St Mary’s Calne is a leading boarding and day school providing an exceptional all-round education for girls in a supportive environment, coupled with outstanding pastoral care and enviable co-curricular programmes.

At St Mary’s, everyone is valued as an individual. Our aims are clear, focused and forward-thinking: we develop in young women the academic and moral strength for them to become bold, resourceful, well-balanced individuals who have the ability to lead and shape our modern world.

We also aim to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum with innovative teaching and learning, resulting in excellent academic outcomes which will motivate, challenge, encourage and inspire the girls.

Our numbers are limited so that we can provide a diverse range of personalised opportunities and an individually tailored education of the highest quality. We challenge and nurture in equal measure and enable our girls to become the very best young women they can be. She will develop a strong sense of her unique self and will grow in resilience, ambition, and confidence. She will be extraordinarily prepared to thrive in an ever-changing world and achieve more than she might have ever thought possible.

Pupils excel in all areas: girls play lacrosse for England; compete in international equestrian events; reach national Schools Debating finals; become Wiltshire Young Enterprise company champions; have their art exhibited at the Royal College of Art and at our own London Exhibition; perform at the Edinburgh Fringe; and win national schools’ skiing championships.

“I owe a massive thank you to St Mary’s for both my academic and personal growth. The time that the teachers were able to provide me for subject support and additional questions was so valuable.” – Maddy Winter (2022 Leaver)

The girls go on a number of trips, which serve to enrich the school experience. These range from Art trips to Barcelona, Music Tours to Poland, Geography trips to Dartmoor and Iceland, USA Lacrosse tours, Classics trips to Greece and Rome and more, building on what students learn in school.

This year, a number of our students performed at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford for our Spring Concert, where our LIV Choir, Junior Consort, Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra performed Excerpts from Handel’s Messiah. Our Drama students enjoy performing annually at a professional theatre in Bath or Bristol, as well as putting on shows in our purpose-built Delscey Burns Theatre, and even taking productions to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Above all, girls are happy; they leave as confident and mature young adults and many alumnae return to inspire others.

 “I know the school prides itself on its superb academic results but far more important in the long run it seems to me is to produce truly decent human beings.” – Parent of 2019 Leaver.

Accolades:

– St Mary’s is the top achieving ​independent secondary school in ​Wiltshire and third in the ​South West*. ​ (*The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2023, Parent Power, which identifies the 2,000 ​highest-achieving UK schools, based on 2022 A Level and GCSE results.)​

– Named in the top five UK Public Schools at the Tatler Schools Awards 2019.

– Independent Schools Awards: Performing Arts Finalist​

– The first independent school in the UK to be awarded the Platinum Science Mark

– “Pupils at the school are well-rounded, articulate and self-confident young people.” – ISI Report

A day in the life of a Year 7