Earlier this week, our new Head Girl and Deputy Head Girls were announced. Congratulations and welcome to our new Head Girl, Katya, and our Deputy Head Girls, Aurora and Poppy. They have put together some short introductions about themselves so you can get to know the new team better. 

Head Girl - Katya

Hello, I'm Katya and I'm studying History, Politics and French at A Level, and I am hoping to go on to study History and French at university. An interesting book which I am currently reading is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, which is about an unconventional, bold woman named Elizabeth Zott in the early 1960s, working in an all-male team at a scientific research institute. The book explores her reluctance to compromise in favour of the status quo and the opportunities which this opens up. 

As Head Girl, I will aim to encourage a sense of enthusiasm and enjoyment in all areas of school life. I hope that pupils will feel more motivated to take opportunities which the school offers them, and as a result I hope that pupils will feel more driven to pursue personal ambition. Building on the success of this year’s Charity Week, I will also seek to extend the schools community outreach on a more personal level, with more pupils getting involved in external volunteering as opposed to fundraising in school-based events.  I am hoping to squeeze a couple more whole-school events into the calendar, with one being ‘Calne’s Got Talent’. I also gathered from some of the alumnae at the Inspiring Futures Conference that the old annual school fashion show was a highlight of the year - I think that this could also be another fun event for the whole school to get involved in!

Deputy Head Girl - Aurora

I'm Aurora and the A Levels I am studying are History, Maths, Biology, Psychology. My academic ambitions include getting 4 A*s on my A Level exams and, hopefully, publish a psychology research paper. I also want to keep developing my guitar skill and pass my Trinity College London Grade 7 exam. In sport, I wish to keep attempting harder routes in rock climbing and be able to top all the routes in the climbing wall before I leave the school. Overall, I want to develop into a fun, independent and confident Deputy Head Girl that can act as a good role model and leader for the younger year groups. 

Some of the things I want to achieve as Deputy Head Girl include making the School Parliament more active in collecting feedback from the students and create a School Parliament newsletter to keep students informed about the decisions made in each meeting so that they know that their concerns are being heard and taken seriously. I also want to make better use of technology in Sixth Form learning experience and encourage the use of digital textbooks and papers for students. I believe the use of digital paper is not only more convenient for the students but is also a more environmentally friendly alternative than using actual paper. 

I also hope to encourage more interactions between Sixth Formers and younger girls, such as coming to the Sixth Form Houses to spend time with us and ask us questions over some snacks and movies.

Deputy Head Girl - Poppy

Hello, my name is Poppy and I am studying Biology, Chemistry and Maths at A Level. I am not fully sure what life has in store for me yet, but I do know that I want to work with people, help people, travel the world and have a positive impact wherever I can. I am fascinated in science, especially human physiology, sports, and nutrition, and am entertaining the idea of working in Humanitarian Aid; including working in the scientific field of this area. 

My main aim for the next year, as part of the new Head Girl’s Trio, is to rekindle the link between St Mary's Tembwe in Zambia and St Mary’s Calne. St Mary's Tembwe is a new school whose existence was inspired by Sixth Form Calne girls in 2013 (the school foundations were quite literally laid by a team of Calne girls!) - which will hopefully be officially opened in 2024. The purpose of the school is to educate girls through to 18 who would otherwise be forced into child marriages. I hope this will be an incredible opportunity for both schools to help and learn from each other.