!

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Reviews

The Music Scene The Chamber Choir was delighted to sing at the Licensing Service of our new Chaplain, the Reverend Jonathan Beach, in September, which was led by the Bishop of Salisbury.

The Company Shout provided much fun and a high decibel level in Chapel and the adjudicator, Mr Andrew Cleary, Director of Music at Christ’s Hospital Horsham, was impressed by the sheer enthusiasm of all the girls at this very important annual event in the St Mary’s calendar. October’s performances of the musical Evita, held in The Delscey Burns Theatre, were extremely successful and well-received by capacity audiences on each night and demonstrated the extremely professional standard which girls at St Mary’s can achieve.

The Fourth Form Music Competition was held in the first week after Half Term. Every girl in the Fourth Form was required to perform and it was a delight to hear so many wellprepared and competent performances. It was a much harder task to choose 16 finalists to perform at the concert the following week for Mr Phillip Bell, who joined us from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden to adjudicate.

Mr Bell commented on all of the girls’ high standard of performance and, having said that he wished he could have created extra places for joint third and joint second places, declared that Music Scholar Maia Jarvis was the overall winner.

We were delighted to be joined by the Warminster Military Wives Choir and the Chamber Choir of St Margaret’s in midNovember to present ‘Cantabile’ an evening of music in aid of The Armed Forces Fund.

The Chamber Choir, which I conduct, were ably accompanied by Musician in Residence Miss Kamila Radzvilaite (piano) and Mr Christopher Dowie (organ) and they

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delighted the capacity audience in Chapel with a high quality selection of sacred and secular music.

It was also a treat to enjoy the solo singing of our Director of Vocal Studies, Mrs Bethan Dudley Fryar. The evening ended with a rousing performance of Sing and Land of Hope and Glory sung by the whole audience. The evening raised over £6,000 for the Fund.

The Jazz Café concert - held on St Cecilia’s Day - showcased the excellent work of our singers and ensembles. Successfully using the theatre for the first time, it was good to hear excellent performances from a variety of singers, as well as Jazz Band, Sinfonietta, Flute Ensemble and the String Quartet. We thank Mrs Debbie Matthews, Miss Ruth Collings, Mrs Bethan Dudley Fryar and Mrs Sarah Loveridge for coaching all of these performers to such a high standard.

The Chamber Choir were on top form at the Confirmation Service, where they led the singing with gusto. The service was greatly enhanced by the choral music, which included the excellent Bednall Missa Brevis Mass setting as well as a variety of anthems during the service.

Once again, a selection of singers from different year groups, led by Mrs Alta Ridgway, travelled to the Royal Albert Hall in early December to take part in a performance of Messiah by G F Handel. It was a fantastic experience for the girls to perform with a large choir in such elegant surroundings.

The Chamber Choir raised almost £19,000 when they sang at Chelsea Old Church in early December in aid of the charity RAPt.

Appearing with actors from the stage and screen, including Robert Glenister, Bob Kingdom, Niamh Cusack, James Nesbitt, Joely Richardson and the internationally renowned pianist Lucy Parham, the girls, accompanied

by Mr Martin Ford, Assistant Organist of Westminster Abbey, sang a varied Christmas programme which was extremely wellreceived by all present.

Later that week, the Choir made a return visit to the beautiful Chapel at Bowood House to present a programme of Christmas carols at the kind invitation of Lord and Lady Landsdowne, as part of their charity fundraising Bowood Christmas Extravaganza.

The Chamber Choir was delighted to sing in the presence of HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, who expressed her delight at hearing the Chamber Choir sing for the second year in succession.

The school Carol Service was held in Calne’s beautiful Parish Church and, as usual, it was packed. The Chamber Choir were on top form, singing a variety of carols including John Tavener’s The Lamb - poignantly topical as he had only just passed away - and also Malcolm Archer’s carol written especially for St Mary’s.

Mrs Ridgway worked hard with the Junior Choir and they sang very well. The sound of the String Sinfonia, directed by Mrs Loveridge, was also electrifying. As part of the Music Department’s programme of outreach in the community, the Junior Choir was pleased to journey to Marden Court care home, where they sang a lovely programme of Christmas carols for the residents.

Mr Phillip Bell from the Royal Opera House and Miss Tori Jordan, MD of the Footsteps Dance Company, they inspired the visiting girls to produce a high quality performance of songs and dance for their teachers and parents at the end of each day.

Music Scholars and members of the UV Form GCSE Music class were treated to a fabulous performance of music by Dowland, given by the international tenor Ian Bostridge and the Viol Consort ‘Fretwork’ at Marlborough College in early January. Furthering the Music Department’s community outreach programme, concerts at both Foxham and Royal Wootton Bassett were very well-received. Mrs Matthews arranged a successful Flute Day which was well support by St Mary’s pupils and attracted a good number of young flautists from the surrounding area.

Miss Radzvilaite and I accompanied a group of LVI Form singers to Oxford for a Choral Workshop Day at Merton College in early February. Led by Mr Ben Nicholas, the Director of Music, the day gave the girls an invaluable insight into what is expected of Choral Scholars and the day ended with the girls singing an uplifting choral evensong in the College Chapel. Later that week, we were all treated to a most enjoyable concert given by Miss Radzvilaite and Mrs Hilary Malcolm, demonstrating the high calibre of professional musicians who comprise the Music Department team. As ever, the Music Department continues to be a very busy place at St Mary’s, continuously striving for and achieving high standards.

The Department maintained its customary busy schedule of events in the second half of the Spring Term, treating members of our Symphony Orchestra to a late February concert outing to hear the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra play a range of exciting ‘superheroes’ music at the Colston Hall in Bristol. The Golden Lily Awards, held the following week, celebrated the excellent contribution to the Arts made by many girls throughout the year. On the following night, the Chamber Choir and soloists gave a splendid concert at the Merchant Taylor’s Hall in the City of London which raised valuable funds for The Armed Forces Fund. Miss Radzvilaite in particular won everyone’s praise and admiration for her stunning piano solos.

In March, I led a highly successful Music Theatre Workshop for Year 5 pupils from local prep and primary schools. Joined by

Pupils and staff were treated to a hugely entertaining a capella lunchtime concert of songs given by The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus from Yale University in the Chapel and, later that day, I took a party of girls to Dauntsey’s School to hear stunning performances from the inspirational, world-renowned deaf percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.

Our own students gave a splendid Spring Concert to a packed Chapel on the last Saturday of the Spring Term.

Outstanding performances were heard from the Symphony Orchestra, String Sinfonia, Junior Choir, Jazz Band, UVI Vocal Ensemble, Opera Group, Flute Ensemble and Chamber Choir, showcasing the excellent work which continues in our Music Department on a weekly basis.

For the first time, the concert was successfully streamed to parents abroad and we will look to develop this concept for future events.

The Chamber Choir, accompanied by Miss Ruth Collings, Mrs Sarah Wilkinson, my wife and me, spent five days of the Easter Holidays on tour in Paris. 15 parents also travelled to Paris to support the girls’ performances.

Accompanied on the organ by Mr Martin Ford, Assistant Organist of Westminster Abbey, the girls gave four concerts in two days, singing in St Sulpice to an audience of 80, La Madeleine to an audience of 200, in Chantilly to an audience of 150 and in the Cathedral of Notre Dame to an audience of over 1,000. Here the concert organiser informed me that 75% of the choirs who send demo CDs to be considered are rejected and that the Director of Music at Notre Dame is now very keen for the Cathedral Choir to work with our Chamber Choir on a joint choral project - an honour which is apparently seldom offered!

Subsequently, we have received numerous

letters from parents and members of the public complimenting the girls on their high standard of singing and their exemplary behaviour.

To quote the Reverend Samways, priest at Chantilly: ‘The concert they provided was an absolute delight - the creative programme was delivered with joy, freedom and warmth… all underpinned by a well-disciplined musical gift.

All who came were thrilled to be there.’

The Summer Term started with the Opera Group performing Mark David Boden’s Drifting in a Starless Space, specially commissioned by the Music Department to coincide with the commemoration of the start of the First World War, at a fundraising event at Bowood House. The Concert Artists and Jazz Band performed the next day for visitors to the Millennium Centre, Cardiff before enjoying a performance of Wicked. Sixth Form members of the Chamber Choir sang a ‘Songs of Praise’ service to raise money for All Saints Church at Yatesbury and, later that week, the Symphony Orchestra was joined by a variety of instrumentalists to present a varied programme of music at St Andrew’s Church in Chippenham which raised valuable funds for the Debs Price Foundation.

In June, musicians from the MIV and UIV Forms worked with the Music in Action Team from Bath Philharmonia and pupils from The John Bentley School to compose a 50 minute piece based on the names of the WWI soldiers who are commemorated on the Calne War Memorial.

The girls linked their moving, high-quality compositions to a montage of pictures of wartime Calne and scenes of the battlefields. They gave a schools’ performance in the afternoon to an audience of 100 and then St Mary’s Church was packed by friends, family and members of the local community in the evening. Many were noticeably moved by the sheer beauty and sensitivity that all the pupils brought to such a difficult subject with such a fitting tribute to those from Calne who lost their lives in the Great War. As ever, music is very much at the centre of life at St Mary’s and our many musicians continue to make an extremely important contribution to the life of the whole community.

Mr Hugh Sutton Director of Music 43

Reviews

Music Examination Results

ABRSM Examinations Spring Term 2014

ABRSM Examinations Autumn Term 2013 Name Instrument Grade Result Jamie Chen Singing 1 Merit Lucy Jefford Singing 2 Pass Caroline Brenchley Singing 3 Pass Lily Cayzer-Colvin Singing 3 Pass Felicity Challinor Singing 3 Merit Imogen Davis Singing 3 Distinction Imogen Davis Piano 3 Merit Hope Nicholson Singing 3 Distinction Verity Page Bassoon 3 Distinction Isabella Depla Singing 4 Pass Ava Howard Singing 4 Merit Jemima Madden Violin 4 Pass Amelia Saer Piano 4 Pass Isobel Slater Singing 4 Merit Annabel Sumner Bassoon 4 Merit Vassula Wong Violin 4 Pass Helena Boase Theory 5 Pass Imogen Dobie Theory 5 Merit Emily Peel Singing 5 Merit Amelia Saer Theory 5 Pass Luana Sharp Flute 5 Pass Ila Shetty Theory 5 Pass Annabel Sumner Singing 5 Distinction Annabel Sumner Theory 5 Merit Aimee Tian Piano 5 Pass Alice Wade Piano 5 Pass Alicia Whitaker Singing 5 Pass Bonnie Bartlett Singing 6 Merit Vera Cheong Singing 6 Distinction Vera Cheong Piano 6 Pass Kristen Know Piano 6 Pass Hannah McLintock Violin 6 Pass Lizzie Prater Violin 6 Distinction Maia Jarvis Piano 7 Distinction Imogen Giddins Singing 8 Merit

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Name Georgina Auvray Farida Adewale Carolina Stott Iona Aylwin Lucy Humphries Georgia Leaf Jazz Wong Lucile Allender Daisy Crone Lily Douglas-Pennant Ella Fenton Katya Green Georgia Leaf Jemima Madden Rachel McNeile Rachel McNeile Isobel Slater Clementine Trelawny Lucia Vint Matilda White Harriet Jackson Maia Jarvis Joyce Lam Betty Mak Evie Nicholson Juliet Purdy Maiya Roberts Frances Arnold Thea Dillon Lucy Humphries Amelia Jacobs Georgina Higgins Sophie Mallinson Eliza Perry Shubha Shetty Emily Clarke Emily Clarke Matilda Jacobs Marina Jodrell Rosie Leng Hannah McLintock Marina Vestbirk Miranda Giddins Miranda Giddins Rosie Leng Annabel O’Grady Francesca Pullan Amelia Saer Isobel Smith Vera Cheong Mariella de Soissons Emilia Flack Sassie Patel Jess Patel Rosie Tabor Hannah Wu

Instrument Grade Result Piano Prep Pass Piano 1 Distinction Piano 1 Pass Singing 2 Merit Piano 2 Distinction Piano 2 Pass Singing 2 Distinction Singing 3 Distinction Flute 3 Pass Singing 3 Merit Alto Saxaphone 3 Pass Alto Saxaphone 3 Merit Clarinet 3 Pass Singing 3 Pass Piano 3 Distinction Singing 3 Pass Viola 3 Merit Singing 3 Pass Singing 3 Distinction Singing 3 Merit Violin 4 Merit Singing 4 Distinction Singing 4 Merit Organ 4 Distinction Singing 4 Pass Singing 4 Merit Singing 4 Merit Singing 5 Merit Singing 5 Merit Singing 5 Pass Singing 5 Distinction Jazz Saxophone 5 Merit Jazz Flute 5 Distinction Jazz Flute 5 Distinction Flute 5 Distinction Singing 6 Pass Violin 6 Pass Clarinet 6 Merit Violin 6 Pass Piano 6 Merit Piano 6 Merit Piano 6 Pass Singing 7 Pass Viola 7 Pass Singing 7 Merit Singing 7 Pass Singing 7 Merit Singing 7 Pass Singing 7 Distinction Singing 8 Merit Singing 8 Distinction Singing 8 Distinction Oboe 8 Distinction Oboe 8 Merit Singing 8 Pass Piano 8 Merit

ABRSM Examinations Summer Term 2014 Name Tabitha Clark Emily Sandbach Poppy Thistlethwaite Rosie Horwood Alessia Rago Rosie Horwood Camilla Lewin Imogen Davis Hope Nicholson Verity Page Phoebe Aldridge Frances Arnold Rachel McNeile Gefei Yin Jess Patel Ila Shetty

Instrument Grade Result Flute 1 Merit Piano 1 Merit Singing 1 Pass Violin 2 Merit Piano 2 Pass Singing 3 Pass Piano 3 Pass Piano 4 Pass Singing 4 Distinction Piano 4 Pass Piano 5 Pass Theory 5 Merit Theory 5 Distinction Theory 5 Merit Singing 6 Distinction Violin 6 Pass

Trinity Guildhall Autumn Term 2013 Results

Name Exam Grade Result Jemima Ellis Singing 2 Distinction Gemma Enthoven French Horn 2 Pass Lucy Fitzpatrick Cornet 3 Merit Emily Sandbach Singing 3 Merit Eve Webster Piano 3 Merit Isabella Depla Trumpet 4 Pass Christine Lau Percussion 4 Merit Camilla Lewin Clarinet 4 Merit Juliet Baker Singing IC Pass Charlotte Wailes-Fairbairn Singing IC Pass Daisy Gray Singing 5 Pass Sophia Guinness Flute 5 Merit Imogen Parr Singing 5 Pass Eve Webster Singing 5 Merit Emily Dando-Crosasso Singing 6 Merit Annabel Dring Singing 6 Merit Georgina Haynes Singing 6 Pass Georgia Murdoch Singing 6 Merit Ila Shetty Clarinet 6 Distinction Imogen Dobie Flute 7 Merit Eleanor Dove Recorder 7 Distinction Natasha Thompson Clarinet 7 Pass Rock School Isabella Iversen

Singing

5

‘The results of the Trinity and Associated Board practical music examinations reflect the tremendous amount of hard work and practice displayed by our pupils, and the high standard of professionalism and dedication of our expert team of full time musicians and visiting music teachers.’ Mr Hugh Sutton Director of Music

Trinity Guildhall Summer Term 2014 Results

Name Exam Grade Result Marina Jodrell Singing IC Merit Rosie Horwood Piano 2 Distinction Ella Malik Singing 2 Merit Maisie Medcalf Singing 2 Pass Jolie Ryan-Dawes Singing 2 Distinction Jemima Ellis Singing 3 Merit Jemima Webb Singing 3 Pass Gemma Enthoven Singing 4 Pass Lucy Fitzpatrick Cornet 4 Pass Kirsten Higgins Trumpet 4 Pass Eliza Whitfield Singing 4 Pass Hope Nicholson Cello 5 Pass Kristina Wolf Singing 5 Distinction Ariana Watling Singing 5 Pass Emily Peel Cello 6 Pass Alexis Purdy Saxophone 6 Merit Taya Sellers Singing 6 Merit Francesca Swallow Flute 6 Distinction Clara Wade Cello 6 Merit Eloise Le Fevre Singing 7 Pass Rosie Dalley Singing 8 Merit Isabella Grive Singing 8 Distinction Olivia Kold Singing 8 Merit Maria Perry Singing 8 Merit Sophie Rushman Singing 8 Pass Rock School Naomi Green

Singing

4

Merit

Merit

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Sports Reports

Netball, like all sports, has moved on from its earliest days of competition.

A more professional approach is now required and players train fulltime with the backup of sports psychologists, nutritionists, conditioning/fitness trainers, top level managers and skill specific coaches - all increasingly important as they work to compete with other teams at the top of their game.

In school, we may not have the luxury of fulltime training, but we certainly strive to help each individual and team achieve the very best they can. Players understand the need for commitment to team training, personal fitness and skill development; they understand the importance of analysis in order to get the best out of themselves and, increasingly, they understand the need for mental toughness.

With numbers ever increasing, this season St Mary’s put out 16 teams, had 132 friendly matches (excluding tournaments) and scored 1,843 goals - some pretty impressive figures.

The two Senior Netball Teams played some very pleasing netball under the captaincy of Eleanor Dove and Rosie Dalley. Our senior game is steadily improving and we are beginning to step up and meet the challenge of playing bigger schools. There will undoubtedly be defeat along the way but, if used constructively, these defeats can often be a positive, helping to strengthen resolve and identify areas for improvement.

The 1st VII had two particularly pleasing hardfought matches: one against Devizes School, the County Champions, which we won and a second, which we narrowly lost, against Ralph Allen School, who have been consistently successful at Regional level. The 2nd VII finished the season on a high, winning their final three matches against St John’s, Warminster and King Edward’s. At the County U19 Tournament, the 1st VII had their best result to date: they played six matches in their pool, winning five and

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losing one. In the semi-final, they lost to New College which meant they played off for 3rd/4th place against Marlborough College. They played with great determination, having lost to Marlborough in the pool match, and came out on top, winning 7-5 and securing 3rd position overall - an excellent result.

The U16 Teams this season revealed that they have tremendous potential. Individually they are prepared to work hard and have a real desire to succeed. The challenge was to put in place structure and thorough court play that would enable them to play at a higher level whilst, at the same time, enabling them to have a system to fall back on when pressure is applied in the game. Having started the autumn season with a number of defeats, the teams started to succeed. In the Spring Term, the U16B Team had some pleasing wins against Sheldon A Team and Warminster, and a particularly close hard-fought match against Dauntsey’s which they lost by one goal. Not to be outdone, the U16A Team had significant wins over Warminster, Wycliffe and South Wilts Grammar School, as well as a stunning match against Marlborough College, which they narrowly lost by one goal. Both teams and individuals had clearly made great progress which augers well for the future.

The U15 Netball Teams are a force to be reckoned with: they play with passion, enthusiasm and great determination, although, it has to be said, at times on the very edge of control! Together the three U15 teams have won 17 friendly matches and lost only two - an undeniably impressive result.

The U15A and U15B Teams stood out at the North Wiltshire Area Tournaments, winning both the A and B Team competitions. As a result, the U15A Team was invited to compete at the Wiltshire Sainsbury’s School Games held at Kingdown School in Warminster. Nine schools from across the county took part, with the final a nail-biting competition between St Mary’s and Godolphin, one where we came out on top winning 7-6. The team finished as County Champions - a fantastic end to an amazing season.

With a new intake of girls in UIV Form, it took time at the beginning of the year for the U14 Teams to settle and start to play as effective units. There is significant depth at this age group and they clearly have considerable potential which, as the season progressed, was clear to see. At the North Wiltshire Area Tournament, the U14A and U14B Team finished 2nd in their respective tournaments, with the U14A Team qualifying for the County Final. At County, they competed well against strong opposition to finish 5th out of ten teams. In March, a mixed U14 Squad travelled to Shropshire to compete in a two day netball tournament at Condover Hall. The team had some excellent wins on day one and, after a hard morning on day two, they qualified for the semi-final against Sacred Heart, which they won. In the final, they came up against an outstanding Yarm team and lost, but the weekend had been a great success and the team had clearly moved on and were now playing at a much higher level.

The U13 Netball Teams had a positive season, with the U13B and U13C Teams unbeaten in friendly matches. The U13A & U13B Teams both performed well at the North Wiltshire Area Tournament, with the U13A Team finishing runners-up and the U13B Team winning their respective competitions. Again, a pleasing commitment to training and a real desire to improve across all teams means individuals are challenging for positions and driving each other to raise standards of play.

The U12 Teams had a great season. They have bags of energy, masses of potential and a real enthusiasm for the game. The four teams played 24 friendly matches and lost only six.

They show a clear desire to succeed and have all made great progress with their individual skills and team play. The U12A Team went on to win the North Wiltshire Area Tournament after winning all of their matches.

St Mary’s Netball Teams have had much success this year. It has been really rewarding to witness the progress made in all age groups and at all levels.

Success breeds success but, equally, from failure we can learn to overcome our weaknesses and gain strength. We know we cannot be complacent: other teams continue to raise their game and we have to do the same if we hope to compete. I have no doubt that St Mary’s players will continue to strive to do their very best and move into next season with new personal and team goals. Well done.

Mrs Sally Hornby Netball Coach

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Trips & Expeditions

On the Friday of the Spring Half Term, the LVI Form began their journey to Florence. The trip was aimed at helping us to consolidate our knowledge of our studies, whilst broadening our understanding of how to view and analyse clearly.

We were all expecting freezing cold weather in Pisa and had packed thermals and big warm coats but, much to our surprise, when we arrived it was warm and sunny! After catching a bus to the Hotel California, we had a chance to look around Florence and take in the atmosphere. The Duomo, which dominates the city with its enormous dome, was right next to our hotel, so it was always easy to find our way back. In the evening, we went for a Valentine’s supper of pizza from a wood-burning oven, which we walked to via the Ponte Vecchio.

The distinctive bridge houses the medieval workshops that produced the gold jewellery and coins that made Florence the centre of European banking during the Early Renaissance. We finished off our first evening in the Piazza della Republica, where the Giubbe Rosse Café has been a meeting place for famous Futurism artists and writers for many years.

On Saturday morning, our first visit was to the Bargello, now home to Italy’s foremost collection of sculpture. The Bargello was a prison until fairly recently and we speculated on the original function of the ominous iron rings suspended from the high vaulted ceiling! The focus for study was a detailed examination of Donatello’s David and St George which, although different in medium and style, both expressed the characteristics of the Early Renaissance. David was commissioned by the Medici family to be 48

placed in their palace for private viewing. Made in bronze through the lost wax process, he has a figura serpentina. David is depicted in the moment after slaying Goliath, on whose head his foot is resting.

Seeing the sculpture meant that we were able to appreciate the finest details, which are difficult to see in a photograph.

We wrote a formal analysis where we described David’s composition, scale, pattern and line and shape amongst other features.

We noticed the remains of gilding in his hair, which falls loosely over his shoulders. David was the first nude since antiquity and this moment depicts him as a young man; his torso is idealised with some muscle definition. Also, David is wearing Roman boots which may relate to Mercury; this ensured that the sculpture had links back to antiquity which elevated its status. The Medici, who were one of the most influential families in Florence, commissioned the sculpture in order to show their status and wealth.

Next we visited the Pazzi Chapel, where we saw the importance of grasping atmosphere and scale in a way that is impossible through reproductions. Brunelleschi’s example of proportional planning was commissioned by the Pazzi family, rivals of the Medici family, for private worship. The classical vocabulary relating to antiquity associated the chapel with learning, power, control and economic strength. Inside, the huge dome is separated into 12 equal segments which represent the 12 apostles.

The perfect centrally-planned interior links the chapel to God and perfection, and creates the harmony and balance suitable for a place of Christian worship. The chapel is intimate

enough for private worship, yet large enough for a meeting place for the Franciscan monks. We noticed a cold and unwelcoming atmosphere when we walked in, which was very different from the warmth outside. This unsettling feeling may have been because it is rumoured to be the place where the Pazzi family plotted to kill their rivals, Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Juliano…

In the afternoon, we turned our attention to painting and moved on to explore Masaccio and Masolino’s contributions to the Brancacci Chapel. Through the theme of ‘the life of St Peter’, the frescos show worldly and spiritual concerns in a new visual language based on the antique. Masaccio’s Tribute Money, in the Early Renaissance style, demonstrates that the issue of taxation was as pertinent in 1425 as it is now and we used our ‘microscopic eyes’ to spot the coin placed in the mouth of the fish discovered

by Peter, which is a clue to the painting’s central meaning. Masolino’s fresco, in contrast, was painted in the International Gothic style, where decoration was more important and the figures seem flatter.

Then we went to the medieval town of Pisa.

Due to its position by the sea, Pisa was even more powerful than Florence in the Middle Ages and occupied a role in Italy’s foreign ventures. We walked to the Campo dei Miracoli, where the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa is located. The leaning tower was completed in 1350, when its seven bells were hung.

On Sunday morning, we made an early start and arrived at the Medici Palace ready to be awed by its large overhanging cornice, rusticated exterior and medieval bifora windows. This foreboding exterior only made the serenity and antique grace of the classical interior more enticing. Hidden deep in the interior of the Palazzo, the chapel, decorated with jewel-like frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli, celebrated both the Adoration of the Magi and the Medici family, who participated in the procession via their depiction as members of the crowd.

On the outside, the Medici family crest can be seen, raising their status and showing their power. The Medici Palace was intended to be a place for the family to live, whilst providing security and demonstrating their importance.

In the afternoon, we were fortunate enough to spend four hours in the Uffizi Gallery, to look at Italian paintings and undertake detailed

observations of specific examples studied in class. We worked in the Botticelli room and were finally able to view the Primavera. We were shocked by its large scale, but also captivated by the mysterious combination of Neo-Platonic symbolism and ethereal beauty that continues to mesmerise the viewer.

On Monday morning, our last few hours were spent in the Cathedral Museum examining Ghiberti’s magnificent bronze doors, which he completed for the East entrance to the Baptistery. These doors are entirely gilded and complement his first set which are still in situ on the North façade. They demonstrate the close relationship between Guild patronage, the financial and artistic success; the Arte del Calimala commissioned the works in order to show their prestige and power.

We looked specifically at the Isaac panel and commented on the use of orthogonals to provide space and depth. Its highly polished, gilded surface makes it seem expensive and suitable as a religious monument.

After a fabulous weekend, we got on the plane back to London, confident that we were more prepared for our exams. The History of Art examination is split into two parts, each consisting of three short essays on architecture, painting and sculpture. With this secured knowledge and a first-hand understanding of the sources, our revision became a lot easier!

Maria Perry and Iona Bromage LVI Form

49

Trips & Expeditions

k part in CAA Our LIV and MIV Form gir ls too out the year. on Friday afternoons through and challenges Different teambuilding activities them get to know built their confidence, helped lot of fun! each other better and were a

.

We did so much in CAA this year lots was walk and p The CAA cam of fun. The LIV and MIV Forms were put into groups together and we had to walk to a campsite. We then spent the night in tents. We also had three trips to the Cotswold Water Park. There was a range of activities that you could take part in, such as high ropes, ing, windsurfing build raft and kayaking.

es like how to administer We also learnt some medical procedur to bandage up different types CPR and mouth to mouth and how building activities in the of wounds. We also did lots of team tors and mentees around lessons; one of these was guiding men been a very enjoyable year the school grounds blindfolded. It has . in CAA and I can’t wait until next year Tegen Dixon-Clarke, LIV Form 50

On 1st May, the LIV and MIV Form went on a 10 mile walk and camp. We were divided into groups of seven or eight, consisting of both year groups, with a teacher helping us in case we got lost. The second we set off, it became a race to the campsite as, if we arrived first, we would have the best place to set up our tents.

The weather was not the best to walk in – it had been pouring with rain all night. Some of the paths were more like mudslides – we almost skied down them! Our shoes were ruined but our spirits remained high. Our team was definitely the best at walking, although our map reading may have not been to the same standard. We got lost several times, causing us to walk nearly double what we were supposed to. When we were approaching the campsite, we felt sure that we would not come first.

About to walk into the field, we could hear the teacher for our team shout, ‘if we come first, I’ll

Walking into the field, we fou nd only the teachers’ tents and, somehow, after all that, we had won! After cheering and celebrating, we began to put up our tents.

We had a BBQ supper, which was fantastic, as we definitely wanted some warm food. Afte r talking in our tents for some time, when we were meant to be sleeping, we finally fell asle ep.

When we awoke, we had som e cereal and doughnuts for breakfast befo re getting on a coach to arrive back at school for a Fixed Exeat.

Overall, it was a very enjoyab

le experience!

Lulu Chai and Zara Collier Bag gs MIV Form

cry with laughter!’

51

Helena Boase UV Form

52

Emily Chaffer UVI Form

Jessica O’Grady UVI Form

Sophia Guinness UVI Form

Tiwa Sagoe LVI Form

Trips & Expeditions

an Piper, oroszewska, Jess Patel, Meg Ch an Te rm Fo LV e th m ls fro Girl on her Gap Year), lne Ca (a r In the Easter holidays, six gir ice Sp ë Zo th wi ebster and I - along Millie Scott-Hopkins, Eve W an amazing trip to Nepal. on ed rk ba em , an m re Fo rs Rev Dr Angelov and M Lisa WhitehouseFoskett also accompanied us on our travels.

Lisa established The Charitable Foundation for the Education of Nepalese Children (CFENC) in 2009 and gave us the incredible Buddha Namo The opportunity to visit the mountains.

Primary School in the Nepalese On the evening of Wednesday 2nd April, we assembled at Heathrow Airport and eagerly boarded our nine hour flight to Delhi.

While most of us were sleeping or watching videos, Tean managed to charm her way into First Class and remained there for the rest of the flight! On arrival in Delhi, we quickly transferred to our flight to Nepal and arrived in Kathmandu at 15:35 local

time. Lisa met us when we touched down and we all piled into a minibus to take us to the International Guest House in the Thamel area. It was amazing driving through the hustling, bustling streets of the city, as it gave us the chance to take in how different life is for the Nepalese people. The roads were jam-packed with hundreds of motorcyclists, cars and minibuses; we even spotted a few sacred cows lying in the middle of the road, not having a care in the world, as the traffic whizzed around them.

After a long day of travelling, we finally arrived at the International Guest House and sat down to our first Nepalese meal, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The next morning, we rose early as we had a tight schedule full of sightseeing to stick to. Once breakfast was finished, we met our trekking guide, Mingmar – one of Lisa’s closest Nepalese friends.

He welcomed each of us with a beautifully decorated orange scarf, which is part of the Nepalese tradition. As well as meeting

Mingmar, we also met one of the Sherpas who would accompany us on our trek in the mountains, and Rishi, another of Lisa’s friends, who organised all of our transport.

The first stop on our agenda was the beautiful Swayambhunath, a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of Nepal’s most sacred shrines. As we walked around the Swayambhunath in awe, the great eyes of the Stupa watched over us and the traditional Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags danced in the wind overhead. To our delight, we saw a number of sacred monkeys - some of which were rather naughty, as they stole food from disorientated tourists. We made our way up some steps and into an ornate building where we were given a demonstration of the art of Thanka. Thanka is a painting on cotton covered in a glue-like substance. There are five levels of Thanka artists and it can take as long as thirty years to master the art of Thanka painting. After our demonstration, we made our way up to the roof to take in the magnificent view of Kathmandu valley.

53

Trips & Expeditions

r Square, which We then drove to Durba Kathmandu. old of tre is the historic cen a Buddhist at off d En route, we stoppe the sounds rd hea we monastery where from the ting ona res g of drums and singin es and sho our off k prayer hall. We too yers. It pra the join to l crept into the hal sit there, feeling was just unbelievable to to the chanting ng eni list relaxed and calm, drums. and constant boom of the

54

The next morning, we woke up bright and Returning to early at 5am, as we the minibus, were embarking on an we arrived in eight hour jeep journey Durbar Square ime into the mountains. around luncht The journey was one and enjoyed we will definitely never a traditional n the narrow, Nepalese lunch forget! As we bombed dow l Bhat Da and gs plin dum ffed s, Eve and I of Momos – stu windy dirt tracks, Tean, Jes From . tils len and rice of ing word for ‘hello’ – a dish consist shouted ‘namaste’ - the mic ora pan a had we t, ran tau at passers-by, our rooftop res in Nepalese - and waved ples, tem val die me nt fice gni see us. Eight view of the ma who seemed pleased to s. ine shr and ns sixteen and, pagodas, pavilio hours soon turned into ived at Lisa’s one flat tyre later, we arr ly, live our d, she fini s dead of night.

After lunch wa friend Shiva’s house in the a on us k too , hnu Bis de, us with a greatly enthusiastic gui Thankfully, Shiva greeted told us and site the of r tou d we were soon well-informe welcomed cup of tea and ses. des god and s god the of ctricity made it ancient tales off to bed. The lack of ele an and Pat on, ray Na u ang Ch dy; nonetheless, We visited the rather difficult to get rea re we and r itpu Lal in ple sleeping bags the Golden Tem we managed to dig out our kache bac and he dac hea l ona heavily packed given a traditi from the bottom of our and ds hea our on l bow a h teeth whilst treatment wit rucksacks and brushed our our at k bac d ive arr we with our head backs. When standing on the dirt track le time litt a nd spe to e abl re hotel, we we torches on. thmandu. shopping and exploring Ka

On Sunday, we were up at dawn to see the sun rising over the hills and enjoyed a hearty breakfast of fried bread and spicy potatoes before commencing a steep ascent up to The Namo Buddha Primary School. We were greeted by the excited, enthusiastic teachers, children and their parents, who descended on us, showering us in silk scarves and rhododendron garlands.

The children then gave performances of dancing, singing and games. In return, we presented the children with gifts brought over from England: St Mary’s school jumpers, toothbrushes, bubblegum, balloons and books. The children

were so happy and it was heart-warming to see the pleasure that these simple gifts brought them. We then danced, played volleyball, football and games, such as musical chairs, with the children, which were great fun and we were given the opportunity to explore their classrooms which Lisa had designed, developed and built. At the end of the day, none of us wanted to leave and, as we descended the mountains, the waving hands of the children and their goodbye shouts could still be seen and heard.

We rose early again the next morning and set off on our three day trek across the Middle Hills of Nepal to our destination - Jiri. There were a lot of questions about the name of these ‘Middle Hills’ as, to us, they seemed more like large mountains. When we set off for the first leg of our journey, we were taken aback

by the sheer strength and fitness of the Sherpas. These men were no taller than five foot eight yet, on their backs, they carried two of our enormous backpacks, weighing around sixteen kilos each! As the day progressed, some of us found the trekking harder than expected and, twelve hours later, we found ourselves on the mountains in darkness. Then the heavens opened and lightening lit up the valley below and thunder bounced off the mountains. We quickly took refuge in a nearby house and the owners offered us cups of steaming hot, sweet black tea.

After the tea was finished, we braved the elements and finished off the final twenty minute walk to our tea house where the Sherpas were waiting with our rucksacks.

We slept upstairs on hard wooden beds, covered by just a thin tarpaulin sheet.

55

r moods lifted as we ies were clear and ou sk the e, ok aw we e up to the Lamjura Thankfully, when , after a strenuous hik on no At k. n. tai un ll-deserved tea brea ascended the mo s and enjoyed a we tre me 00 ent 3,6 sp ed we mb e y floor, wher Pass, we had cli ck down to the valle ba nt not sce de did r it ou h d ug house, tho We then starte our delight, this tea To e. us r ho de tea un r er he pp up, we had su the night in anot er! After freshening ow sh a d ha gs. ty, din ici rroun have any electr our breathtaking su opportunity to enjoy the stars, taking the : the hottest day by far trekking and it was of y da al sty fin r du , ou ed s ad Wednesday wa walked on the un-sh d around 43°C as we another on d rke ba em temperatures reache sday morning, we ur Th on m 4a At . that I am sure none mountain paths . This was a journey ns tai un mo d the gh back of the truck an adventure throu rucksacks into the r ou d ule ha st e mo W t, t! ies bump of us will forge were probably the the next five hours y time we went er Ev it! took our positions; ed lives, but we lov r ou of s ur ho few driver thought was uncomfortable a little yelp which the t ou let r uld wo an Te we finally reached ou over a bump, t’s just say that when Le . ter fas ars en ye ev y fift ive t abou his signal to dr d as if he had aged v Dr Angelov looke destination in Jiri, Re st! d white from the du as his hair had turne

56

We transferred to a minibus to go to Chitwan National Once again, the six Park. hour journey turn ed into a solid twelve hour trip, as it took us a good five hour s to get through Kathmandu in rush hour. We reached our hotel - Rhino Lodge in Chitwan National Park - at around midnight an were exhausted fro d m the trip.

The next day cons isted of a jungle wa lk around the park where we saw a gh , arial, crocodiles, ma gnificent birds and, to the dislike of ma ny, red cotton bugs - around four inche in length. We then s made our way to the elephant bathing river, where we sc rubbed and washed the elephants. We went back to the ho tel soaking wet fro m head to toe, as elephant and his ma the ster thought it am using to spray us wi water! The afterno th on consisted of th e eagerly-anticipate elephant safari and, d as we plodded thro ugh the woods on great, majestic crea the tures, we saw peac ocks, deer, monkey and, best of all, a on s e-horned rhino.

That evening, we walked to the Sauraha Tharu Culture House and enjoyed an evening of traditional dancing, singing and acting. We were even asked to dance at the end, which was a lot of fun and, although we couldn’t quite master the Nepalese dance moves, the dancers and the audience seemed to enjoy our attempts.

On our final day in Chitwan, we rose at dawn to go on a canoe ride down the river, where we glided past sleeping crocodiles which, at times, was a little unnerving. The sun rose behind us as we floated down the river and, when we reached the bank, we made our way to the elephant breeding sanctuary – another highlight of our trip in Chitwan.

We then returned to Rhino Lodge and ensured everything was packed and loaded onto the minibus for our return journey to Kathmandu. The journey this time seemed much quicker and, in the daylight, we were able to see the Nepalese people going about their daily business. One sight that I shall definitely never forget was the overcrowded public buses whizzing around the dusty, bendy mountain paths; on the roofs of these buses sat up to ten people clinging on for dear life and, once or twice, we even saw a few goats.

That evening, we spent a little time doing some shopping in the centre of Kathmandu, followed by a delicious meal at the Northfield Café, where we were also entertained by a local band who played a well-known favourite – Danny Boy. Saturday morning was another early start – up at 4.45am, for a 5.15am departure to the Tribhuvan Airport, from where we would take a plane ride around Mount Everest. We crossed the landing strip and boarded our small jet-propelled fifteen seat plane and prepared for take-off. We were offered cotton wool for our ears by the air hostess; however, Jess did not realise that it was cotton wool before she popped it into her mouth saying, ‘Hmm, this candyfloss tastes funny...’ This was enough to brighten our half-awake moods and prepare us for the amazing views of the Nepalese mountains and Everest.

The scenery around us was breathtaking and, to give us an even better view of Everest, we were invited into the cockpit with the pilot to view the mountain head-on.

We returned to Kathmand u, still dreaming of Everes t and were greeted by Bishnu, our guide from our initial visit in Kathmandu, who whisked us off for another full day of sigh tseeing. We saw the Pas hupatineth Temple, the Boudhanath Stupa and the Changu Marayan area of Kathmandu. We also had the opportunity to call in to a boarding sch ool where Lisa sponsors ten year old girl and the a son of one of the Sherpa s through CFENC. We then drove to Mingmar’s house in Kathmandu, as he had kindly invited us all for tea and cake. En route, Bishnu gave us a full performance of singing, storytelling and even a litt le bit of dancing and, wh en we reached Mingmar’s house, we were in need of a slice of cake and cup of black tea! Mingmar introduced us to his wif e, son, daughter and his mother and father, who were between ninety and a hundred years old.

Our last meal in Nepal wa s back at the Northfield Café, wh ere we had a presentation evening. Th e next morning, when it was time to dep art, everyone’s moods were low as the unbelievable trip had come to an end.

We had an absolutely am azing time in Nepal which we shall nev er, ever forget and, in the future, I would definitely like to return.

It gave me a completely different per spective on the world and I would like to thank, on behalf of everyone, Lisa, Rev Dr Angelov, Mrs For eman and all of the people involved in running the trip .

Sassie Patel LV Form

57

Drama

Centre Stage The Drama Department was left in exceptional shape by Miss Lilian Leadbetter, Director of Drama 1992-2013. Girls at St Mary’s enjoyed over 20 years of Drama tuition from a lady who will truly go down as one of the greatest characters the pupils could have been fortunate enough to meet on stage.

The training has encouraged and developed excellent communication and presentation skills, as well as acting skills, vocal and physical development/poise, greater confidence and an abundance of transferable skills.

Not only was Evita a truly scintillating concluding musical, but Finale, featuring over eighty St Mary’s Calne girls both present and past, was a remarkable production and a fitting send off for a lady that surpassed her own ambitions with the Drama Department.

From powerful monologues that engrossed the audience to audacious thoughtprovoking ensemble pieces, the production was effectively a celebration of dramatic excellence from the Leadbetter era.

Our girls have continued to excel across the department in lessons, productions, LAMDA exams, RADA specialist tuition, Drama Clubs and informal showcases. A new venture has even been created to cater for the UIV Form called ‘Four on Tour’, a project thats aim is to provide every member of the year group with the opportunity to be involved in a production at a professional venue. This allows the girls to reflect on whether Drama is a discipline that they envisage pursuing at St Mary’s Calne. Girls not eager to act are provided with the chance to sign up for other fields to contribute towards the production, be it artistry, make-up or backstage management.

Award attempts have also been exceptional, with Hebe Field and Annabelle Mastin-Lee acquiring a Drama Scholarship and Exhibition, respectively.

Ongoing links with RADA have been tremendously rewarding and we have established key liaisons with the prestigious Drama School. A project for the LVI Form provided the girls with communication skills that will be invaluable for their future, both for interviews and in the wider professional world.

Anna Money-Kyrle & Hebe Field

Our Drama Department continues to offer LAMDA Grade lessons and examinations from Grade 3 to Grade 8 (Gold Medal), including Acting and The Speaking of Verse and Prose; we have also recently introduced Musical Theatre. The demand for LAMDA has been exceptionally strong with the number of girls now opting for LAMDA throughout the year groups well in excess of 120 pupils.

They have been learning how to deliver presentations more effectively and develop greater personal presence. As well as hosting well-known speakers for seminars and workshops, the girls were fortunate to be asked to showcase the culmination of their work onstage at the stunning Vanbrugh Theatre within RADA itself in February.

The girls did tremendously well to deliver a presentation of their own choice to an expert panel and subsequently to tackle their challenging and thought-provoking questions calmly and decisively.

The school continues to provide golden opportunities for girls to pursue their acting beyond lessons. Drama activities, showcases and performances have not only catered for both the performance-wary, providing them with invaluably beneficial skills in selfconfidence, but also challenged the exceptional in order to unearth a level of ingenuity that they may not have even known they possess.

The Drama programme beyond the classroom has something for all interests and continues to provide practical training in multiple fields.

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‘The Evita Aristocrats’: Naomi Green, Imogen Parr and Annabelle Mastin-Lee

One of the major projects this year has been the audacious task of involving every member of the UIV Form in a production in a professional theatre. The girls staged Lord of the Flies in Bath, an all-encompassing production that opened up avenues for the girls in categories such as acting, make up, costumes, control box tuition and backstage.

The Theatre Royal Bath’s Egg Venue was turned into a frenzied bloodbath of savagery and turmoil as the entire UIV Form travelled to Bath to stage their dramatic performance on 24th March 2014. Armed to the teeth with spears, gallons of blood, dead pigs from Poland, fire machines, mangoes, rotting pilots, giant conches and more, we were hugely fortunate to have two packed houses support what was a hugely rousing project.

The Egg were magnificent hosts, as the venue was turned into a paradise from hell all set to stage two consecutive performances of this ferocious and unrelenting adaption. Free from the rules and structures of civilisation and society, our Lord of the Flies production focused upon a large group of schoolgirls that crash-land on a remote tropical island. As the girls splinter into factions, some behave peacefully and work together to maintain a semblance of order and achieve common goals, whilst others rebel and seek only anarchy and violence. In his portrayal of the small world of the island, William Golding

paints a broader portrait of the fundamental human struggle between the civilising instinct - the impulse to obey rules, behave morally, and act lawfully - and the savage instinct - the impulse to seek brute power over others, act selfishly, scorn moral rules and indulge in violence.

This production did not claim that isolated teenage girls would certainly react to secluded adversity in this way, but instead asked the audience of Fourth Formers, parents and staff to consider what would happen in an environment that may involve challenges such as the depletion of food without adult authority. We were hugely grateful for the two sell-out crowds that came to support what was a truly enriching project for all involved.

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Drama

The academic practical work has been another highlight of the year, with the A2 girls performing to a considerably-sized audience their interpretation based on the stimuli of The Secret Garden. The three-way stage split

allowed the girls to be ambitious with their staging, with features such as giant swings, one-way gauzes, extravagant costumes and artistic set design. AS and GCSE practicals have also been very enriching, with girls

The Junior Play, directed by the talented Mrs Rhiannon Davies, was a super-colourful conclusion to the year’s Drama. The aim was to provide every single member of the LIV and MIV Form with an opportunity to perform excerpts and this was made possible through the staging of An Evening with Roald Dahl, a vibrant extravaganza of highlights from his world-famous repertoire.

actresses to flaunt their energy and talents.

From Augustus Gloop being sucked up a giant pipe to magic mirrors distressing royalty, there was certainly a vibrant concoction on show.

performing a wide variety of pieces from improvised work on the theme of nightmares to scripted work from assorted genres.

From the Revolting Rhymes to the Trunchbull force-feeding children chocolate cake as a punishment for being greedy, it was wonderful to see every girl act on stage. It allowed the shyest girls to acquire vital confidence in front of an audience whilst providing a platform for exceptionally keen

The summer saw us journey to The Edinburgh Festival to perform The Brown Felt Hat, a powerful drama set in Britain in 1942, which showcased and played to the strengths of our very naturally talented young actresses in the LVI Form. Marina Jodrell, Chessie Lamb, Maria Perry, Rebecca Randall and Octavia Thomson represented St Mary’s at the world’s biggest celebration of theatre in August 2014 in a wonderful venue on The Royal Mile. Eleanor Nye joined us as producer and we were tremendously grateful for the support for the production.

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One of the pupils likened St Mary’s girls’ approach to Drama this year to Miss Leadbetter’s shoes – dazzlingly colourful displays, walking tall, learning to overcome wobbles, looking down from on high at your work, getting straight back up if knocked down and, even if you feel all pressured on the inside, always leave a glittering footprint for future generations to try and follow.

Mr Edward Cousens Director of Drama

‘Theatre is a crucible; it offers an education in its broadest sense. It develops our intellectual, creative, artistic, emotional, instinctive, physical, spiritual and moral sensibilities. It makes tough demands on our personal, physical and practical resources. It calls for courage, fortitude, resilience, nerves of steel and iron determination.

Enter the world of a great play, be part of a special community - an ensemble of talent and dedication ‘walk in another man’s shoes’ - and you will never be the same again.’

‘The UVI Form Edinburgh ensemble of Summer 2013 wowed audiences in August at Venue 19 at The Space on Niddry Street, just off The Royal Mile. It was very exciting to see Out to Lunch, my recently written play (‘A Dark Comedy about a Light Lunch’) come alive on stage for the first time at the Edinburgh International Fringe. I had made a promis e to create a play for the UVI Form actors of Venus Flytrap Productions – this was it – complete with special (silent) guest stars, Mr Camro n Miller and Mrs Rhiannon Davies. What fun we all had on the twentieth anniversary of St Mary’s Calne at The Edinburgh Fringe.’

Lilian Leadbetter Director of Drama 1992 - 2013

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LAMDA LAMDA RESULTS SPRING 2014

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Name Description

Result

Tegen Dixon-Clarke

Acting Solo Grade 3

Distinction

Amalie Macnaughtan

Acting Duologue Grade 3

Merit

Maisie Medcalf

Acting Duologue Grade 3

Merit

Rose Morley

Acting Solo Grade 3

Merit

Rosie O’Donnell

Acting Solo Grade 3

Merit

Gabriella Turton

Acting Solo Grade 3

Merit

Kristina Wolf

Acting Solo Grade 3

Merit

Zara Collier Baggs

Acting Solo Grade 4

Merit

Kirsten Higgins

Acting Solo Grade 4

Merit

Amelia Hunter

Acting Duologue Grade 4

Distinction

Isabella Iversen

Acting Solo Grade 4

Merit

Victoria Oge-Evans

Acting Duologue Grade 4

Merit

Mary Petherick

Acting Solo Grade 4

Merit

Jolie Ryan-Dawes

Verse & Prose Grade 4

Merit

Grace Chambers

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Merit

Imogen Davis

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Distinction

Imogen Ellis

Acting Solo Grade 5

Distinction

Lily Innes

Verse & Prose Grade 5

Distinction

Amelia Jacobs

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Merit

Jemima Madden

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Merit

Rachel McNeile

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Distinction

Isobel Slater

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Merit

Sophie West

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Merit

Matilda White

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Merit

Tabitha Ellis

Acting Duologue Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Jessica Enthoven

Acting Duologue Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Merit

Eloise Le Fevre

Acting Duologue Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Anna Money-Kyrle

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Hope Pleydell-Bouverie

Acting Duologue Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Merit

Carina Stephens

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Jessica Daley

Acting Duologue Grade 7 - Silver Medal

Merit

Claudia Meissner

Acting Solo Grade 7 - Silver Medal

Merit

Henrietta Page

Acting Solo Grade 7 - Silver Medal

Distinction

Laura Steel

Acting Duologue Grade 7 - Silver Medal

Merit

Lauren Wheatley

Acting Solo Grade 7 - Silver Medal

Merit

Holly Bishop

Acting Solo Grade 8 - Gold Medal

Merit

Mariella de Soissons

Acting Solo Grade 8 - Gold Medal

Distinction

LAMDA RESULTS SUMMER 2014

Name Description

Result

Tabitha Clark

Verse & Prose Grade 3

Distinction

Lucy Jefford

Musical Theatre Solo Grade 3

Merit

Elizabeth Khatova

Acting Solo Grade 3

Distinction

Charlotte Newcombe

Acting Solo Grade 3

Distinction

Lily Scott

Acting Solo Grade 3

Distinction

Carolina Stott

Acting Solo Grade 3

Merit

Poppy Thistlethwaite

Verse & Prose Grade 3

Merit

Frances Arnold

Acting Combined Grade 4

Distinction

Pandora Briselden

Acting Solo Grade 4

Distinction

Jemima Ellis

Acting Solo Grade 4

Distinction

Lucy Fitzpatrick

Acting Combined Grade 4

Distinction

Katya Green

Acting Duologue Grade 4

Merit

Rosie Horwood

Acting Duologue Grade 4

Merit

Nimi Majekodunmi

Acting Solo Grade 4

Merit

Alessia Rago

Verse & Prose Grade 4

Merit

Emily Sandbach

Acting Solo Grade 4

Merit

Flora Eliot Cohen

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Distinction

Esme Lane Fox

Acting Solo Grade 5

Distinction

Jazz Wong

Verse & Prose Grade 5

Merit

Helena Pinchuk

Acting Solo Grade 5

Merit

Sophie Pratt

Acting Duologue Grade 5

Distinction

Alicia Whitaker

Acting Solo Grade 5

Distinction

Elisabeth Wolf

Acting Solo Grade 5

Merit

Naomi Green

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Lucy Mae Humphries

Acting Duologue Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Rosie Leng

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Phoebe Love

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Hope Nicholson

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Merit

Imogen Parr

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Katie Rae

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Eve Webster

Acting Solo Grade 6 - Bronze Medal

Distinction

Eleanor Nye

Acting Solo Grade 7 - Silver Medal

Distinction

Octavia Thomson

Acting Solo Grade 7 - Silver Medal

Distinction

Isabella Grive

Acting Solo Grade 8 - Gold Medal

Distinction

Edinburgh Fringe 2014

Sports Reports

Millfield Invitational Quadrathlon: Ella Malik 18th, Davina Gray 20th, Annabel Fenton 21st.

Pentathlon: Caroline Brenchley 29th, Amelia Hatlapa 41st.

Wiltshire County Pentathlon Year 7: Ella Malik 6th, Annabel Fenton 7th, Davina Gray 8th.

Year 8: Caroline Brenchley 7th, Harriet Austin 12th.

Year 9: Grace Chambers 1st, Ariana Watling 3rd, Jessamy Money-Kyrle 7th, Millie Jacobs 8th.

SW Combined: Grace Chambers 5th, Ariana Watling 21st.

R1: Swindon: Junior Girls - 3rd /8 schools 276pts; Intermediate Girls - 1st 317pts The Intermediate and Junior Teams both qualified for the B Final, but clash of school events meant we were unable to compete. The Intermediate Team narrowly missed out on qualification for the A Final - next year we will be there!

Godolphin: Junior Girls won 68.5pts - 51.5pts.

Malmesbury: Yr 9 Won 66pts – 39pts; Yr 8 Won 55- 54.

Marlborough 5 School Meet: Junior Girls 1st; Intermediate Girls 4th.

Dauntsey’s June Jamboree: Minor Girls 2nd/4; Junior Girls 2nd/4.

(The weather unfortunately cancelled three friendly meets and meant another had to be rapidly abandoned!)

Area Trials: 32 girls competed, 17 girls qualified for County.

County Championships: Intermediate Girls: Yasmin Watling 1st 3000m; Jemima Brown 4th 100m, 2nd Triple Jump; Lily Innes 4th Triple Jump; Imogen Ellis 4th 300m; Jazz Wong 4th Discus; Annabel O’Grady 3rd Javelin; Diana Anikina 4th Shot.

Junior Girls: Ariana Watling 1st 200m & 800m; Grace Chambers 1st 100m & High Jump (New County Record); Alicia Whitaker 2nd Javelin; Lucy Fitzpatrick 3rd 1500m; Caroline Brenchley 8th 800m.

Minor Girls: Charlotte Newcombe 1st High Jump (New County Record); Ella Malik 3rd 800m; Davina Gray 2nd 1500m; Annabel Fenton 4th Long Jump; Thea Hine 2nd Shot.

South West Championships: Yasmin Watling 1st 3000m 10:23.18; Grace Chambers 1st High Jump 1.63m, 3rd 100m Final 13.00; Alicia Whitaker 12th Javelin 22.79m; Ariana Watling 7th 200m Final 27.99 & 2nd 800m B Final, 16th overall 2:28.18.

National Finals: Yasmin Watling 24th 3000m, Grace Chambers joint 1st High Jump with a clearance of 1.69m.

Mrs Sally Hornby, Athletics Coach 63

Trips & Expeditions

Classics Trip to

SICILY Bubbling with excitement and undaunted by the early 3am start, we set off on our trip to Sicily. Our first stop was Monreale, a lovely hillside town outside Palermo.

The wonderful golden mosaics of Bible stories and the impressive 12th - 13th century mosaic of Christ in the middle of the apse of the cathedral took our breath away. It was also interesting to see the wonderful Norman cloister and the elaborate classical columns supporting arches of Arab inspiration. Such a mixture of artistic styles is rarely found in one place.

After a night spent at Agrigento, we visited the historic Valley of the Temples, a real testament to Greek domination in Sicily and also famous for its early Christian catacombs. We walked from the Temple of Hera to the Temple of Zeus, the size of which could be gauged from

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Siracuse was our next destination. After a visit to the Magna Graecia site to see the Greek Theatre, the huge altar, the mines worked by the Athenians when they were captured after the battle of Syracuse, the ear of Dionysius and the Roman Amphitheatre,

the enormous statues of the Giants which would only have been about a quarter of the height of the temple itself. From here we travelled to Piazza Armerina to see the famous 3rd - 4th century Roman Villa with its outstanding mosaics. All parts of life were covered here, but we particularly enjoyed the Hall of Female Gymnasts in Bikinis, the long corridor with hunting scenes and exotic animals such as ostriches, lions, tigers, elephants and hippos.

we relaxed over lunch before seeing the cathedral, a painting by Caravaggio and the fountain of Arethusa.

Our final day took us to the Greek Theatre of Taormina with its breath-taking views of the coast, the mountains and Mount Etna.

needed break before our final climb by coach up Mount Etna to 2,000 metres. Here we were able to walk around and inside a dormant crater. The live crater was a further 1,000 metres away, but smoke could be seen coming out of it and sometimes sparks of fire are also visible.

It is impossible to do justice to the richness of this experience. All civilisations are represented here from Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Norman and Arab. To pass effortlessly from one to the other or to have them all mixed together is part of the charm of Sicily.

It was lovely to pause and take in the beauty of this site. Taormina also has lovely little streets to shop in and everyone had a chance to sit in the cafĂŠs. This provided a much-

No trip would be complete without time out.

Each evening we chose a cafĂŠ in which to sit and relax and at Gardini Naxos we could spend time on the beach and walk along the promenade.

A good time was had by all and we much enjoyed the Sicilian fare of pizza, spaghetti, meat and potatoes, and ice cream! The girls were fantastic and a pleasure to take.

Mrs Elizabeth Rothwell Head of Classics

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Charity Activities

walk in aid of Plan At the beginning of the year, the Fourth Form girls did an 11km sponsored d the world who are being UK’s ‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign, which seeks to help millions of girls aroun claim their rights through discriminated against because of their gender. Plan UK empowers girls to ns that help girls lift education, by providing access to healthcare and by delivering practicalth solutio er, nominated by the themselves, their families and their communities out of pover ty. On 11 Octob er and collaboratively UN as ‘International Day of the Girl’, Plan UK asked schools to come togeth walk around the world, 40,075km, to raise money for this very worthy cause.

miserable, The weather may have been wet and m as usias enth girls’ the but it did not dampen .

2014 k Wee they launched Charity ming Every House led a morning chapel infor en chos had they ity char the school about the g nisin orga be ld wou and what activity they funds. during the week to raise much-needed by led el chap ial spec a On Sunday, there was from e tativ esen repr a re Father Jonathan, whe ity and each House lit a candle for their char . ther toge ed the whole school pray k Helen Wright House opened the wee se Hou othy Dor of aid with a cake bake in othy Dor .

Bath near d Hospice which is base al soci , gical holo psyc ical, House offers phys their and nts patie to and spiritual care death families facing life-threatening illness, 66

lems or bereavement, who have specific prob s focu They which need their specialist skills. g ectin on their patients’ quality of life, resp the uniqueness of each person and their lopment family, and seek to promote the deve of ation of palliative care through the educ others and research. e sale Mews House organised a Krispy Krem exams k moc in the Dining Room before their tes! minu 20 began and sold 300 doughnuts in set’s Dor is se, Their chosen charity, Julia’s Hou only hospice dedicated to children, the beyond majority of whom are unlikely to live Team ity mun the age of 18. Julia’s House Com to aim consists of nurses and carers who for maximise and enrich the quality of life lifewith le Dorset children and young peop They s. ition limiting or life-threatening cond

h and provide support from diagnosis to deat imult offer and ly fami le who beyond for the ice hosp their in care life of disciplinary end building or in the family home. a five Joyce Walters turned the Chapel into g sellin ing, even rday Satu star cinema on film the ing show s, drink and ts popcorn, swee y. enjo to ol scho le who the for 2 Despicable Me p, Cam s dlark Woo ort supp They chose to le a campsite which runs through the who ren child , time a at k wee a for summer where, can s ilitie disab of s kind all and adults with family. have a holiday without their carers or its for ity rtun oppo the ides Woodlarks prov y enjo and s thing new e rienc campers to expe raise to g tryin are They om. increased freed pools money for a new changing room by the r. easie lot a ming swim e which would mak

Sunday 9th February, the finale to Charity Week, was a busy day as the rest of the Houses put on their activities. The atmosphere was buoyant and in each House there was a real buzz as girls and staff worked together to put on their event.

St Prisca’s led the way with a milkshake bar and a ‘guess the teacher’ competition using staff baby photos, along with a nail bar and a cake stall. They chose Operation Smile as their charity this year. Operation Smile is an international children’s charity that provides safe, effective reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate. More than 200,000 children are born with a severe cleft condition every year and are faced with many

challenges, such as difficulty eating, speaking or even smiling. Operation Smile, with the help of over 5,000 dedicated medical volunteers, has provided over 200,000 free surgical procedures to children and young adults around the world, giving each one a new start in life.

Next in the programme was School House, who had put on a ‘doggy’ themed fête with lots of stalls to support Search and Rescue Dogs. Search dogs are trained to ‘air scent’, this means that they will react to a human scent being blown towards them by the wind or air currents; as long as they are searching downwind of a casualty, or items which have human scent on them, they should find them.

In bad conditions, a dog can cover large areas of ground and they are very sensitive to any human scent. One of the handlers, Matt, came in to see the girls and brought his search and rescue dog with him, which the girls loved, and Lily – Dr Kirk’s dog – came to meet him too.

Lunchtime brought the Gibbins’ Café. This year, the girls had chosen a Bollywood theme and saris and bindis were worn to get in the mood. The LV Form transformed the Common Room into the Taj Mahal, with brightly coloured drapes, cushions on the floor and Indian style music. The girls served a variety of snacks, including samosas, bhajis and dumplings, which were delicious. This was all done to raise funds for Live Twice, a

‘second chance’ charity working with disadvantaged people of all ages in the UK and abroad. Their aim is to enable people to find a purposeful place in society; they work with communities to put the compassionate principle of ‘love your neighbour’ into everyday practice. They teach skills, provide access to education, inspire and mentor within safe environments and help people to make the most of their lives.

To close our week, St Cecilia’s turned their House into Hogwarts and tempted the other girls with a feast of sweets, homemade cakes, milkshakes and smoothies and, of course, the ever-popular stocks! Many kind staff volunteered to go into the stocks and have

water balloons thrown at them, thankfully the weather had cheered up by this time. The girls worked hard for their chosen charity, Hand in Hand for Syria. This charity helps Syrian people by delivering food, clothes, shelter, ambulances, educational resources and medical treatment. Donations have enabled them to distribute food boxes to 20,000 families across Syria and have helped to provide humanitarian aid to more than 3,450 families and three field hospitals; according to the UN, one in five people is now unable to buy or produce enough food to survive. They want to help people to help themselves and are currently planning to open a textile workshop and a school to get local children back into education.

The girls worked incredibly hard and also had lots of fun, they learnt more about the work of the charities they chose to support and the importance of helping others who are in need and they raised a fantastic £2,250.

I want to finish by saying a big thank you to all the staff and parents who made Charity Week possible but, without a doubt, our success this year has been down to the commitment and hard work of our girls – well done!

Mrs Karen Paddock Charities Co-ordinator

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Sports Reports

British Schoolgirls’ Races St Mary’s Ski Race Team left school on the morning of Friday 24th January for the British Schoolgirls’ Races in Flaine.

After an early flight, we arrived in Flaine to blue skies, sunshine and lots of snow. We all unpacked, skis were hired, the LV Form were lost and found (on the lift), we went out for supper and had an early night ready for training on Saturday morning with the nowfamous Vincent Chanel!

After two days of hard core training in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom, plus some free skiing, the girls were ready for the races on Monday. Teams were selected - A Team: Iona Bromage, Lily Marriott, Annabel Wright (captain). B Team: Isabelle Cain, Imogen Giddins (captain) and Millie Smart, reserve Hannah McLintock Monday started with the Giant Slalom against 37 other teams - the pressure was on. The girls all raced down the course giving it their best but, unfortunately, Isabelle lost control and crashed, losing the chance of a second run. At the end of the morning, we had some fast times under our belt.

The afternoon brought the Parallel Slalom, which is a very exciting and nail-biting race against another school on a slalom course.

The A Team had drawn Millfield, and the B Team drew St Mary’s Ascot B. The B Team now had Hannah in as Isabelle was resting.

The B Team beat St Mary’s Ascot, but then came up against Wycombe Abbey A. We lost to them by less than a metre! The B Team showed absolutely outstanding speed.

Meanwhile, the A Team beat Millfield, then went on to beat North London Collegiate and the Surbiton B Team, and got through to the Quarter Finals (the best we have ever done), where we drew Loretto, who are a Scottish team. It came down to a photo finish and we lost by a whisker! Overall it was a great day of skiing.

After some rest, food and water, before we knew it Tuesday had arrived and it was time for the Slalom Race.

It was a very cold morning (-8°C), but that did not stop us zooming down the tricky course. All six girls got down

the first run with very quick times. The second run brought the drama. Annabel flew down knocking seconds off her time.

Lily was on fire and had just over a metre to go to the finish line when she had a crash. The race was stopped and she was lifted off the course with Mrs Baldwin and Mr Giddins coming to the rescue, thankfully she was not badly hurt and had just torn a ligament. Meanwhile, Iona was up at the top with no knowledge of what was going on below and she also came down in a fast time.

The B Team then had their turn; Millie had a run of one minute which was a cracking result for a first-time racer at Flaine.

Tuesday night was the Awards’ Night, and so off to the Auditorium we went. It was a fabulous night: Annabel won a Gold Medal and a cup in the ESA Senior Slalom Unregistered, Silver in the U18 Unregistered Combined Event, and Silver in the U21/U18 Unregistered Combined Event. This was an absolutely amazing achievement, as the level of competition this year was phenomenal.

Not only did we win skiing awards, but Lily came 2nd in the Photography Competition and there was a special one-off award for the team that had the most team spirit (basically the noisiest team coming down) and lo and behold, we won that too!

A huge thank you to Mr and Mrs Cain, Mr and Mrs Giddins and Mr and Mrs Wright for all their support. Also many thanks to White Horse Taxis for transporting us everywhere at unearthly hours!

An amazing five days was had by seven great girls.

Mrs Natalie Baldwin Head of Activities

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In Spring Half Term, eleven Fourth Form and LV Form girls went to Bardonecchia, Italy, with Mrs Baldwin and Mrs Jones. They enjoyed pizzas, entertainment, hot chocolates, discos and, of course, skiing!

On Monday, we woke up early for breakfast and for skiing at 10am in groups with our instructors. Afterwards, we went to enjoy the entertainment in the theatre and had dinner. On Tuesday, we followed a similar routine: after delicious croissants and hot chocolate at breakfast, we shook off the ice from our boots and got on with the skiing.

It was a big day for the beginners’ group with Luca, as we started with a blue run and later took on a red. In the evening, we had fun

On Thursday we went ‘bum boarding’ - sitting on little sleighs, and falling off a lot! On Friday we enjoyed more skiing and then went to a pizzeria which was fun. On Saturday we went to a music festival, a crêperie, had hot chocolate, went shopping (and bought more chocolate!) and then headed home. It was a fantastic trip.

Gabriella Turton, LIV Form again, enjoying some different entertainment.

Wednesday was Lily’s birthday - probably the most embarrassing one she will ever have, as we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her six times and her cake was presented to her by a man in a mask! We then went to the disco and eventually got to bed at 12.30am!

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Trips & Expeditions

As we left school on the last day of term, full of anticipation for the long-awaited History of Art study trip to Paris, we were unprepared for the unusual events of the following hours. We arrived at St Pancras in good time and boarded the 8.01pm train, not realising that it would be the last train to leave London that day due to the closure of the Eurotunnel and the cancellation of services as the result of a nearby fire at Ebbsfleet.

We could not believe our misfortune as we were diverted back to London before we had barely embarked on our journey.

After some anxious moments and the skilful negotiations of Mrs Davies-Potter, we were safely ensconced in the fully refurbished Thistle Hotel, Euston. Following a few hours of precious sleep, Mrs Davies-Potter waited with the girls while I went to assess the situation at St Pancras. Fortunately, we were able to board the 7am train to Paris and an error in the ticket office resulted in us being re-directed to first class ‘couchettes’, enabling us to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

We were welcomed by Parisian sunshine and quickly dropped off our luggage at the by now familiar Hotel Claret, Bercy – a less well-known but still centrally located district of Paris that is home to the National Library

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of France and the National Film Museum.

After the first coffee of our French sojourn, we made our way to the Louvre, determined not to let the delay hamper our itinerary. We focused on 18th and 19th century History paintings, exemplified by David’s Oath of the Horatii and Intervention of the Sabine Women.

It was instructive to be able to see how the Romantic painters of the 19th century, such as Delacroix and Gericault, began to challenge the Hierarchy of Genres by blurring the boundaries between History painting and scenes from real life. By using references from the antique – albeit in transformed guises – these radical painters sought to elevate anonymous heroes and martyrs of Revolutionary France.

We were also able to study Ingres’ innovative form of Neo-Classicism, inspired by the Orientalism and Medievalism of the Romantic movement, resulting in the rich, decorative surfaces of La Grande Odalisque and Jean of Arc which required very careful inspection at first-hand. We finished

off the afternoon with a detailed examination of Canova’s Cupid and Psyche, a crucial example of Canova’s ability to transform marble into flesh, which surpasses that even of Bernini. The complex composition of the figures with its multiple viewpoints necessitated the viewing in the round for which it was designed.

After supper, we made our way to the Pompidou Centre and made the mental shift from the origins of Modernity that we had witnessed in the Louvre to the Post-Modern architecture of the Rogers Partnership. As well as demonstrating the key principles of Post-Modernism, luckily for us, the Pompidou Centre was hosting a major retrospective of the work of ground-breaking 20th century photographer Henri-Cartier Breson, significant for his focus on realism, political awareness and links with the Magnum photographic agency. This was a unique opportunity to experience a significant moment in the History of Art that is not covered by the A Level specification. We then concluded the evening in the historic Marais district.

We woke up refreshed after our first full night’s sleep and enjoyed the legendary Hotel Claret breakfast of mini-croissants and pain-au-chocolat. Fortified, we headed for the Musée d’Orsay to examine so many of the paintings and sculptures that would form part of the A2 Level examination. Beginning with Thomas Couture’s Romans of the Decadence, complex in its ambiguous moral message and visual eclecticism, we tackled crucial after crucial example of 19th century stylistic diversity ranging from Courbet’s Realist A Burial at Ornans to Manet’s audacious Olympia. We concluded with the high key palettes and radical compositions of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, and were able to gain a sense of the importance of brushstrokes and handling of paint to the depiction of the modernity, sensation and transience which was so important to the experience of modern life. We were mesmerised by the delicately encrusted surface of Moreau’s Thracian Maid with Head of Orpheus, the meaning of which became clearer after a visit to the artist’s house in the afternoon.

retains its original bohemian melancholy, haunted by the ghosts of avant-garde artists Suzanne Valadon and Picasso, who painted Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in his studio, Le Bateau-Lavoir. This once notorious locus of creativity remains, only a few steps from the Abbesses metro station with its distinctive Art-Nouveau iron work designed by Hector Guimard.

Filled with the artist’s work in various stages of completion, it wasn’t just the astonishing detail achieved through pencil drawing that contributed to our understanding of Moreau’s Symbolism, but the extraordinary atmosphere of languor and hedonism that continues to permeate Moreau’s bedroom, study and vast studio. Next we arrived in Montmartre, another area of artistic significance, and Emily Verschoyle made the incredibly astute connection between the earlier examples of Orientalism that she had seen with the NeoByzantine style of the Sacre Coeur. Montmartre

We celebrated the failure of our initial journey to spoil our study trip with a final hot chocolate or coffee on the Champs-Élysées and felt ourselves lucky as in the 19th century such delights were forbidden to educated young ladies and their chaperones!

In the evening, a cruise on the Seine consolidated our understanding of the evolving geography and architecture of Paris, enabling us to put both A2 Level units in their correct social and historical context.

Dr Penelope Wickson Head of History of Art

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News

CGA Lectures The Calne Girls’ Association and St Mary’s put together a series of Calne Girls’ Talks this year, welcoming back Old Girls to talk about their life and work.

She spoke about the enormous support she was given by the school and her friends, but often referred to the fact that there were always sacrifices to be made. She graduated from Bristol University in 2007 with a BSc in Philosophy and Politics, and the following year competed in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, where she gained 18th place in the Individual Grand Prix Special and 6th place in the team event and was named British Dressage’s Rider of the Year. She likened the camaraderie in the Olympic Village to her experience of boarding at St Mary’s, for which she obviously has huge affection.

This year, Anna Seymour, Sarah Webster and Harriet Marlow spoke about their careers in Science, Finance and the organisation of large sporting events respectively, which the girls found hugely beneficial. We were also pleased to welcome back Victoria and Marina Parker, who spoke about their careers in the media.

Documentary-maker Marina has already received two BAFTAs (one this year) and Victoria is working for Harvey Weinstein as Senior Vice President of Theatrical Productions and Corporate Affairs. CGA Vice President Lilian Leadbetter recently visited Victoria in New York to see her stage musical project.

In September, Eva Rice gave an entertaining talk about her life as a musician, writer and novelist. As she outlined her career, Eva interwove fond recollections of her school life at St Mary’s. She read from an eclectic selection of books which had influenced her, ranging from Enid Blyton and Jilly Cooper to Thomas Hardy and DH Lawrence. Eva praised her former St Mary’s English teachers and commented on her own development as a writer, speaking with great excitement about her current project – writing a musical with Jilly Cooper!

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Audience members were given the opportunity to order signed copies of Eva’s novels, which she very generously donated to the school so that the full proceeds could be donated to The Armed Forces Fund.

In May, we were excited to welcome back to school for the first time since she left in 2002, Old Girl and Olympian, Laura Tomlinson MBE (née Bechtolsheimer). Laura told us how she combined her life as a schoolgirl (managing to achieve excellent grades, represent Calne in county hockey, and make many of the friends she continues to see now) with simultaneously following a rigorous and demanding level of training in order to further her outstanding equestrian success.

Her description of London 2012, where she won the gold medal in the Olympic team dressage event and bronze in the individual event on her beloved horse, Alf, and all the celebrations afterwards, was both inspiring and poignant. She remains humble and grounded and is a truly remarkable role model.

Lecture Series Shock of the new, an introduction to Modernism Andy MacKay, from Art History Abroad, has taught Art History throughout Italy for the past seven years and guest lectured at several American universities, he is also the author of The Angel of Charleston which describes a little-known side of the Bloomsbury world using Grace Higgins’ (housekeeper to painter Vanessa Bell) accounts. In his talk, he spoke of demystifying the avant-garde and explained that the Modernist movement came about due to the social and economic changes caused by the industrial revolution and the undermining of religious certainty

by Darwin’s theory of evolution: Modernism is about a turn from the objective truth and reality towards a personal sense of truth and reality.

The World of Egyptology Dr Aidan Dodson spoke about the study of ancient Egyptian history up to the Arab Conquest in AD 642. As the subject is vast, Egyptologists tend to specialise in specific dynastic periods and also subjects. They work mostly at universities, but also in museums or freelance, and research is carried out in the field, in library archives and museum collections.

Dr Dodson described the long history of interest in ancient Egyptian monuments. The pyramids, dating from 2600 BC, were a tourist attraction as far back as 1500 BC and archaeology was first sponsored by Prince Khaemweset in around 1250 BC. However, it was not until the early 17th century that the first Western ‘tourists’ arrived; the turning point came with Napoleon’s invasion in 1798: he brought a large number of scholars with him who began recording and studying antiquities such as the Rosetta Stone, now in the British Museum, which led to the decoding of hieroglyphs.

A Woman in a Man’s World Lieutenant Colonel Judith Dando’s interest in the Army started on a rainy day aged 16, when she found herself in the school’s Careers Room leafing through an Army recruitment magazine. Having already decided university was not for her, a life in the Army with its promise of travel, adventure, leadership and challenge, seemed to offer a unique opportunity.

When Judith went through her officer training aged 19, women in the Army were a minority and, although clearly of great resilience, she shared stories of the difficulties she encountered. As a Platoon Commander in the Women’s Royal Army Corps, Judith’s first posting as a Second Lieutenant was to Germany, where she found herself in charge of 90 young women. This was followed by another stint in Germany as an Assistant Adjutant and the only female in an Engineer Regiment. Other postings included Recruitment, the Falkland Islands (post conflict) where women were outnumbered 40-1 and, finally, at the Ministry of Defence, where she was responsible for Army recruitment advertising.

After eight years in the regular Army, she began the next phase of her career in the civilian world. Not wishing to give up the Army entirely, Judith maintained a keen interest as a member of the Territorial Army, performing various duties including that of a French interpreter and helping with the 50th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. She is now on a contract with the Army as a Full Time Reservist.

Sports Psychology Michael Caulfield, one of the country’s most respected sport psychologists and mental skills coaches, came to talk to us about ‘The Winning Mindset’. He has worked with a huge range of sports people, including Olympic athletes for London 2012; however, it was not all about sport and he related success and achievement in exams, business and everyday life to support his theories, including that we must welcome our nerves and learn to control them. He spoke about what makes an athlete develop a ‘Champion Mindset’ and how encouraging self-talk can improve performance, as well as how we can convert dreams into realistic targets and how important making the right choices are on the final outcome.

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Lecture Series

Inside The Courtroom Our Future Remains in Europe James Elles MEP spoke about his career in European politics and his political inspiration from figures such as Margaret Thatcher and his mother, the late Baroness Elles, who was a Vice President of the European Parliament.

Citing two such important female role-models, and feeling no pressure from the largely female audience, James underlined the importance of strong-minded women in political life.

James gave an insightful overview of the EU institutions, from the European Parliament through to the European Commission and Council. Noting that the 30 per cent female membership of the EU Parliament was well above the UK’s own women to men ratio, he then described the wide-ranging political diversity of the 217 political parties debating legislature in 24 different languages, all of which had to be translated for Parliament’s 28 member states. James felt that the British should stop blaming the EU for its problems and described the possibilities for the future.

Women and the Church The Venerable Ruth Worsley, the first female Archdeacon of Wiltshire, gave a very lively and illustrative talk on the topic of the role of women in the Church on the very eve (as it turned out) of an historic decision by the Church of England’s General Synod to allow women to become bishops. Ruth explained how, from the earliest days of Christianity, women played an ambiguous but important role, without it being clear whether they were regarded as saints or sinners, and the notion of equality has been slow to gain ground in the Church. Despite the Movement for Ordination of Women being founded in 1978, it was not until 1992 that the idea gained approval and in 1994 that the first 32 women were ordained. In the 21st century it was clearly discriminatory not to allow women to become bishops and, after being on the agenda for 13 years, legislation was finally passed.

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The Chapel was transformed into a courtroom with a real-life District Judge and two Barristers bewigged and gowned, and a civil, then criminal, court case in full swing - it really could have been the real thing. The evening was kindly organised by Sarah Smith, herself a part-time District Judge, who wanted to show the girls the contrast between a civil and criminal court hearing. Sarah began by explaining the differences between criminal (public law) and civil (private law) cases and how they are conducted. Then, armed with scripts, the cast of David Asplin (District Judge), Anne Hollingworth (Magistrate), Lucy Wyles and Lynne Eddy (Barristers), Sarah (playing a defendant accused of assaulting a bouncer in a Calne pub!) and, in the civil case, Chris Mastin-Lee as the wicked uncle seeking to evict his nephew (played by Charlotte Paterson), brought to life two very different cases. It was a hugely enjoyable and informative evening, prompting a good half hour of perceptive questions from the girls and a feeling that there might just be a sudden surge of interest in careers in law!

That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess Of Windsor The Autumn Term concluded with an enthralling talk from Anne Sebba, Chair of the Society of Authors, about her biography of Wallis Simpson.

Quite how Anne’s investigation went from browsing Wikipedia on her laptop to boarding a plane to Mexico to meet a complete stranger is in itself a gripping detective story. She travelled alone to remote La Paz to meet champion free-diver, Aharon Solomons. This encounter led to the discovery of a cache of letters sent by Wallis to her former husband Ernest Simpson (the free-diver’s father!). Not only had the contents of these letters remained undisclosed for over seven decades, but they shed a whole new perspective on Wallis’ relationship with Edward, Prince of Wales. There is no doubt that both Wallis and Ernest were relentless social climbers; however, the relationship with Edward, that at first seemed a convenient and mutually beneficial game, quickly became perilously out of control. Behind ‘The Romance of the Century’ lay an unhappy and unfulfilled life of exile and vilification.

Although it is still hard to sympathise with ‘That Woman’, we may now be able to understand her a little better.

Afghanistan: A perspective on the country through the eyes of a medic and charity director Following a visit as a wartime medic, Dr Sarah Fane OBE was so moved by the difficulties faced by the Afghan people that she wished to offer practical assistance and, in 2002, set up the charitable organisation, Afghan Connection. Although it originally provided medical equipment and training and support for immunisation programmes, it now concentrates its efforts on education.

In twelve years, the enrolment of children in Afghan schools has increased from one million (five thousand girls) to over nine million (four million girls), and they have just secured funding for the building of their 40th school.

Their aim is to continue to fund the construction of two schools a year and, at the same time, support community schools and train teachers and district education authorities: ‘Whatever their own opportunities turn out to be in these difficult times of conflict and economic hardship, they will make sure that their children have an education.

I know this because I know them and am staggered by their determination, which is what inspired me to invest my life’s work in their future. It will be the best investment we make in Afghanistan.’

Six Moments of Crisis The general public is mostly unaware of the role of historians in government, and Gill Bennett MA OBE, former Chief Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was able to give a brief overview of the importance of historical research in decisionmaking at the highest level. In 1997, one of Tony Blair’s first tasks as Prime Minister was to order research into ‘Nazi Gold’, which triggered a world-wide review of policy regarding looted wealth. It was the FCO historians, not his ministers, he turned to.

During her 30 years at the Foreign Office, Gill advised twelve Foreign Secretaries and six Prime Ministers, giving her a remarkable insight into the complexity of government decision-making. Drawing on her experience, Gill ambitiously decided to document how British foreign policy is made in her book Six Moments of Crisis. It concentrates on six major issues, which not only caused controversy at the time, but helped shape Britain’s place in the modern world.

The Design and Origin of Man Professor Stuart Burgess, who is Professor of Engineering Design at Bristol University, is also an ardent Biblical Creationist and was keen to share his belief that we are not the result of the process of evolution as suggested by Darwin, but are descended from Adam and Eve as described in the Bible. Keen to disprove the theory that man evolved from an ape-like creature, Stuart explained how the human body is just too perfect and unique in design not to have been specially created, and far exceeded what was needed for survival. Stuart also spoke about the remarkable length of human childhood and our capacity for rational thought, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, creativity, and conscience, all indicative of a higher purpose. Whatever their personal beliefs of mankind’s creation or evolution, the lecture sparked an enthusiastic and wide-ranging Q&A session from our audience and left us with much to reflect on.

Travels with my camera Adventurer and filmmaker Leon McCarron studied Film at the University of Kent, graduating in 2008. With career prospects scarce, in 2010, Leon used his hard-earned savings to embark on a 14,000 mile cycling expedition from New York across the USA and then, through various twists of fate and chance meetings, New Zealand and Australia, before completing the journey in Bangkok in March 2011, filming along the way. Back in the UK, he met Rob Lilwall, a fellow travel addict, who suggested Leon accompany him on a six month, 3,000 mile walk from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to Hong Kong, and Leon secured a commission from National Geographic to film the expedition.

Reaching their final destination in May 2012, Leon was already thinking about the next great adventure: this time he would be accompanying Alastair Humphreys on a 1,000 mile walk, retracing the steps of the great 1940’s British explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger, across the Empty Quarter desert of Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

‘What next?’ someone asked. After so much adventure, was it time to take it easy? Not at all, he was off to Iran to follow a river across the country from its source to the sea; a journey he was making on foot and by water, and travelling, of course, with his camera!

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Sports Reports

SWIMMING The competition year started with the Regional Qualifying Round of the ESSA Secondary Schools’ Team Championships on 25th September. At such an early stage in the academic year, so soon after returning from the summer holiday, this is always a tough competition. We entered two teams in each of the intermediate and junior age groups and, in the words of the girls, ‘it was amazing!’

Entering this type of competition is always a worthy experience, as it gives all the members of the team an opportunity, not only to swim in a major competition in a 50m pool, but also to compete against some extremely talented swimmers from other schools. This year, the Intermediate A Team were lucky enough to be in the same heat as Olympic Medal winner Rûta Meilutytė, and the Intermediate B Team and the Junior Teams enjoyed being able to watch and learn from such an experienced swimmer.

There were teams entered from a mix of independent and state schools from across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, with a number of swimming specialist schools, such as Kelly College and Millfield, swimming several teams in each event. The Junior Freestyle A Team finished in 28th place and the B Team in 42nd place with 46 teams competing. Also in the Freestyle event, the Intermediate A Team finished in 33rd place with the B Team not far behind them in 37th place with 41 teams competing in this event.

The competition then moved on to the Medley Relay which is swum as 50m backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and front crawl. In this event, the juniors once again performed to expectations with the A Team finishing in 28th place and the B Team in 35th place with 47 teams competing. The Intermediate Medley Team came up against tough competition and finished in 34th and 38th place respectively, this time with 41 teams competing.

The Inter-Schools Swimming League continued this year and, once again, was enjoyed by all the St Mary’s girls as much as the girls from the other schools, and we are looking forward to next year’s battle! The final results were:

POINTS

POSITION

ST MARY’S

223

1ST

ST JOHN’S

189

2ND

SHELDON

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3RD

JOHN BENTLEY

33

4TH

Over the year, we have also competed in the Downe House Independent Schools’ Relay Competition and have swum against Stonar, Godolphin and Marlborough College.

New Colours were awarded to:

Highly Commended Awards were given to:

Intermediate Felicity Challinor Verity Page Phoebe Aldridge (Half) Isabelle Cole (Half)

Intermediate Iona Westwood

Junior Diana Anikina Jemima Webb Alicia Whitaker Harriet Austin (Half) Ella Malik (Half)

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Junior Annabel Fenton Daisy Gray Shubha Shetty

Felicity Challinor and Verity Page were again awarded the Barley Cup, given for commitment to swimming both in and out of school throughout the year, and the Riley Cup was given to Daisy Gray, who was considered to be the most improved.

Mrs Deb German and Mrs Liz Thompson Swimming Coaches

SIX GIRLS, NO BUOYS! On 1st September 2013, a group of six schoolgirls successfully completed the ‘Everest’ of challenges, swimming as a relay team across the English Channel in 13 hours, 6 minutes, 19 seconds. The team included St Mary’s own Felicity Challinor, who was also lucky enough to be the swimmer that swam ashore in France.

The team set out from Shakespeare Beach, near Dover, at 5.30am under a spectacular sunrise. Swimming a distance of 21 miles, point to point, more when tidal currents are taken into consideration, they did not wear wetsuits to complete the challenge of swimming in the busiest shipping channel in the world.

During the final five hours of the crossing, the girls encountered rough seas, but swam on regardless, with Felicity arriving in France at 18:31:47 UK time.

Felicity raised over £2,600 from the swim in aid of her chosen charity, Make a Wish Foundation.

In March, the girls attended the Channel Swimming Annual Awards Ceremony in Dover.

It was a great shock and a very pleasant surprise when they heard that the Special Achievement Award for 2013 was awarded to their team for being the youngest and fastest relay team to cross the Channel! The award committee was very impressed with how they had worked together as such an amazing team.

It has been another season of much travelling, increasing success and superb focus for St Mary’s hockey teams. All of our teams got off to a great start, with convincing wins over Royal High School and the 1st Team had a particularly thrilling battle with them ending in a 6-5 victory. Their greatest strength was in attack and they went on to have a competitive season with close wins against Marlborough, Downe House and Sheldon, and draws against Stonar and Godolphin.

The U16s started the season with a renewed vigour for the game after a difficult season as U15s. Winning or drawing their first four matches and enjoying a particularly cohesive game against Godolphin, which they won 6-0, the team worked hard to show their skill and passion for the game. They struggled against Dauntsey’s 3rd Team who were a physical side and our toughest match this season; however, they fought back in the second half and held-off some strong attacking players after conceding most goals in the first half.

We expected great things from the U15 Team, who have one of the largest squads in the school and a great depth of talent. They started the season well with wins against Royal High, Downe House and Godolphin, and impressive draws against Dauntsey’s and King Edward’s. Their toughest match was a rematch against King Edward’s, which they unfortunately lost 3-5 due to some late goals scored before the final whistle. Despite some excellent defensive play by the team, the scoreline altered in the dying minutes of the match, having been 3-3 for most of the second half. It was certainly the performance of the term for the U15s: they showed great teamwork, grit and determination!

However, they had a very enjoyable and successful County Tournament, where they drew against Dauntsey’s and experienced their first ever penalty shuttle. Having studied the form on YouTube the night before, Lucia Vint stepped up to score a cool-headed goal and, incredibly impressively, Helen Pinchuk saved every shot on goal.

Overall, not a bad set of results and, with a full-sized astro being built ready for September 2014, we are looking forward to competing on a level playing field, as well as being able to host home matches.

Miss Helen Carruthers Hockey Coach The U14 Team is always an unknown quantity at the beginning of the academic year, but they quickly showed their talent and dedication on the pitch. This 1st U16 U15 Royal High team, perhaps W6–5 W5–0 W6–0 more than any King Edward’s D2–2 L3–5 other, found Downe House W3–1 W3–0 the transition Warminster L0–4 from our small Dauntsey’s L0–2 L1–4 D1–1 training astro Stonar D3–3 to full-sized W 2–1 Shel don pitches during D0–0 L2–3 Godolphin matches quite D3–3 W6–0 W5–0 difficult and Wycliffe L2–5 L1–2 L1–2 often became Abbeyfield W5–0 slightly overwhelmed with Marlborough College W3–2 the space they had.

Corsham L0–2

-

-

U14 W4–0 L0–5 D1–1 L0–6 W1–0 L1–2 -

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Trips & Expeditions

GEOGRAPHY FIELDTRIP TO

POLAND THURSDAY 26TH JUNE

The LV and LVI Form girls going on the Geography Fieldtrip managed to create a semblance of a buzz at the 2am departure from St Mary’s in spite of the unsociable hour. Sleep soon took over however and the coach descended into silence until our arrival at Gatwick. Check in and boarding all went smoothly and we were soon off on the unexpectedly brief flight to Pope John Paul airport in Krakow, Poland.

Steely grey skies conspired to greet us and awoke a slight sense of trepidation in the non-initiated. Spirits rose as we moved through the post-Soviet era tower blocks towards the stunning interior of the city.

Grand Georgian-esque town houses and soaring steeples drowned out the concrete geometry of the suburbs and, when combined with the burgeoning sunshine, the group were elated by their home-to-be for the next four days.

After a quick check in to the hotels, the girls started their fieldwork in earnest. An examination of the urban morphology of the city ensued as the students attempted to divine if the mediaeval old

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town of Krakow still represents the modern CBD of the city. The girls explored the beauty of the city independently of their teachers and were even supplied with some zloty (Polish currency) to be able to arrange their own lunches in a local eatery. Some braver groups tried local delicacies such as pierogi (dumplings of unleavened dough – first boiled, then baked or fried usually in butter with onions – traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit) and borscht (a soup made with beetroot as the main ingredient), whilst others gravitated towards the nearest pizzeria.

After a quick change back at the hotels, the group descended on Pod Baranem for their first supper. The game pâté was received with varying degrees of enthusiasm, but Georgia was at least pleased that it was not pigeon.

Few struggled to get to sleep that night after a packed day.

FRIDAY 27TH JUNE

SATURDAY 28TH JUNE

We awoke to a glorious summer’s day, and the warmth and gleaming cobbles made the second fieldwork session all the more pleasant and straightforward. The girls worked hard to complete the allotted tasks for the day and were thus able to wend their way to the Wieliczka Salt Mine World Heritage Site in the afternoon. This littleknown attraction sees over a million visitors per year descend the initial 325 steps into the lustrous black of the tunnels. Visitors are aided by one of the hundreds of experienced guides, many of whom are ex-miners. Highlights included the incredible St Kinga’s Chapel, carved out of the salt and complete with salt reliefs of the Last Supper and other allegorical scenes. Some girls soon discovered that licking the walls provides a pleasant sensation, Grace in particular.

Visitors use an original lift to depart the mine shaft, in almost total darkness and with an unnerving level of rattling. Gina faced her fear of lifts head on and emerged triumphant.

After the excitement of the previous day, a trip to Auschwitz Birkenau seemed an uninviting prospect – especially for our birthday girl, Hannah.

However, this indescribably important museum and memorial is not just a sombre reminder of historic crimes against humanity, but also a fascinating and important life experience for all. The girls conducted themselves admirably and with poise.

The group dined at the sixhundred year old Wierzynek restaurant in the evening, a historic place that has been patronised by Popes, Kings and Queens, Prime Ministers and rock stars. The pomp of main courses under cloches was underpinned by a hearty meal.

The mood lightened on the way back to Krakow, particularly with the muchdesired prospect of a couple of hours of free time exploring the Stare Miasto. The girls bought souvenirs, went for a coffee in one of the many open air cafés on the square, or explored the maze of quaint backstreets that radiate out from the centre of the Old Town. The girls explored with the events of the morning not forgotten, but the importance of getting the most out of life at the fore of the group consciousness.

The group dined at Klezmer Hois in the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz in the evening. This evocative place revived memories of the morning and allowed another insight into events in this complicated city. The meal ended with the traditional Geography fieldtrip prizegiving, where no prize is too tacky, and the girls returned to the hotels after a memorable day.

SUNDAY 29TH JUNE The group divided on the last day to indulge the particular interests of the girls. Some accompanied Mr Curran, Mrs Hornby and Miss Aherne to the Wodny Water Park, whilst the remainder were taken

by Mrs Froggatt, Miss Wright and Mrs Greenly to the Wawel Castle.

This left just enough time to get to the airport and explore all three of the shops therein!

The girls were greeted back at school by a shepherd’s pie supper and a pretty sunset. All staff who accompanied the trip agreed that the girls had conducted themselves admirably and that they had achieved the goals of the fieldtrip with a huge degree of success.

Mr Daniel Curran, Head of Geography, with the aid of Alexis Purdy and Marina Vestbirk, LV Form 79

Trips & Expeditions - Duke of Edindburgh’s Award

had broken up for the we er rd aft y da e on t jus y, Jul 3 On Thur sday pid) enough, met back at stu r (o e av br re we o wh us of summer, ten s stuffed to the brim with ck sa ck ru ed ck pa ed siz er ov n school with te being a selection of pasta. od fo of y rit ajo m e th es th food and clo ct. For the first night, we We were facing a six hour journey to the Lake Distri assessor and study our our with meet stayed at a youth hostel so that we could rain, not a good start. ng pouri to awoke we , route in more detail. Early on Friday It did not. By the time time. lunch d aroun pass We set off in the rain expecting it to skin and simply wanted a hot we reached camp at 5pm, we were soaked to the could do was shelter in a we best the d, shower and a readymade meal. Instea in the rain. pesto with pasta rather cramped boiler room and eat we tied as many of our The second day, our main aim was to dry off, so we resembled a walking until bags clothes as we could to the back of our improved and we much was er washing line. By the third day, the weath r, this was our bette was er weath had managed to dry off. Although the to route the of part up head hardest day of walking, as we had to night That . slope scree al Scarfell Pike and up an almost vertic all we the campsite was rather basic, but we didn’t care, by far was day last The wanted was to get home and finish. to pt attem to paths our fastest, as we powered along the and did we ly, Lucki

r. get home that night in time for suppe

. hours made it to the finish line in just six do Gold DofE again, it would If anyone had asked us mid scree slope if we would ng and looking back, finishi after now, but have been an obvious answer of ‘no’, it was quite an and way the all views ng it seems worth it, there were amazi achievement.

Eleanor Nye and Rebecca Randall LVI Form

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Silver DofE started bright and early on a Saturday morning with breakfast at 7am.

After team kit checks, we eventually waved goodbye to civilisation and turned the minibus into a salon, plaiting our hair ready for the days ahead. An hour and a half later, we arrived at our starting point where we met Ian, our assessor, who explained that his job was really to help us pass rather than to find reasons to fail us, which was reassuring. We eventually set off at about 9am and, within 15 minutes, we were changing from player layers into shorts, meaning we fell victim to the horseflies which were lurking in the long grass! The worst part of day one was the humidity, so we were extremely grateful for the warm shower at our campsite that night.

A ball, which we found en route, provided entertainment for the evening, until the rain began at 9.30pm driving everyone into their tents for the night.

By 6.30am on Sunday morning, the stoves were boiling and tents were being packed up. We left the campsite at 8am and found ourselves faced with a day of hills, which led to half the team declaring that they are never going to live in the Mendips! After searching for an elusive river that we had planned to have lunch by, which turned out to be the M4, we settled down for a long lunch in a wood.

During our lunch break, we were pleasantly surprised to discover from the examiner that we were in fact halfway through and, even better, the worst of the hills were behind us. With this newfound optimism, we marched on to the campsite which, to our dismay, had no showers or hot water and was full of very long grass and frogs. Having pitched our tents to let them dry out - we didn’t want to sleep in wet tents - and settled down for supper, preparations were made for an early start the next day - the home straight! After washing up all of the stoves ready for the stove inspection in the morning, everyone settled in for an early night.

Day three came quickly and everyone was up and ready to go by 6.45am, having been told we could only leave after 7am. After a couple of failed stove inspections,

we left the campsite promptly at 7am, all excited by the prospect of going home and hot showers. Day three involved going through a disused quarry and crossing, possibly one too many, fields of cows and, before we knew it, we had passed our first checkpoint, only stopping to treat some horsefly bites. From then on, our moods improved as we came closer to the end.

This optimism was very nearly completely destroyed by a declaration that we had a very steep hill before the end but, luckily, it was downhill not uphill so we sped towards the end, stopping only briefly for our last lunch to finish off all our food! Once we reached the car park, we all sprinted to the end where delicious ice cream from the Wookey Hole cafĂŠ awaited us.

Overall, Silver DofE had its ups and its downs (no pun intended) but, at the end of the day, if spirits are kept high and you work as a team, it can be an enjoyable experience.

Our recommendations for anyone on future expeditions: make sure you pack your bug spray and sense of humour, they are both essential if you want to have a good time!

Charlotte Paterson and Juliet Purdy UV Form

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Trips & Expeditions - DofE

During the course of the academic year, the LV Form accomplished their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which involved taking part in a physical activity, learning a skill, doing voluntary work and completing an expedition. At the Bronze stage, you are required to walk for two days, camping overnight.

Almost everyone in the year opted to take part and, while most chose to set up a cake stall on a few occasions, some of our year group helped at St Margaret’s Preparatory School at lunchtime for their volunteering. Another popular option was the school Charity Day, at which Gibbins (the LV Form Boarding House) hosted a Bollywood themed café in the Common Room. This was a resounding success and we managed to raise over £400 for the charity Live Twice.

To be able to complete the Award, we had to do a day walk in the Autumn Term, a practice walk and, finally, the expedition.

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This amount of walking seemed to some of us to be a bit excessive, but the theory was that by the time it came to the real thing, we would have learnt from our mistakes on the previous walks. This was mostly true but, on some occasions, we found that ‘the compass wasn’t working’ or ‘the path wasn’t on the map’ - we would never admit that we were in fact lost and completely off-route!

A total of nine teams ranging from six to eight members took part and, on two separate weekends, we set off around the hills of the Wiltshire countryside and, despite the bad weather, we made it! When all the teams did arrive at the campsite, there were three main feelings: relief to see civilisation, achievement for getting there, but dread of the next day when we would have to repack the damp tent, discover the lack of dry clothes and find that we had lost the map. We also found that once we’d arrived, put up our tents and made supper, there was nothing to do!

Unfortunately, the next day was more rainy and windy than the first, but this didn’t dampen our spirits as we had a very strong motive: get back for brunch!

As part of the expedition, all groups had to come up with and carry out an aim. Many groups chose to do a photographic guide to DofE, while others made up a song about the highlights (let’s just say that this was NOT popular and we’re surprised that a couple of them are in the Chamber Choir!). The aim served as both a distraction on the walk and something on which a whole team could work, making it a team-bonding activity. It definitely brought out the creative side of some people, including some amazing lyric writing talent!

When we finally reached the end, complete with mud war stripes on our cheeks, we were soaked and many of us had walked extra distance; we had never been so relieved to see a minibus. Although we didn’t have the best of weather, we all enjoyed our weekend walking and working as a team. However, it wasn’t just the expedition that we had to focus on, the volunteering, physical and skill aspects were all equally important and fun.

Thank you so much to all those teachers who helped co-ordinate this fantastic activity and bring on Silver!

Phoebe Aldridge and Georgia Patterson LV Form

Sports Reports

Tennis The Summer Term of 2014, although the shortest in living memory, still had its fair share of memorable experiences.

Regrettably, there were only four full Saturdays for matches and one of those was abandoned due to heavy rain (St Mary’s Ascot), so our desire to get more competition for all teams was somewhat dented. Nonetheless, I should start by stating the noticeable improvement of both individual skills and, importantly, depth of talent in all age groups.

With exams looming large for those at the top of the school, it was important to get off to a positive start. After a six year glorious partnership with Lily Marriott, we first had to find a new partner for School Captain Olivia Erwin. From a strong nucleus of U16s, Bonnie Bartlett stepped up to the challenge and the term was off and running with all bar one of the teams beating Godolphin on the opening Saturday. The school tennis circuit can be hit and miss, excuse the pun, and not many schools can, or are keen to field C and D Teams so, in an attempt to boost our level of competition, we added Wycombe Abbey to our fixture list. Reputed for their tennis, it was always going to be tough and, although we lost the majority, the matches were closer than the score lines suggested: Wycombe were merely better at winning those crucial points. Overall, the tennis was of a good standard and it proved a very worthwhile fixture; both schools are keen to repeat it.

Kingswood always provides good competition and our U12s won their match, although our Seniors and U13s were less successful despite playing some strong tennis. Downe House also guarantees good matches and four wins, two draws and three losses are respectable statistics from our encounters.

Last year’s Aegon season ran deep into November 2013, with the U15A IV winning

through to the last four in the South West and a place at the SW Regional Championships in Bath. The team of Hope Pleydell-Bouverie, Jemima Brown, Rosie Leng and Georgia Williams (the latter three a year young) complete with complementary Babolat ‘stash’ (minus back-breaking racket bags) were up against Millfield. With Jemima winning her singles and Rosie only losing 5-7, all was not lost going into the doubles; however, despite Jemima and Rosie winning their doubles, a classy Millfield 1st pair took the crucial rubber and Millfield won 4-2.

The play-off was even more exciting against Cardiff High School: the score was level after singles and then again after the doubles and the result came down to a championship tiebreak. Despite our best efforts, we lost 7-10. We were left contented to have been top 16 in the country, but disappointed to have been so close.

On the back of this success, we took the Aegon 2014 season by storm, entering five different teams in Division 1: three in the U15 and two in the U13, with the aim of getting more experience in singles matches. The round robin sections consisted of all other school A Teams, but it proved to be a success, especially for our U15B and U13B Teams, who all gained much from some tougher opposition and excitingly close singles matches: both teams beat South Wilts and Dauntsey’s, losing only to Godolphin. Our U15A IV (Hannah McLintock adding to the three regional winning survivors from last season) remained undefeated and, once again, victorious winners of the league, advancing to the County Final in Autumn 2014.

In another attempt to find more competitive opposition for our stronger players, we took six players all the way to Harpenden Lawn Tennis Club for a schools tournament in May.

Recommended by Millfield Tennis Academy, it was not surprising that our U16 1st pair of Hope Pleydell-Bouverie and Jemima Brown opened against Millfield! Although closer than we, or they, expected, Hope and Jemima found themselves in the Plate competition, only to progress through four more matches with their dogged and tenacious play and, ten sets later, were crowned Plate Champions! Meanwhile, after a first match win over Haberdashers’ Aske’s, Rosie Leng and Hannah McLintock met a young and impressive pair of sisters from Queenswood on tennis scholarships (the eventual winners). We relished the challenge and were in every point. Well worth the M25!

In the final week of term, the U13A IV entered the prestigious ISTA championships at Eton.

As a year group, the whole of the MIV Form had made considerable progress throughout the term and selecting the four players to represent the school was a tense competition in itself. The two pairs of Amelia Hatlapa and Ila Shetty, and Amelia Hunter and Sophie Mallinson won the initial challenge and proved very worthy contenders. It was the first time we had entered this competition and our players learned much from the experience.

The first day consisted of four round robin sections and, with several tennis academies and schools offering tennis scholarships, we were up against it on day one. We quickly learned to stand up for ourselves, be more upbeat and play to our strengths, and we beat Yarm and Sir Williams Perkins, but it was not enough to keep us in the top ten schools.

Eager to return for more play and build on our progress and improving court presence on day two we enjoyed greater success. All games were close and the girls began to hold their nerve under pressure, coming away with five wins out of the ten matches.

With 12 new courts next season and the prospect of a longer Summer Term, we will be a force to be reckoned with on the tennis court in 2015.

Mrs Heidi Marvin Director of Sport

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Founders’ Day 2014

Founders’ Day 2014 St Mary’s Calne was founded in 1873 by Canon John Duncan, Miss Ellinor Gabriel and Mrs Penelope Frances Murray, who gave generously to the service of education and the church with their financial and practical support, establishing the ethos that still exists today.

On Saturday 21st June, we celebrated our annual Founders’ Day. The first event was the Commemoration Service in the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin. The Reverend Jonathan Beach, School Chaplain, presided and the Church Address was given by special guest Mrs Sarah Troughton, Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire.

After describing the historic origins of the Lieutenancy role and the demands, as well as excitements, of being The Queen’s official representative in Wiltshire, Mrs Troughton emphasised that no one should ever assume that anything was beyond their reach and stressed the importance of seizing the opportunity to influence others to contribute to society. Mrs Troughton worked in the voluntary sector for many years with the youth club movement in Wiltshire and in a hostel for homeless girls in Swindon, and is involved with many charities; she feels privileged to play a part in making a difference to people’s lives and finished her address by saying ‘remember life is only really about people’ which set the tone for the rest of the day.

On returning to school, guests were able to enjoy viewing the prolific and impressive 84

works of art and displays of the girls’ many activities. In the Music Marquee, parents and guests were delighted by a fantastic selection of songs and instrumental items performed by members of the UVI Form.

A Champagne Reception for our Leavers and guests was greatly enjoyed, as were the House picnics on St Prisca’s Field under blue skies, whilst our VIPs were treated to lunch in the Dining Hall. Then it was time for the Annual Prizegiving. Following a warm welcome from Mr Simon Knight, Chairman of Governors, Dr Kirk gave an uplifting and motivating speech that focused on our heritage and constant values; the meaning of true education, including the importance of great teaching; innovative developments in the curriculum and exciting developments for the site in the future, such as improvements to the school’s sporting facilities.

Dr Kirk praised the leaving UVI Form for their hard work and contribution to the school community, saying how proud she was of all of them and what a credit they were to their parents, the school and to themselves.

She went on to expound the virtues of a St Mary’s education and to explain that it is based on non-negotiable principles and values which underpin everything we do, that at St Mary’s we strive to give each girl the highest quality opportunities: ‘We stand for true education of and for the individual.’ She also reminded us how fortunate our girls are when 66 million girls in the world have no access to education.

To the delight of the audience, we were treated to poetry readings from the Fourth Form Literalily Poetry Competition winners,

Lucy Jefford and Rachel McNeile, who showed amazing confidence in front of an audience of over 1,000. This was followed by a powerful and moving address by guest speaker, Kate Blewett, who spoke about her career as an investigative journalist and documentary maker.

A woman of great courage and determination who has made an incredible difference to the lives of others through the power of the media, Kate combined examples of the heartrending plight of her subjects with enormous optimism and humour. From The Dying Rooms of China’s orphanages to the slave trade in the Ivory Coast, Kate’s team has gone undercover in dangerous places to draw the world’s attention to those who need help most. She has had laws changed and institutions closed, and she has set up charities, effecting huge change through her documentaries. Her message - and example - to the girls was to believe that they too had the ability to make a difference and that we should all look at what we could give back.

Her inspirational address was followed by a beautifully orchestrated Prizegiving, rewarding the girls’ many achievements during the academic year. Finally, Head Girl, Sophie Nye, concluded the speeches with a witty and touching Vote of Thanks that recounted the UVI Form’s time at the school, ‘from ugly ducklings in Ugg boots, to swans in stilettoes’, and Dr Kirk presented the UVI Form leavers with a gift before they processed out to The Great Escape.

The music continued during afternoon tea with further performances from the younger members of the school. The day’s finale came when the UVI Form raised the roof with their enthusiastic singing of Jerusalem during their Leavers’ Service in Chapel, which must surely have been heard clearly (and enjoyed!) throughout Calne!

Founders’ Day Prizes Junior LIV – UIV Form Art (including Junior Art Cup) Georgia Lane Fox Drama Clara Wade Music Maia Jarvis Sport Jessica Westwood Senior LV – LVI Form

Art Francesca Lamb Drama Henrietta Page Music Hannah Drew Sport Olivia King Outstanding Contributor Prizes

LIV Form Shubha Shetty

UV Form Laura Steel LVI Form Rosanna Tabor UVI Form Prizes

Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Gemma Briston Emily Chaffer Rosalind Dalley Penelope Dowler Eleanor Dove Olivia Erwin Lucy Evans Jessica Fechner Isabella Grive Sophia Guinness Eleanor Harrison Matilda Jacobs Sophie Nye Lucy Rogers Sophie Rushman Rosemary Tian Chloe Waller Annabel Wright Hannah Wu Katherine Benthall Senior Art Cup Jessica O’Grady Biology Prize Eleanor Harrison

MIV Form Camilla Lewin

Classical Civilisation Prize Alice Rowse

UIV Form Katharine Stone Jessica Westwood

Chemistry Prize Rosemary Tian

LV Form Felicity Challinor Joyce Lam UV Form Elsbeth Giles Isobel Smith LVI Form Amelia Saer Sir Tim Rice Musical Theatre Prize Isabella Grive Eliza Leng Overall Academic Achievement Prizes

LIV Form Tegen Dixon-Clarke & Jolie Ryan-Dawes

The Mavis Hunter A Level History Prize Emilia Flack Sophie Nye Latin Prize Lucy Rogers Sue Lawton Prize for Mathematics Adeline Chow Further Mathematics Prize Hannah Wu Mayhew Prize for Music for All-Round Contribution Emily Clarke The Finlandia Cup (voted for by members of the Chamber Choir) Rosalind Dalley The Cecila James Prize Company Music Festival Solo Performance Winner Mariella de Soissons The Susannah Hunt Music Prize for Exemplary Contribution to Music Isabella Grive Philosophy & Ethics Prize Leonora Pearce Annabel Wright Physics Prize Hannah Wu Charles Crawford Sixth Form Science Prize Emily Clarke

Drama & Theatre Studies Olivia Kold

Spanish Prize Jessica Fechner Isabella Grive

Lilian Leadbetter Prize for Performance Isabella Grive

Outstanding Achievement in Sports Annabel Wright

Economics Prize Leonora Pearce

Services to Sport Cup Eleanor Dove

The Mayhew A Level English Cup Emilia Flack Sophie Nye

Special Prize for Sporting Excellence Jessica Mendoza

French Cup Isabella Grive Matilda Jacobs Geography Prize Mariella de Soissons

MIV Form Frances Arnold & Sophie Mallinson

German Prize Teodora Moeran

UIV Form Anna Hastie & Maia Jarvis

Government and Politics Prize Suzanna Bradshaw

LV Form Delphyne Findley-Ramsbotham Verity Page Yasmin Watling

History of Art Prize Teodora Moeran Emily Verschoyle

Prize for sustained effort across three A Level Subjects Imogen Giddins Prize for academic progress in the Sixth Form Ella Hamblin Jolie Zou Advanced IT Prize Emily Clarke Kate Melhuish Hannah Wu Company Cup Poore

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Subject Prizes Art LIV Form Jolie Ryan-Dawes MIV Form Harriet Jackson

Senior MIV Form Eleanor Chelton Zara Collier Baggs

LVI Form Ava Howard

Poetry Lucy Jefford, Frances Arnold & Rachel McNeile

UIV Form Diana Anikina

Drama

LIV Form Kristina Wolf

LV Form Joyce Lam

MIV Form Isabella Iversen

UV Form Helena Boase

UIV Form Maiya Roberts

LVI Form Phoebe Pugh

LV Form Imogen Parr

Classics

UV Form Hebe Field

The Margaret Beater Classics Cup Anna Hastie Penrose Foss Classics Cup Amelia Saer Latin

LIV Form Tabitha Clark

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LV Form Leonora Monson

LVI Form Francesca Lamb Economics

LVI Form Erica Chung

MIV Form Katya Green

English

LIV Form Jolie Ryan-Dawes

UIV Form Victoria Rassmuss

MIV Form Sophie Mallinson

LV Form Emily Peel

UIV Form Athina Hostelet

UV Form Helena Boase & Isobel Smith

LV Form Saskia Patel

LVI Form Rosanna Tabor

UV Form Laura Steel

Greek

UIV Form Isobel Slater

Junior English Cup Athina Hostelet

LV Form Lily Innes

English Literature

LV Form Lucy Humphries

UV Form Charlotte Paterson & Beth Rawlins

UV Form Juliet Baker

LVI Form Emilie Dando-Crosasso

LVI Form Charlotte Baker & Mia Millman

Classical Civilisation

UIV Form Renee Cheang

Creative Writing Competition Winners

Junior Mary Petherick

Geography

LIV Form Charlotte Newcombe

UIV Form Alice Wade LV Form Joyce Lam UV Form Helena Boase

MIV Form Sophie Mallinson

LVI Form Millie Marriott Webb

UIV Form Athina Hostelet

Mathematics

LIV Form Shubha Shetty

LV Form Phoebe Love UV Form Isobel Smith & Laura Steel LVI Form Eleanor Nye Government & Politics

LVI Form Charlotte Baker History

LIV Form Lucy Jefford MIV Form Isabella Iversen & Sophie Mallinson UIV Form Amber Dunne LV Form Eliza Perry & Yasmin Watling UV Form Elsbeth Giles & Isobel Smith LVI Form Charlotte Baker & Rosanna Tabor The Judith Milburn Special Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in History Imogen Dobie History of Art

LVI Form Iona Bromage & Maria Perry ICT LIV Form Lily Scott

MIV Form Yulu Chai UIV Form Coco Li LV Form Joyce Lam UV Form Charlotte Paterson LVI Form Liudmila Zudina & Ziwen Xu Further Mathematics

LVI Form Gefei Yin Modern Foreign Languages French

LIV Form Jolie Ryan-Dawes & Tegen Dixon-Clarke MIV Form Yulu Chai & Sophie Mallinson UIV Form Anna Hastie & Jessica Westwood LV Form Georgia Patterson Isolde Crichton Watt (Express) UV Form Juliet Baker Charlotte Paterson (Express) LVI Form Liudmila Zudina Imogen Dobie (Express)

Founders’ Day 2014

German

LIV Form Ella Fenton MIV Form Frances Arnold UIV Form Maia Jarvis LV Form Phoebe Aldridge UV Form Juliet Purdy Spanish

LIV Form Charlotte Newcombe MIV Form Katya Green UIV Form Ariana Watling

The Heather Manners Award for Progress - awarded to a girl who has made outstanding progress in her first year’s tuition on a new instrument Jazz Wong Fourth Form Music Competition Winner Maia Jarvis Psychology

LV Form Aashni Shah Religious Studies

LIV Form Jolie Ryan-Dawes MIV Form Frances Arnold UIV Form Lucile Allender

Chemistry

UIV Form Maia Jarvis LV Form Hannah McLintock UV Form Elsbeth Giles LVI Form Erica Chung Physics

UIV Form Lucile Allender LV Form Verity Page UV Form Luana Sharp LVI Form Millie Marriott Webb

LV Form Joyce Lam Naomi Green (Express)

Philosophy & Ethics

LV Form Delphyne Findley-Ramsbotham & Hannah McLintock

Sport

LIV Form Ella Malik

UV Form Anna Money-Kyrle Georgina Higgins (Express)

UV Form Mia Langnier

MIV Form Amelia Hatlapa

Chinese

LIV Form Tabitha Clark

LVI Form Rosanna Tabor

UIV Form Georgia Lane Fox

Science

MIV Form Ila Shetty

General Science Prize

LIV Form Tegen Dixon-Clarke

LV Form Jemima Brown

UIV Form Athina Hostelet Music

LIV Form Shubha Shetty MIV Form Ila Shetty UIV Form Lucile Allender LV Form Saskia Patel UV Form Taya Sellers LVI Form Marina Jodrell The Barnett Prize for Music in the UIV Form Rachel McNeile

UV Form Hope Pleydell-Bouverie

Young Enterprise ‘Origins’ Origins produced two different products. First, they produced a popular range of t-shirts and organised a very successful fashion show in order to promote them. The second product they created was a fun and educational ‘Treasure Hunt’ game for parents to use with their children. The judges were particularly impressed by the latter, saying that it was one of the best products ever to be showcased at a Wiltshire County Final.

Winners of four awards at the Wiltshire County Final Best Customer Focus Best Report Best Teamwork The Winners’ Trophy Award for Outstanding Contribution Mia Millman Managing Director Franziska Goess-Saurau Zoe Bassett Bolam (Deputy) Company Secretary Rosanna Tabor Francesca Davis (Deputy) Finance Director Kristen Know Rebecca Randall (Deputy) Operations Director Julia Werner Osarhiere Akpata (Deputy) HR Director Ophelia Smith Isabella Tottenham (Deputy)

MIV Form Sophie Mallinson

LVI Form Rebecca Randall

Sales Director Claudia Meissner Esme Amberg (Deputy)

The Woodruff Science Prize for most improvement in LIV Form Kristina Wolf

The Henry Harwood Day Girls’ Prize for all-round contribution to school life Hannah Drew

Marketing Director Tiwalope Sagoe Amelia Saer (Deputy)

Junior Science Cup Amber Dunne Biology

UIV Form Anna Hastie LV Form Joyce Lam UV Form Laura Steel LVI Form Pooja Patel

RADA

Esme Amberg Venetia Baring Emilie Dando-Crosasso Marina Jodrell Olivia King Francesca Lamb Claudia Meissner Mia Millman Henrietta Page Sophie Perry Polly Roberts Octavia Thomson Isabella Tottenham Liudmila Zudina

IT Director Eleanor Nye Bertina Chan (Deputy) Creative Director Olivia King Emilie Dando-Crosasso (Deputy) Photographers Francesca Lamb Ava Howard (Deputy)

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Founders’ Day 2014

Major Awards The Debs Price Award for Drama is awarded for the first time this year to a girl in any year group whose contribution to the work of the Drama Department has been outstanding, and who has shown spirit and determination either on stage or backstage. Debs Price, mother of Victoria, died of breast cancer in 2013; her voluntary contribution to all aspects of St Mary’s and particularly the Drama Department was inspirational.

Marina Jodrell The Katie Plunkett Memorial Prize is awarded to a girl in the LVI Form whose academic work demonstrates a keen and enquiring mind and who has also contributed a great deal to the school in at least one other area such as Music, Drama or Sport. Katie was a pupil at St Mary’s Calne from 1991-1996, and her mother and sisters also attended the school.

Imogen Dobie The Dereham Charities Cup is awarded for hard work and self-motivated contribution to charity.

Penelope Dowler and Lucy Evans The Fenton Cup is awarded to a girl who has shown genuine compassion and sustained support of others.

Gemma Briston and Rosalind Dalley The Joll Endeavour Prize is awarded to a girl who has achieved a high standard in her work through effort and perseverance.

Eleanor Dove

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The Lacey Trophy is awarded to a girl who, in the Sixth Form, has been determined and has persevered with academic work, Sport and Music to achieve a high standard in all three aspects of life.

Emily Clarke

The Martha Cole Trophy for Personal Courage is awarded to a girl in any year group who has shown courage and endeavour beyond the norm.

Martha died of cystic fibrosis in 2006; her parents gave the Martha Cole Trophy in her memory.

Penelope Dowler

The Southwell Cup for Critical and Analytical Thinking is given by our former Chair of Governors and current Patron, Richard Southwell QC, whose wife and daughter were Calne Girls.

Emilia Flack

The Leavers’ Cup was donated by the 1990 leavers for the UVI Form to award to one of their number who they feel has been outstanding during their UVI Form year.

Isabella Grive

The Brunel Prize for Creative Thinking is awarded to a girl who has been innovative, capable of problem-solving, generating ideas and showing imagination.

The Steward Cup is a special prize awarded to a member of the leaving UVI Form whose general all-round attitude reflects the ethos of the school.

Mariella de Soissons

Olivia Erwin and Jessica Fechner

Joyce Walters Prize for Scholarship is awarded to the most outstanding all-round scholar in the UVI Form. Joyce Walters was Headmistress from 1972-1985.

The Helen Wright Prize for Leadership is awarded to a girl who has demonstrated leadership through her strong integrity and values during her time at the school. Helen Wright was Headmistress from 2003-2012.

Sophie Nye

Emilia Flack The ‘Good Egg Award’, in memory of Elinor Green, who was at Calne from 1988-1995, is awarded to an ‘unsung heroine’ who has demonstrated this quality throughout her time at the school. She will be an UVI Form girl who has, in subtle ways, contributed the most to the school in terms of building bridges and generally fostering good relationships and a positive atmosphere.

Olivia Monson

The Delscey Burns Cup is awarded to the pupil from any year who most embodies the spirit of the school. Delscey Burns was Headmistress from 1985-1996.

Sophie Nye

Reviews

Artist in Residence Emma Parkinson completed a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at The Arts University, Bournemouth before continuing her studies at Oxford Brookes, where she graduated with a degree in Fine Art in the summer of 2013. Her work is an exploration of identity and memory; throughout her degree, she investigated her ancestral roots, initially using printmaking and drawing as the vehicle for family anecdotes.

Her recent works explore identity through contemporary portraiture in the context of fashion photography and performance arts.

As my year’s residency at St Mary’s Calne comes to an end, the memories made and experiences gained will stay with me throughout my career as an artist. St Mary’s is a very individual school filled with flourishing students and tremendous staff whom I greatly admire. My role at St Mary’s has been unique and continually diverse, allowing me to build relationships with girls throughout the school, across the year groups; girls I shall sincerely miss watching grow and develop.

I have relished the interdisciplinary nature of the role, from helping the girls set-paint to creating ludicrous costumes and face-painting for Company Suppers, Company Shout and other entertaining events in the school calendar, as well as coordinating the creation of banners for the Founders’ Day marquee.

Creativity is instilled in every one of the students and I have thoroughly enjoyed nurturing the girls’ artistic talents, whether an art student or not! The photographic knowledge I have bought to the school has particularly benefited a number of students and I am proud of the incredible imagery they have created, often without any prior experience in the subject.

I was so excited by the girls’ continual thirst for creativity, enabling a smooth transition from art student to the many-faceted role

of Artist in Residence.

From day one I was in high demand; from technical assistance to helping the girls find a suitable vehicle to facilitate their ideas, the students of St Mary’s are never shy of asking for advice and guidance.

Their ambitious nature and enthusiasm to succeed is, I believe, one of the many reasons why the art adorning the school corridors is of such an exceptional standard.

Enrichment Weeks were unchartered territory for me, although they stand out as being one of my favourite, if slightly chaotic, memories of my time at the school. The Damien Hirst-themed Enrichment Week in the Autumn Term was particularly memorable. With around 150 juniors due to descend on the Art School, I was faced with the challenge of attempting to abolish their potential skepticism in regards to Hirst’s minimalistic ‘spot’ and ‘spin’ paintings. The solution was this: convert the pottery wheels into ‘spinning machines’ and allow them a breath of refreshing freedom of expression! Unsurprisingly, the girls thoroughly enjoyed the process, dribbling brightly-coloured acrylic onto the rotating paper to create abstract artworks. The unpredictable nature of the process was frustrating for some, though it taught them an important lesson in letting their hair down and allowing fate to determine the outcome of their work!

I was also pleasantly surprised by how much the girls embraced the healthy debate on the meaning behind Hirst’s work: the divided opinion on his animal-based pieces and the accompanying controversial price tags. Collaborative spot paintings also went down well and the pupils enjoyed exercising their teamwork skills to create a bold piece of art. The experience was both educational and enjoyable for all, so much so, that weeks down the line we were still being asked for a ‘spin’ session!

With so many exciting projects happening on a day-to-day basis in the art school, I found myself overwhelmed with ideas for my own practice. Having primarily used installation and lens-based media within my degree work, I found myself itching to start painting, printing and drawing again. Consequently, my work took many different forms, from

performance art and Cindy Sherman style photography, to vibrant seascapes in the style of Peter Lanyon and Hockney. I therefore made the decision to curate the Founders’ Day exhibition as a combination of both the girls’ work and mine.

With our ideas informing each other’s practice, it made sense to exhibit the work altogether, just in the way a public gallery might install works.

Senior girls’ work was displayed alongside junior work and vice versa, integrating the year groups by means of artistic interest rather than segregating by age. The compliments paid by staff and visitors are testimony to the success of the exhibition, with viewers enjoying being guided through the themes by a map made especially for Founders’ Day – a very grand finale to the year.

It is true to say my life and career as an artist have been enhanced by the time I have spent at St Mary’s and I hope this is also true for the girls. Helping foster creativity and promoting art within the school was an honour, from the junior after-school art club attendees, all the way through GCSE candidates to prospective art school applicants, I have been overwhelmed by their sense of determination and the prevalent drive the girls have to meet their artistic aspirations.

Through the collaborative works undertaken, the tutorials, assistance during lessons, extracurricular activities and pastoral time spent with the girls, I hope my presence within the school has helped them grow and develop personally and artistically to the best of their abilities. Ultimately, I believe the distinct yet varied impact the Artist in Residence has on the community provides a unique influence on the girls’ learning experience.

I am thankful to have had the joy of being part of the network of outstanding staff that has helped shape the girls’ undoubtedly prosperous futures.

Miss Emma Parkinson Artist in Residence 89

Reviews

Juliet Baker UV Form Form Phoebe Pugh LVI

figuration, also focused on The UIV Form abstract lly on painting t t more specifica bu American artis inspired by the worked on a its ve ra ha rt po rls in gi lfs e se ou th meticul This year, ects in the The girls were e range of proj Chuck Close. e canvas and th particularly wid to in l, on seen, as usua eir portraits be th g n in ca aw at to dr th ol Art Scho ed ific techniques hibition display arning the spec ex le er in m tings; en m in th su pa al engaging our annu mprises emely bold and e exhibition co tr Th ex . ol te went ho ea sc cr at e th on rd work around th all year groups to see all the ha by ly ve ed lo uc is od it pr artworks ure, Colour g Bath Architect into them. themes includin aces, Sp an rb U a, Se d n, The LV Form starte ircus. and Abstractio the school, the iture and The C ra up rt r ng he Po -lo rt ry ar Fu ra ye po a ork: Contem GCSE coursew r, fa work on their us Th ar. ects on The Art of W worked on proj project based intmaking in pr of us The junior girls r irc be C the Gifford learnt a num to ve it ha vis ers r ey th ou by inspired create war post Form low them to re ember. The LIV al pt to Se s e ill in th sk gh ed ou sit Marlbor

by Marc s, have vi the world war tings influenced th in pa bo l m fu n ur fro gu lo be co have created develop both in Dorset and owed them to Tank Museum of war artists, e Chagall that all gh ng hi ra a a the work of inting skills to pa ng yi d an ud h, g st in aw their dr ar-long r and Paul Nas Stanley Spence worked on a ye g in rm ud Fo cl either IV in in M it e ra level. Th bats ale port ing life-size acro arting a large-sc ak st m re t, fo ec oj be pr e sculptur Niki de Saint mensions. e French artist two or three di w ho in the style of th nt ar le ls e project, the gir Falle. During th and they -scale sculpture to design a large int them. construct and pa to s am te in d worke 90

completed g Art for GCSE The girls studyin included e projects, which their architectur elain pieces and di-inspired porc producing Gau itecture. Once gs of Bath’s arch dynamic paintin the opportunity eted, they had this was compl te Britain to displays at the Ta to visit the new aminations. for their final ex gain inspiration cluded am questions in This year, the ex ich, from ome and Sandw Headdress, Chr projects. The had to develop which the girls ely varied e, as ever, extrem final results wer ulptures and tiks, paintings, sc and included ba . ceptional quality drawings of ex

UVI Form Cicley Haslam

Girls in both the LVI and UVI Form had the opportunity, over the course of the year, to develop their chosen art and design interests, allowing them to pursue subjects both contemporary and more traditional.

However, we started off the year by taking all the Sixth Form artists to the Wallace Collection in London to take part in an extremely inspiring figurative workshop on ‘The Art of Representing the Nude Figure’.

For this, they spent the day studying the human form and how it has been portrayed by artists such as Titian and Boucher in the Renaissance and the Rococo periods. In the afternoon, they put their observations into practice by drawing a female nude life model.

All this hard work was put to good use whilst developing their chosen projects, which included portrait photography, paintings influenced by Brigit Riley and Joan Mitchell, still life and landscape painting to name just a few of the themes explored.

We have also been extremely fortunate that all of the girls that applied for Foundation Courses have gained places at their first choice colleges: Emily Chaffer and Cicely Haslam will attend Leeds College of Art, Grace Keeler is going to The Prince’s Drawing School and Jessica O’Grady gained a place at City and Guilds.

It has been another fantastic year for the Art Department and we are extremely proud of all the sensational artwork that has been produced and is displayed around the school.

We do hope you will have the opportunity to see it at some point over the course of the year.

Miss Candia Bradshaw Director of Art

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News

SIXTH FORM AND BEYOND...

SIXTH FORM FAIR In September, St Mary’s hosted its first Sixth Form Fair for the UV Form and their parents, as well as prospective pupils looking at St Mary’s Sixth Form. The morning started with a series of talks from Dr Kirk, Miss Aherne (Head of Sixth Form), Mrs Socha (Director of Higher Education) and members of the Head Girl’s Team about the spirit of Sixth Form life. It was also a chance to hear about the process of applying to university.

Following the talks, everybody was invited to visit subject stands to speak to staff and UVI Form about what each subject offers at AS and A2 Level. There was a real buzz as each department celebrated their subject and the UV Form girls were given lots to think about. It was then time to tour the Helen Wright House and to discuss the plans for the brand new LVI boarding house. We are incredibly proud of our Sixth Form provision and it was a fantastic opportunity to highlight all that we have to offer.

FUTURES NEWSLETTER This year also saw the launch of the bi-termly newsletter ‘Futures’. Written by Mrs Socha,

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Director of Higher Education, and Mrs Foreman, Director of Personal Development and Careers, it is a fantastic resource for finding out more information on specific courses, university open days and ways of enhancing UCAS applications and personal statements, as well as work experience and the job market. Each newsletter also contains a university focus feature and an inspirational, personal careers article written by one of our current parents, so far penned by an international fund manager; the Founder, Chairman and CEO of a sustainable energy company; an interior designer; an equine veterinary surgeon and a politician. They have also provided an insight into how career

paths change and progress: ‘from Chartered Accountant to Vice President of Product Marketing & Customer Insights, Hilton Worldwide’ and one mother’s change from the financial sector to a career in food.

LVI FORM CAREERS CONFERENCE: INSPIRING WOMEN In February, the LVI Form girls focused their thoughts on life after St Mary’s and the futures that await them. Lynne Copp, a former parent and Founder of the Worklife Company, who has extensive experience in a wide range of different organisations, kindly chaired the day’s proceedings and hosted one of the breakout sessions.

Building Society as a graduate employee and is now a full-time member of the HR team, and recently qualified solicitor Sarah Harvey from Gough’s, who specialises in Commercial Property and Company Law.

Our line-up of panel guests covered an impressive expanse of careers and included: •

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•

•

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•

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Jane Bailey - Head of Customer Management, Rolls-Royce Marine - whose breakout session was on Customer Focus & Innovation: working in a global engineering company.

Isabel Barter - Barrister - Leaping into Law: barrister or solicitor?

Lynne Copp - I haven’t a clue about my future career - what are the options?

Susie Forbes - Principal of Condé Nast School of Fashion & Design - Magazines: what lies beneath?

Sally Jones-Evans - Chief Operating Officer, Group HR, Lloyds Banking Group - Finance & Banking: so much more than numbers; varied careers with customers, people and technology at the heart of our economy.

Laura MacCulloch - Curator at Royal Holloway, University of London - Behind the Scenes at the Museum: careers in art galleries & museums.

Dr Alexandra Thomson-Moore Medicine: from the NHS to Mount Kilimanjaro - a world of opportunity.

We were also joined by some new faces for the Getting into Work panel in the afternoon: former pupil Catherine Watson, who is an Entertainment Editor (intern) at Microsoft whilst studying for her degree in English Literature with Creative Writing; Gillian Scobbie who joined Nationwide

After an enjoyable sit-down lunch, the LVI Form’s Young Enterprise Company, Origins, gave an excellent presentation, and they were given some constructive advice and further ideas by our business experts. Finally, following further discussions during the Getting into Work panel, Lynne asked our guests for their final pieces of advice. They included: do something you love; make the most of school; use the opportunities given to you at university, including careers advice and clubs & societies; make a good impression and network; have a ‘can do’ attitude; work experience matters and, finally, manage that worklife balance!

LEADERSHIP AND TEAM BUILDING WORKSHOP In March, we took part in a workshop designed to make us evaluate our skills and strengthen our ability to work in a team. Through a series of somewhat difficult challenges, including a seemingly impossible quiz, building a Lego dolphin from memory (which the session leader said we did very well considering her last group became ‘screaming banshees’ towards the end of their attempt!) and designing and presenting a T-shirt in five minutes, we aimed to keep calm, work together and problem-solve effectively. Working in strategically allocated groups decided by Mrs Foreman meant that we worked with different people and learnt lots about each other in the process, for example, who was a natural leader and who preferred to work behind the scenes. With

chocolate as an incentive, we all worked really hard to complete the challenges and our team skills definitely improved, as did our leadership skills. Overall, it was a very informative and useful morning, which has benefited us hugely, especially with our roles on the Senior Team.

Rebecca Randall, Sophie Perry and Rosanna Tabor Head Girl’s Team GOING FURTHER WEEK In June, the LVI Form took part in St Mary’s first ever Going Further Week. The programme, designed to encourage their critical thinking, scholarship, reflection and intellectual resourcefulness, gave the girls the opportunity to attend subject specific sessions, exploring issues that are beyond the confines of their A Level specifications such as they might study at university. The topics covered were incredibly diverse: from the construction of artistic mythologies by looking at Vincent Van Gogh’s life, paintings and letters in History of Art, to the dissection of a preserved rat, exposing its organs and subsequently observing and identifying structures in Biology.

Several girls attended a tailor-made programme at the University of Southampton where they learnt about research at a Russell Group institution, were able to meet both lecturers and student ambassadors and also attend a sample lecture on ‘The rise of cyber terrorism and its international implications’. Other girls embarked upon the EPQ (Extended Project Qualification), using the time independently to explore a

topic of their choice. The week afforded the LVI Form the freedom to both deepen and broaden their thinking about a range of subjects, and we hope inspired them to engage with new debates as they continue to read around their chosen courses of study.

Miss Lianne Aherne Head of Sixth Form

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Trips & Expeditions

Imogen Ellis and Yasmin Watling in LV Form, played host to two girls, Kathryn and Grace, from Lovett School in Atlanta for three weeks in May, before being invited back to their exchange partners’ homes in August.

I was surprised by how hard it was to be a good host; however, I did not find this an arduous responsibility, but rather enjoyed the challenge. I felt the experience developed important skills and made me more selfless, empathetic and responsible. I also feel that the exchange made me truly acknowledge and appreciate my home environment and made me more aware of just how much there is to do in England!

I now feel that I have a much, much deeper understanding of the USA and American culture than a family holiday could never even begin to develop. I was able to settle into the Bain family’s routine very easily as they were so kind and thoughtful, and this allowed me really to get a taste of what family life is like in Atlanta. I especially feel that I learnt the true meaning of pride: pride in your team, work, city, school, state, country and even companies. I will definitely endeavor to have more pride in all that I do after seeing just how much Lovett students are empowered by this attribute; how it makes learning much more positive and also how it brings together communities of people - I hope this doesn’t sound too cheesy!

I really enjoyed all of the activities I did during the holidays and weekends. I was glad that I got to have a tour of Atlanta upon arriving

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in the city so I had my bearings immediately.

I especially loved going to the lakes and being able to tube, wakeboard and generally relax on the boat and in the water there, which was so much fun! It was also amazing to see all the beautiful lake houses which were equipped with some very cool features for kids.

Additionally, I really enjoyed going to Six Flags and to the football game in North Atlanta.

At school (or ‘on campus’), Lovett’s size was an obvious difference and the amount of people in the school halls was overwhelming!

Although this was at times disconcerting, as I’m used to an environment where everyone knows everyone else by name, it allowed me to blend in as a Lovett student, as most did not notice a new face and I was able truly to experience high school as though I was a pupil. I believe this has also helped

to prepare me for life outside of my school, such as working environments or university, and I have become much better at learning names! Lovett was very modern, and I was very impressed by all the cool facilities and technology around the school. I also found it interesting to see various teaching styles and I enjoyed most classes, especially European History where I felt really involved in the class.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and would recommend it to absolutely anyone who is considering applying. I loved meeting people and think that making new friends was possibly my favourite part of the exchange. I just wish I could have stayed for longer!

On the Sunday Kathryn arrived, we welcomed her to England – it was her first time visiting – and I introduced her to my family. Being at an all girls’ boarding school in the middle of the countryside was a new experience for Kathryn and she even stayed over at school on a couple of nights to get the full experience.

Whilst Yasmin and I were sitting exams, Kathryn and Grace were given a project on the difference between women’s education in the 19th century and the present day, and then how it differs from America to England.

We spent the majority of Half Term exploring England’s historical attractions, as there aren’t many in Atlanta. We took Kathryn around the city of Bath, home of the Roman Baths and the Jane Austen Museum, and to Dorset to go coasteering with the Watlings. We had a great time and topped it off with traditional fish and chips by the river on the way back!

Locally, we visited Bowood House and Gardens, Oxford, Stonehenge and Lacock, which was a hit as Harry Potter, a worldwide favorite, was filmed in certain parts of the Abbey. Towards the end of the week, we did the ‘must dos’ in London in just two days and were still able to fit in a trip to the Victoria Palace Theatre to watch Billy Elliot.

The week after Half Term was results week and, although our lessons weren’t what they’d usually be like, we still had a lot of fun in the dorm and with friends. It was really sad saying goodbye to the girls, but knowing I’d be seeing them in August made it easier.

I was beyond excited to see Kathryn again and meet her family. It was so nice to go home to such a welcoming family after a long flight. We spent the first few days exploring the neighbourhood, which is very different to my village.

For the rest of the week, I loved attending Kathryn’s classes and learning how different the education system is. Work at Lovett revolves around technology much more than at St Mary’s, which really surprised me.

On Friday night, we went to a Braves game which was what I expected: loud and full of passionate fans! The theme of the night was ‘zombies’ and the entertainment in-between play was hilarious. We visited Kathryn’s Grandparents’ house in Lake Oconee, South West of Atlanta and it was nice not to go to school on Saturday but to take a boat out instead. We went tubing, ate typical American food and took part in the ‘ALS ice bucket challenge’!

As Lovett is a day school, their friends all live close by, whereas students at St Mary’s live all over the country. I discovered that there aren’t many cultural differences; however, what did surprise me was how different US laws are, for example, children can start driving at a much younger age.

We saw a bit of the city, such as the aquarium and the country club, before Kathryn, Mrs Hull and I drove down to Rosemary Beach, Florida.

I loved seeing another state. The beaches and town were beautiful and the food was delicious. I will never forget paddle boarding alongside dolphins, sea turtles and stingrays.

I learnt so much from this trip. It proved to me that making friends is easy no matter where on the globe and I have finally discovered what it is like to be an American citizen and attend a high school. I think that the biggest difference is how fast-paced America is compared with the UK - there’s so much to do!

I had the most amazing time. I could not have asked for a better family to share their home with me and I am extremely thankful for their generosity.

We were sad to leave Florida, but the summer was not over yet; before school started we went to the World of Coke, saw a movie with friends and went to the mall.

Starting school wasn’t as hard as I thought; the first day was a gentle introduction to the school year and I really enjoyed meeting Kathryn’s friends after hearing so much about them.

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Examination Results

Public Examination Results 2014 St Mary’s girls once again celebrated excellent A Level results, with 31% of all entries graded A*, 66% A*-A, and 91% A*-B. 100% A*-A grades were achieved in Further Mathematics, Latin and Spanish, with 95% A*-A in History and 92% A*-A in Mathematics. 100% A* grades were also achieved in the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) examinations.

Six girls gained A* grades in three subjects and Isabella Grive achieved a remarkable four A*s in English, French, History and Spanish.

We are also delighted that the overwhelming majority of girls secured their places at their first choice universities.

Head Girl, Sophie Nye, secured her place to read History at Jesus College, Oxford, with A*s in Economics, English and History, gaining full marks in papers in each of her subjects.

Other girls who achieved A*s in three subjects include Hannah Wu with A*s in Further Mathematics, Mathematics and Physics and As in Chinese and Economics, securing her place at Jesus College, Oxford to read Mathematics; Olivia Erwin, Deputy Head Girl, received A*s in English, Geography and History and will be studying History at Durham, and Emilia Flack, Deputy Head Girl, gained A*s in English, History and Mathematics.

Other notable success stories include Jessica Fechner, Deputy Head Girl, who was awarded three As and an A* and will be reading Modern Languages at Oriel College, Oxford, and Suzannah Bradshaw, who obtained two A*s and one A grade, which included an A* in History with a very rare full marks across all four papers at AS and A Level, securing her place to read the subject at Durham.

Many girls have secured their first choice places to read STEM subjects, including Eleanor Harrison, who achieved two A*s in Biology and Geography and an A in Chemistry to secure her place at Newcastle

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University to read Medicine; Emily Clarke, who received straight As in Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics to read Chemical Engineering at Loughborough and Rosemary Tian, who was awarded three A*s in Biology, Chemistry and Maths to secure her place at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, to read Veterinary Medicine.

Congratulations also go to Emily Chaffer, Vera Cheong, Mariella de Soissons, Olivia Kold, Lily Marriott, Leonora Pearce, Lucy Rogers and Alice Rowse for achieving all A*-A grades in their A Level examinations.

At GCSE, there were some outstanding results in specific subjects, including 92% A*As in RS (a compulsory subject for all pupils) and over 80% A*-As in Art, Geography, History and Music. In Art, History, Geography and RS several girls were awarded full marks across all of their papers, a truly remarkable achievement.

Individual success stories include Isobel Smith, who had a full sweep of 11 A*s and achieved an incredible full marks in Geography, History and the RS Short Course; Juliet Baker, who was awarded ten A*s and two As, including full marks in all History papers; Helena Boase, who received ten A*s, including full marks across Art & Design and an almost perfect score in RS; Elsbeth Giles, who had a full set of ten A*s and Charlotte Paterson, who gained 11 A*s and one A. Many congratulations also go to Bonnie Bartlett, Georgia Murdoch, Hope Pleydell-Bouverie, Francesca Pullan,

Taya Sellers, Luana Sharp and Laura Steel, who were awarded all A*-A grades and, finally, to Lauren Dickson on achieving full marks across her History papers in every unit!

Girls taking GCSEs early received outstanding results, with all 21 girls achieving 100% A* grades in French, Italian, Mathematics, Russian and Spanish – an incredible feat.

I am very proud of all the girls who received their results this summer; they are testament to their dedication and hard work, and the passion and commitment of our teachers.

They performed extremely well, with outstanding personal achievements in both their academic studies and their extracurricular activities. As you have seen in the pages of this magazine, our girls participate fully in the breadth of opportunities on offer, combining academic success and a love of learning with excellence on the sports field; dramatic, musical and artistic talent; charity work and volunteering in the community, and trips and expeditions that take them all over the world; they are also excellent mentors for the younger girls and supporters of each other.

The self-belief, knowledge, skills and interests that they have developed during their time at Calne have provided them with a great foundation for their future endeavours. I would like to wish all the girls the very best.

Dr Felicia Kirk Headmistress

Examination Results

A Level Results 2014

GCSE Results 2014

Ella Bavinton Lara Bavinton Emily Bradshaw Suzanna Bradshaw Gemma Briston Emily Chaffer Vera Cheong Emily Clarke Rosalind Dalley Mariella de Soissons Eleanor Dove Penelope Dowler Olivia Erwin Lucy Evans Jessica Fechner Emilia Flack Harriet Gerard Leigh Imogen Giddins Isabella Grive Sophie Guinness Ella Hamblin Eleanor Harrison Cicely Haslam Clarissa Ho Matilda Jacobs Yiyi Jiang Grace Keeler Olivia Kold Lily Marriott Matilda McNeile Kate Melhuish Jessica Mendoza Teodora Moeran Olivia Monson Sophie Nye Jessica O’Grady Catherine Paddock Leonora Pearce Rosie Reynolds Lucy Rogers Alice Rowse Sophie Rushman Rosemary Tian Emily Verschoyle Chloe Waller Annabel Wright Hannah Wu Jolie Zou

Omotara Akinkugbe: ENLANG, ENLIT, FRE, GEO, MAT, RS*, SCI, SCI AD Juliet Baker: ART**, BIO**, CHE*, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, FRE**, GRK*, HIS**, LAT**, MAT**, PHY**, RSs** Bonnie Bartlett: BIO**, CHE*, ENLANG*, ENLIT*, FRE*, GEO**, HIS**, MAT*, MUS*, PHY*, RSs* Helena Boase: ART**, BIO**, CHE**, ENLANG, ENLIT**, HIS**, LAT**, MAT**, PHY**, RS**, SPA** Isabelle Cain: ART*, ENLANG, ENLIT*, FRE, HIS*, MAT, RSs**, SCI, SCI AD Mattie Carr: BIO, CHE, ENLANG, ENLIT**, FRE, HIS*, MAT, PHY, RS** Eleanor Chelton: BIO, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, FRE*, HIS*, LAT*, MAT*, PHY, RSs**, SPA** Tatiana Crichton Watt: BIO*, CHE, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, FRE**, GEO**, MAT*, PHY, RSs*, SPA** Jessica Daley: BIO, CHE, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, GEO*, HIS**, MAT, PHY, RSs*, SPA Eleanor Davies: ART*, BIO, CHE, ENLANG, ENLIT*, HIS, MAT*, PHY, RSs**, SPA Lauren Dickson: BIO*, CHE*, ENLANG*, ENLIT*, FRE*, GEO**, HIS**, LAT, MAT**, PHY*, RSs** Tabitha Ellis: ART*, BIO, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT, HIS, MAT, PHY, RSs*, SPA Jessica Enthoven: BIO*, CHE*, ENLANG**, ENLIT*, FRE, GEO**, HIS**, MAT*, PHY*, RSs** Georgina Falk: BIO*, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT, GEO*, HIS*, LAT, MAT*, PHY, RSs**, SPA* Hebe Field: ENLANG*, ENLIT**, FRE*, HIS*, MAT, RSs*, SCI, SCI AD Charlotte Fitzwilliam-Lay: ART*, BIO*, CHE*, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, FRE**, HIS*, MAT*, PHY, RS* Elsbeth Giles: BIO**, CHE**, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, FRE**, HIS**, MAT**, MUS**, PHY**, RS** Sarah Gralla: BIO*, CHE, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, FRE**, GEO**, HIS**, MAT*, PHY, RSs**, SPA** Kamila Gulieva: ENLANG, ENLIT, FRE*, MAT, RSs*, SCI, SCI AD, SPA** Georgina Haynes: BIO, CHE, ENLANG, ENLIT, FRE, GEO, MAT*, MUS, PHY, RSs* Alexia Hermelin: ART**, ENLANG, ENLIT*, FRE*, GEO, MAT, RSs**, SCI, SCI AD Georgina-May Higgins: BIO*, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, GEO**, GMN*, HIS**, MAT, PHY, RSs*, SPA* Esme Lane Fox: ART*, BIO, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT*, HIS*, MAT, PHY, RSs* Eloise Le Fevre: BIO, CHE, ENLANG, ENLIT*, GEO, GMN, MAT*, PHY, RS* Eliza Leng: BIO, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, FRE, GEO*, HIS*, MAT, PHY, RSs** Annabelle Mastin-Lee: ENLANG*, ENLIT*, HIS*, MAT, RS**, SCI, SCI AD, SPA Katie Meehan: BIO*, CHE*, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, FRE**, GEO*, HIS**, LAT, MAT*, PHY, RSs** Anna Money-Kyrle: BIO*, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT*, GEO*, MAT*, PHY, RSs**, SPA* Georgia Murdoch: ART**, BIO*, CHE*, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, GEO*, HIS**, MAT*, PHY*, RSs**, SPA* Beatrice Nash: BIO, CHE, ENLANG, ENLIT*, GEO*, HIS, MAT, PHY, RSs*, SPA Evie Owens: BIO, CHE, ENLANG**, ENLIT, FRE, GEO*, MAT*, PHY*, RSs* Charlotte Paterson: ART**, BIO**, CHE**, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, FRE**, GRK**, HIS**, LAT**, MAT**, PHY**, RSs** Hope Pleydell-Bouverie: ART**, BIO*, CHE*, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, FRE*, GEO**, HIS**, MAT**, PHY*, RSs** May Pope: ART, BIO, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT*, GEO, HIS, MAT, PHY, RSs*, SPA Lizzie Prater: BIO, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT, FRE*, GMN, HIS*, MAT, MUS**, PHY, RSs Francesca Pullan: ART*, BIO*, CHE*, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, FRE**, LAT*, MAT**, PHY**, RSs**, SPA** Juliet Purdy: BIO**, CHE*, ENLANG**, ENLIT, FRE**, GEO**, GMN*, LAT, MAT**, PHY*, RSs* Beth Rawlins: ART*, BIO, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT*, GEO*, GRK, MAT*, PHY, RS**, SPA* Emily Reynolds: ART*, ENLANG*, ENLIT*, GEO*, MAT*, RSs**, SCI, SCI AD Catherine Roberts: ART*, ENLANG, ENLIT, FRE, GEO*, MAT, RSs*, SCI, SCI AD Taya Sellers: BIO*, CHE*, ENLANG*, ENLIT*, FRE*, GEO*, MAT**, MUS*, PHY*, RS** Luana Sharp: BIO**, CHE*, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, GEO**, GMN**, MAT**, MUS*, PHY*, RSs**, SPA** Isobel Smith: BIO**, CHE**, ENLANG**, ENLIT**, FRE**, GEO**, HIS**, LAT**, MAT**, PHY**, RSs** Laura Steel: BIO**, CHE**, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, GEO**, HIS**, LAT*, MAT**, PHY**, RS**, SPA** Romilly Stone: BIO*, CHE, ENLANG, ENLIT**, FRE*, HIS**, MAT, PHY, RS** Georgia Sykes: ENLANG, ENLIT*, FRE*, GEO*, LAT, MAT*, SCI*, SCI AD Charlotte Wailes-Fairbairn: BIO, CHE, ENLANG*, ENLIT**, GEO*, HIS**, MAT, PHY, RSs*, SPA Ameila Walker: ART*, ENLANG, ENLIT, FRE, GEO, HIS, MAT, RSs*, SCI*, SCI AD Vassula Wong: ART**, BIO, CHE, CNS**, ENLANG, ENLIT**, FRE, GEO**, MAT**, PHY, RS

BIO, CHE, MAT* BIO, CHE, MAT* BIO*, CHE, GEO* GEO**, GVP*, HIS** HIS**, HOA, RST** ART** , HIS**, SPA* ECO*, FMA*, MAT** CHE*, MAT*, PHY* ENG, GEO, HIS* BIO*, GEO*, HIS* BIO, ECO*, GEO* ECO, ENG, HIS* ENG**, GEO**, HIS** BIO, CCI, GEO* ECO*, GEO*, GMN**, SPA* ENG**, HIS**, MAT** BIO, CHE, ECO* ENG**, FRE, HIS** ENG**, FRE**, HIS**, SPA** ART** , FRE, GEO BIO, GEO*, RST BIO**, CHE*, GEO** ART** , GEO*, RST ECO*, GEO, GVP FRE*, GEO**, HIS** CNS*, ECO, FMA*, MAT** ART** , ENG, HOA DRA*, ENG*, HIS* CCI*, GEO**, RST* ECO**, GEO, HIS* CHE, MAT, PHY ART, GEO* ART*, GMN, HOA BIO, GEO**, HOA ECO**, ENG**, HIS** ART** , BIO, GEO MAT*, PHY, RST* BIO*, ECO**, RST* CCI, HIS, RST GEO**, HIS**, LAT* CCI**, GEO*, HIS* BIO, ECO*, GEO** BIO**, CHE**, MAT** ENG, GEO*, HOA BIO, CHE, ENG** GEO*, PHY, RST** CNS*, ECO*, FMA**, MAT**, PHY** ECO, FMA*, MAT**, PHY*

KEY ART Art BIO Biology CCI Classical Civilisation CHE Chemistry CNS Chinese DRA Drama and Theatre Studies ECO Economics ENLANG English Language ENLIT/ENG English Literature FMA Further Mathematics FRE French GEO Geography GMN German GRK Greek GVP Government and Politics HIS History

HOA History of Art JAP Japanese LAT Latin MAT Maths MUS Music PHY Physics PE Physical Education RS Religious Studies RSs Religious Studies (short course) SPA Spanish * denotes an A grade ** denotes an A* grade Results correct at time of printing. The results listed are the girls for whom we have permission to print.

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Leavers’ Destinations

Leavers’ Destinations LEAVERS 2013 Applied post A-Level NAME

UNIVERSITY

SUBJECT

Year of Entry

Olivia Addington

Goldsmiths

Politics and Sociology

2014

Chella De Bay

St Andrew’s

Biochemistry

2014

Matilda Ellis

Bristol

English

2014

Chloe Hayward

Oxford Brookes

Anthropology/Sociology

2014

Maddi Nadiotis

Birmingham

Sport and Exercise Sciences

2014

Victoria Price

Bristol

Theatre and Film

2014

Zoë Spicer

Bristol

Zoology

2014

Clementine Wood

Bristol

French

2014

NAME

UNIVERSITY

SUBJECT

ENTRY YEAR

Ella Bavinton

Leeds

Medicinal Chemistry

2014

Lara Bavinton

Manchester

Medical Biochemistry

2014

Holly Bishop

Bristol

French and Italian

2014

Emily Bradshaw

Leeds

Geography

2015

Suzanna Bradshaw

Durham

History

2014

Gemma Briston

Edinburgh

History

2014

Vera Cheong

LSE

Management

2014

Emily Clarke

Loughborough

Chemical Engineering

2015

Rosalind Dalley

Birmingham

Geography

2014

Eleanor Dove

Leeds

Geography

2014

Penelope Dowler

Bath

Childhood/Youth Education

2014

Olivia Erwin

Durham

History

2015

Jessica Fechner

Oxford (Oriel)

German and Spanish

2014

Harriet Gerard Leigh

Bristol

Biology

2014

Imogen Giddins

Durham

International Relations

2014

Ella Hamblin

Leeds

Zoology

2014

Eleanor Harrison

Newcastle

Medicine

2014

Clarissa Ho

NYU

Major ‘undeclared’

2014

Olivia Kold

Exeter

Politics

2015

Lily Marriott

Bristol

Sociology

2015

Matilda McNeile

Exeter

History

2015

Sophie Nye

Oxford (Jesus)

History

2014

LEAVERS 2014

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Leavers’ Destinations

We are delighted that 81% of our girls obtained places at their first choice university and, whilst the majority are proceeding directly to university in the autumn, a number of our 2014 Leavers have deferred places or have made the decision to apply to university post A-Level. They are now off on exciting Gap Years, participating in everything from British Dressage, Quest Professional training for recruitment and business

in London, work experience and Art Foundation Courses at a number of prestigious institutions, to conservation projects, inter-railing round Europe and volunteering in South America. Following the Class of 2014’s outstanding A Level results, of which we are very proud, they are applying to top universities, from Oxford and Cambridge to Bristol and Edinburgh, to read subjects including Geography, History, Modern Languages,

Law and Politics having obtained the highest grades. During their Gap Years, we continue to support them with their applications and work with them as they take their plans forward.

We wish all the girls the very best of luck with their degree courses and look forward to hearing more about their future successes.

NAME

UNIVERSITY

SUBJECT

ENTRY YEAR

Catherine Paddock

York

Psychology

2015

Leonora Pearce

Durham

Psychology

2014

Alice Rowse

Bristol

Ancient History

2015

Sophie Rushman

Exeter

Psychology

2014

Rosemary Tian

Cambridge (St Catherine’s)

Veterinary Medicine

2014

Emily Verschoyle

Bristol

History of Art

2015

Chloe Waller

Queen Mary London

Computer Science with Business

Management & Accounting

2014

Hannah Wu

Oxford (Jesus)

Mathematics

2014

Jolie Zou

Imperial

Mathematics

2014

Correct at time of printing.

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At 7.15pm on Saturday 21st June, the Chapel played host to the most glamorous service in its history!

The Class of 2014 glided in wearing gorgeous gowns for their final chapel service led by Father Jonathan. Parents, guests and girls sang their favourite hymns with gusto, listened intently to readings from the Bible and pertinent poetry, and then had their last ever photo taken as a year group.

Next it was up to the marquee, which had been miraculously transformed from its speech day guise into a stunning venue for the Lily Ball. The theme this year was ‘Red Carpet’, giving everyone the chance to dress up in their most ‘Hollywood’ glam clothes. The marquee was adorned with beautiful velvet red roses and gladioli, and the dance floor glittered with lights, mirroring the fairy lights on the ceiling; it looked utterly magical!

Thanks to the beautiful weather, guests were able to mill around outside in the evening sunshine for the champagne reception, which was generously sponsored by the Calne Girls’ Association.

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A sumptuous dinner followed and was then worked off on the dance floor! Music was provided by DJVJ who got the mood just right, catering for 18 - 60 year olds alike – nobody could resist the call of the dance floor! Whilst catching their breath, guests shimmied over to the gaming tables; we made over £500 which will be donated to the girls’ chosen charity, The Dorothy House Hospice. A photobooth also caused much hilarity and we have seen pictures of parents and staff dressed as Jack Sparrow and old rockers, very amusing!

All too soon, it was time for the young to go off to Sophie’s house to carry on the party until dawn, having had a truly memorable final evening at St Mary’s.

We would like to thank the CGA for once again sponsoring the champagne reception, it went down a treat!

We wish the wonderful girls of the UVI Form 2014 every success for the future.

Mrs Deborah Dalley and Mrs Bel Pertwee UVI Form Housemistresses

Photography by Hallmark Photography

OXYGEN the essence of life at St Mary’s

Florence Dyas House Open September 2014

The new LVI Form House, together with the adjoining UVI Form Helen Wright House, is home to 120 Sixth Form girls. With generously sized individual study bedrooms, en-suite facilities, a large Common Room, other smaller social spaces, as well as kitchens for the girls to use, the new accommodation means that all of our Sixth Form girls benefit from excellent accommodation and increased independence as they embark upon the last exciting phase of their time at St Mary’s.

Wiltshire SN11 0DF Telephone: 01249 857200 Fax: 01249 857207 Email: office@stmaryscalne.org www.stmaryscalne.org