Local clubs and organisations: a year in review

Melksham Oak Community School

As another year draws to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on the many remarkable achievements at Melksham Oak Community School (MOCS).

Our students continue to impress us with their warmth, positivity and willingness to contribute. Whether they are showing prospective parents and students around the school, supporting their peers, volunteering to look after the school site during lunchtimes, or simply taking the time to ask staff how their day is going.

Once again, our students have been outstanding ambassadors for both the school and the wider community.

This was especially evident during VE Day, when MOCS stepped back into the celebrations of 1945 with a Sherman tank, a traditional tea party, plenty of bunting and a range of themed activities. On Remembrance Day, our school came together to honour the service and sacrifice of those who fought in the war, with assemblies exploring its global impact and a wreath-laying at the war memorial on Remembrance Sunday.

Students have embraced the many opportunities available to them this year, from exceptional participation on sports day to unforgettable performances in our Spring and Summer Showcases. Some of our students ran with Sean the Runner, excelled in Maths Challenge Awards, engaged in a Q&A with a peer in the House of Lords  and celebrated the joy of reading on World Book Day. At the Cultivate 2025 Grand Final, three of our Year 10 teams, shortlisted from over 300 students across the region, represented us securing both second and third place.

We have continued to collaborate as a trust and with our local schools, welcoming many visitors who came to see the fantastic work happening at MOCS. We have also learned from others, hosted several primary events, and participated in our first WHF Cup at Ridgeway School.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents and members of the local community for their support throughout the year. Your time, energy and commitment make a real difference to every student at Melksham Oak Community School.

Grant Mitchell, Assistant Headteacher

Melksham Community Larder

It has been another fantastic year for the Melksham Community Larder.

We have continued with a strong volunteer base who thoroughly enjoy supporting such an important environmental project.

Since we started, we have made 613 collections from Tesco with a total waste collection of 12,987 kg of food collected. Sainsbury’s have given us 30,303 tonnes, Aldi 16,256 tonnes, and Lidl has given us 4,900 tonnes.

I’m sure like us those figures don’t mean a lot, all I do know is that the Round House has been full of food for the three years we have been there.

It is wonderful to support both people in need as well as those who hate the thought of food going to waste, how awful is it that supermarkets just used to dump food into landfill, it still of course happens where there are no schemes like ours.

We have a volunteer base of about 25, with an age range of 20s through to 80s we drive and collect from the supermarkets, and we have three on duty at the Round House while we are open.

We all love what we do and to help people in need is so important to us.

Organiser Adrienne Westbrook.

Holt Crafters

After the enormous success of our poppy project in 2024 for Holt, we were inundated with requests in 2025 of how to make a cascade.

To date we have given guidance to Melksham Town Council, Corsham, Steeple Ashton and Chippenham. Holt Crafters wanted another project for 2025, so we embarked on granny squares. Knitted or crocheted, any colour and any pattern, as long as they were six inch in size to be made into blankets and with a green border for a giant Christmas tree.

Many stunning squares were made and in the spring months Holt Crafters sewed them into lap blankets for Dorothy House day care patients and for Phoenix House residents in Holt.

At the Scarecrow Trail in August, a blanket a day was raffled over the bank holiday weekend and raised £491 in total.

We had hundreds of knitted and crocheted squares and set about making not one, but two trees for our village. Wild Herb at the Field Kitchen would host the eight-foot tree and Ham Green would host the 15 ft tree.

On 30th November at 5pm the first Christmas tree light switch-on event took place on Ham Green, hosted by Holt Crafters.

Ham Green was full of people by 5pm and the star of Bath’s Theatre Royal pantomime, Jon Monie, did a fabulous speech and the count down before turning on the lights. We were also pleased to welcome Brian Mathew MP due to his support in Parliament for our poppy project.

In November he tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament, “That this House congratulates the Holt Crafters, a group of volunteers from the village of Holt, Wiltshire for their work knitting and crocheting poppies to be made into a cascade at St Katharine’s Church tower and displayed around the village; recognises the skill and commitment it took to do this; thanks them for the effort they have put in to mark Remembrance; and notes the value of fibre arts like knitting and crocheting and the importance of passing these skills on to the next generation.”

So, overall, what an achievement to be mentioned in Parliament for local charity creative work, and what a couple of years it has been, with new friendships made and skills learnt or revisited, with age being no divide.

Aloeric Primary School

As 2025 draws to a close, we are proud to reflect on a year filled with achievement, creativity and community spirit at Aloeric.

One of our most exciting developments has been the introduction of Talk for Writing, which has transformed storytelling and written work across the school. The confidence and imagination our pupils now show in their writing is truly inspiring.

Our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has been at the heart of school life, hosting a range of successful events—from lively discos, Bingo nights and year-group cake sales to our much-loved summer and Christmas fayre. These gatherings not only raised vital funds but also strengthened the bonds within our school community.

Learning beyond the classroom has flourished, with memorable trips for every year group. Highlights included Year 6’s adventure at Calshot, Year 5’s stay at Braeside, and other year groups visits to Lacock, Avebury, Longleat, and even the SS Great Britain. These experiences brought learning to life and created lasting memories.

We’ve also seen fantastic progress in wellbeing and sustainability across the school. The introduction of Zones of Regulation has helped children develop self-regulation skills, while our WOW initiative has encouraged more pupils to walk, cycle, or park and stride—making journeys to school healthier and greener.

Looking ahead to 2026, our ambitions are clear: to embed our Talk for Writing curriculum even further and to launch School Streets, creating safer, calmer drop-offs and pick-ups for everyone.

Thank you to our dedicated staff, supportive families, and incredible pupils for making this year so special. Here’s to another year of learning, growth and community!

Seend CE Primary School

As we come to the end of a wonderfully busy and successful year at Seend, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on the accomplishments, creativity and community spirit that have shaped our school over the past twelve months.

A sponsored walk to remember

One of the standout moments of the year was our whole-school sponsored walk, where pupils, staff and parents came together for a day filled with energy, teamwork and sunshine. Thanks to the incredible enthusiasm of all who took part and the generosity of our wider community, we raised over £3,000 for our PTA.

These funds enabled us to purchase new furniture for our school library. A huge thank you to everyone who walked, volunteered and sponsored and we look forward to this being a new annual event for us!

A mural to ‘let your light shine’

Another incredibly proud achievement this year was the creation of our beautiful new mural inspired by our new school vision, “let your light shine,”. This vibrant artwork, created by all pupils at Seend, celebrates individuality, hope and the power of community. Working together with local resident Jan Crabtree, the children explored ideas of self-expression and positivity, turning their thoughts into a beautiful visual statement that now brightens our school environment. The finished mural is a colourful celebration of individuality and unity and now takes pride of place in our school hall, reminding us daily of the shared values that guide us.

Looking ahead

This year has showcased everything that makes Seend such a special place -creativity, kindness, determination, and community spirit. We can’t wait to see what 2026 has in store for us.

Atworth History Group

Our history group has had another excellent year with some fascinating speakers and lots of visitors; both to our evening meetings and to our museum.

Membership is slightly down, due in part to the sad loss of three long-standing supporters: Derek Edwards, Lesley Braund and Pam Drewett. They will be greatly missed.

We started in March with a talk about the history of letterpress printing and over the course of the year learnt about Alex Moulton, the Melksham murderer, the wool trade in Trowbridge, John Aubrey, Sir Christopher Wren, Wiltshire pastimes and we finished with a talk about Sir George Dowty.

Our summer outing was to The Hall in Bradford on Avon, which was where Alex Moulton lived for most of his life. A group of us had an excellent tour around the house, led by Dave Ecob who had been our speaker in April.

We have a lovely website with lots of information about Atworth and a few old photos. It has been updated to show our programme for 2026, so please go to https://atworthhistorygroup.netlify.app/ or just put “Atworth History Group” into your search engine to find us.

Our museum has been quite popular this year with 47 visitors, which included a special opening we did one weekday afternoon in June for children, parents and teachers from Churchfields School.

The museum was also open for a day in May when the school had groups of children coming over to research various projects they were working on.

Our next meeting will be on Monday 2nd March 2026 in Atworth Village Hall at 7.30pm. Visitors are very welcome at the modest cost of £5 for the evening, or you may wish to join for an annual subscription of £20. The Atworth museum is closed for the winter and will reopen on Sunday 29th  March from 2pm to 4pm.

David Hough, Atworth History Group

River Mead School

As 2025 draws to a close, River Mead Primary School reflects on a year filled with learning, exploration, and strong community connections.

This year, we continued to strengthen our links with the local community, working closely with Community Conversations and the Forest Community. These partnerships have provided invaluable opportunities for our children and families to engage beyond the classroom. As we look into next year, we are engaging with art projects and outdoor learning alongside Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Getting out and about is always a highlight for our children. We have enjoyed a range of exciting trips and residential experiences, including visits to Stonehenge, Longleat and Stowford Farm, Viking battles on Westbury White Horse, dipping our toes in the sea at Hengistbury Head, as well as participating in Young Voices. Closer to home, local walks, Bikeability courses and even sleepovers at school have created lasting memories.

Adventure and challenge have also played a big role in our year. Children have embraced outdoor learning and teamwork through activities at Braeside, Grittleton House, and canoeing down on the river. These experiences have helped develop resilience, problem-solving skills, and a love for the natural world.

Louise Harrison, Headteacher

Bowerhill Primary School

It has been such a successful year for Bowerhill Primary School.

The academic performance of our children at all statutory assessment points continues our trend of being above the national average.   

We have been so brilliantly supported by our wonderful Bowerhill Buddies (PTA), who have worked tirelessly to raise over £15,000 for the school this year. All of this money goes back into the school, funding enriching experiences for our children, such as African dance workshops, Explorer Dome experiences, colour runs, mobile farms and pantomimes. This also includes paying for the tickets and transport for 180 of our children to go to the theatre without it costing parents a penny. We are looking forward to going to watch Matilda at the Bristol Hippodrome this year.

Personal development continues to be really important for us and has provided some real highlights for us this year. Taking our Year 5 children to the NEC in Birmingham for Young Voices; Year 6 children to the House of Parliament; children in Years 1 to 6 receiving Emergency Awareness Training through Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance to name just a few.

We can see that applications are coming in thick and fast for our Reception 2026 cohorts who we will welcome next year and we are planning the most amazing send-off for our Year 6s next July.

Chris Light, Headteacher

Melksham Carnival

Melksham Carnival seems to be growing in popularity and in unusual content year on year and 2025 was no different.

As a team we love the amazing feedback which we receive and take every suggestion to our meetings to see what suggestions we can accommodate.

Our wish for 2026 is for our amazing townspeople to be more active in the procession and our other events. The procession content is up to you, and we love how innovative our entries have been.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us, in any way, and just want to remind you, that we could not do this without you.

A very happy new year from the Melksham Carnival team.

Stay safe, look after each other and remember how brilliant our community is.

Melksham Carnival Committee.

Wiltshire West District Scouts

Local scouts had an action-packed year, all run by our amazing volunteers.

January, many service awards have been presented throughout the year from 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 years’ service to Scouting along with many ‘Wood Badges’. Bowerhill enjoyed a visit to the ‘Treasure Island’ pantomime performed by the Melksham Music & Drama.

February saw the Cubs taking part in the district swimming at the Campus, gaining staged activity badges. Pancakes being made and tossed.

March saw groups take part in the Scout Monopoly Run in London and St Patrick’s Day with leprechauns. Indoor camps making bird houses and bird feeders, animal masks, animal bingo and a beetle drive was enjoyed by Beavers. Trequinox at Cleeve Hill, Bath, was a success and the Cub Flag Challenge was won by 1st Bowerhill.

April, Beaver Chief Scout Bronze Awards, Cub Chief Scout Silver Awards, Scouts Chief Scout Gold Awards and Explorer Chief Scout Platinum Awards were gained. The District Scout Cooking Competition tickled the taste buds with the winners 6th Trowbridge. The St George’s Day Celebration at our Jubilee Wood camp site saw over 300 attending.

May, the camping season gets underway along with a celebration for VE 80th Birthday Celebrations together with the lighting of a beacon at Hilperton.

June, Broughton Gifford and Holt enjoyed a camp at Seend Park Farm and 1st Bowerhill Cubs did kayaking. A Senior Cub Day at Jubilee Wood cooking on open fires making pizzas in coat hangers, pizza dogs and banoffee pie was enjoyed by everyone.

July and August, 1st Bowerhill took part in the Melksham carnival, which was great fun. Scouts went to the County Awards, where top awards were presented by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant Lt. Gen. Sir Andrew Gregory KBE CB DL. Broughton Gifford and Holt attended the Kernow Jamboree in Cornwall.

September, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers took part in the annual district archery and rifle shooting competition, 1st Bowerhill Cubs won the archery trophy.

October, Cubs took part in the District Chess competition at Melksham Scout HQ. Wiltshire Police had a very successful Scout Badge Day with many sections taking part.

November, many groups from across the district took part in the Remembrance Parade, marching proudly and carrying their flag and laying wreaths. Seven packs took part in the Cub Scrap Heap Challenge with the theme ‘Minecraft’ great constructions, with 1st Hilperton as the winners.

December, many activities and celebrations ran across the district including ice skating, Christingle, Christmas craft, Christmas carols, visit to Santa on the train, indoor camps, Christmas dinner cooking and Christmas tree decorating.

Forest and Sandridge CE Primary School

Last year was an extraordinary one for Forest and Sandridge CE Primary School, filled with celebration, achievement and cherished milestones.

At the heart of our year was marking an incredible 150 years of educating children in our community. Reaching a century and a half as a place of learning, care and opportunity is a privilege and throughout the year pupils and staff enjoyed celebrating the school’s long, proud history.

Another highlight was our recent Ofsted inspection, where Forest and Sandridge was judged ‘Outstanding’ in all areas. This achievement reflects the dedication of every member of staff, the enthusiasm of our children and the unwavering support of families. It is a recognition we are immensely proud of.

We also celebrated a very special member of our community: Mrs Liz Bell, who retired this year after an exceptional 33 years of service at the school. In honour of her remarkable contribution, we were delighted to open our new 3G astro pitch, officially named ‘The Elizabeth Bell Stadium.’

This wonderful facility will benefit pupils for generations to come.

Throughout the year, children enjoyed a rich variety of memorable experiences, from theatre trips and visits to a prison and the STEAM Museum, to residentials that built independence and lifelong memories.

Academically, we are thrilled to have achieved our best data outcomes ever. An impressive 77% of Year 6 pupils achieved Age-Related Expectations in reading, writing and maths and 84% of Year 4 pupils scored 25/25 in the multiplication check—results that reflect exceptional hard work and high-quality teaching.

Finally, we extend heartfelt thanks to our wonderful PTA, Forest Friends, whose tireless fundraising and support enrich school life in countless ways.

It has truly been a landmark year and we look forward to building on this success in the years ahead.

Melksham Church (St Michael’s)

Last year was an exciting year of growth for Melksham Church, as we’ve been ‘Making Jesus Known.’

Along with other churches, we’re excited to be witnessing increased spiritual hunger, particularly among young people and what some are calling a ‘quiet revival’. More than 30 people joined us to explore big questions at our Alpha courses, either with a pint at the King’s Arms on Tuesday evenings or over coffee at St Barnabas on Wednesday mornings. A highlight of the year was our adult baptism and confirmation service in April, as 11 people affirmed their faith through full-immersion baptism (a first in the long history of the parish) and 22 were confirmed by the Bishop. Alpha kicks off again this January – you can sign up online!

Another highlight was the refurbishment and reopening of Church House at 11 Canon Square in July. Thanks to a successful fundraising campaign and the generous support of many in the community, this once-derelict eyesore is now a bright, welcoming space that is being used by both the church and the wider community.

Our commitment to ‘growing younger’ has continued too. With two new age groups launched this autumn, we now run five children’s and youth groups on Sunday mornings, creating fun, safe spaces for our youngest members to grow and thrive. Everybody is welcome.

As we look to the year ahead, our prayer is that Melksham Church will continue to be a friendly, open and welcoming place for anyone who wants to explore faith, find community and meet Jesus. Why don’t you join us on Sunday?

Melksham Gardeners’ Society

Last year, Melksham Gardeners’ Society delivered another full programme of events.

There were nine talks on a range of topics, including the Bishop’s Palace Garden in Wells, Water in Your Garden, Dark and Desirable Plants in Your Garden, How to Encourage Hedgehogs into Your Garden and Garden Visiting: A Very British Tradition. The year also included the ever-popular plant swap and quiz evening, a visit to the Chinese Garden in Westbury and a very successful flower and produce show in September. The final meeting of the year was the Christmas special, with wreath-making, mulled wine, mince pies and festive music.

The programme of events was successfully staged despite key members of the committee being absent for large parts of the year due to ill-health. This has highlighted a situation I think many organisations suffer from, that of an ageing membership and a lack of willing volunteers to help them.  However, we are optimistic for the coming year and the program of events is shaping up nicely.

The Gardeners’ Society is open to all, and new members and visitors are always welcome.

Meetings are held at the Rachel Fowler Centre, just off the Market Square in Melksham, on the last Tuesday of the month at 7.30pm.

Details can be found at: www.melkshamgardenerssociety.co.uk

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust continues to make steady progress bringing the former waterway back to life, with a local focus on the restored stretch between Melksham and Chippenham.

Volunteers have main-tained the canal and towpath at Pewsham Locks, north of Lacock, allowing the charity to host its popular open days featuring guided tours and boat rides.

We were delighted to see so many residents sponsoring the slate roof tiles on the dry dock, which should be completed by the Spring. A new bridge across the locks should also be finished soon.

Naish Hill continues to be improved with new wildflowers, woodland and wildlife habitats to boost biodiversity. We are grateful to all the local businesses who allow their staff to take part in corporate work parties to help with tree planting, hedge laying and coppicing.

We would also like to thank the generosity of our donors. We received £10,000 from an anonymous family foundation to support the purchase of an additional mini dumper truck (pictured) and almost £2,000 from the Naturesave Trust for a new electric outboard engine on our trip boats.

There are plenty of opportunities for people to volunteer – we’re keen to hear from civil engineers, project managers, brick-layers and mechanics, but many more roles are available.

These range from social media and graphic design to baking cakes and serving refreshments at our open days. Every hour is always appreciated.

Our aim is to restore the entire waterway from the Kennet & Avon Canal near Semington to the Thames & Severn Canal near Cricklade and the River Thames near Abingdon, connecting Chippenham, Calne, Royal Wootton Bassett and Swindon.

Monthly branch meetings are held at the Rachel Fowler Centre in Melksham. New members are always welcome.

Email howard.wilson@wbct.org.uk or visit www.wbct.org.uk

Howard Wilson, Chair, Melksham, Chippenham & Calne branch

Melksham and District Link Scheme

Another very busy year has passed very quickly and Melksham and District Link has yet again done it’s very best to serve our community and support local residents who need our help getting to medical appointments.

This is our 31st year in action.

Our longest serving driver and treasurer, Richard Clark, received a much-deserved Civic Award at the Mayor’s ball earlier in the year but all our volunteers deserve an award for their amazing caring attitude towards our clients.

All our volunteers find their role very satisfying and we always strive to help as many people as we can.

Data suggests that the number of trips we completed this year is slightly down – perhaps good news as fewer people needed medical appointments. At times though we have been very stretched and we are not always able to help everyone, especially short notice appointments or people who are in wheelchairs.

Currently we can only offer transport for medical appointments. We might be able to extend this to other types of trips but we do need more volunteer drivers to achieve this.

Volunteering for us is very flexible and we are happy to discuss possibilities with anyone considering a volunteering role. However, we still managed to complete 2,637 trips covering 74,179 miles, clocking 9,380 volunteer hours and helping over 513 Melksham and District residents, of which 207 were new Link clients, figures of which we are immensely proud.

May I take this opportunity, on behalf of all the volunteers at Melksham Link, to wish the community of Melksham and District a very happy and healthy New Year 2026.

Liz Rowley, Chairman

Melksham & District Historical Association

Thank you to those who attended our Annual General Meeting at Melksham Assembly Hall, where we were entertained by Steeple Rocks Choir (Steeple Belles) and once again fed by The Fisheries.

The committee was re-elected en masse with Mia Pasi joining us. Here is my Chair’s report for 2025 as we look forward to a full programme for 2026.

2025 has seen new and returning members to the committee, where we have delivered our usual mix of talks on a range of subjects from the Railways to Imber, Melksham from the Air, RAF Melksham to Reverend Barnwell.

These and our recent introductions of a monthly walk and ‘pop-up’ museum continue to be successful in drawing us to people’s attention; at this point, I should also thank the Melksham News for continuing to promote us.

With our focus towards the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, I also gave a talk at Melksham Library and to the Beaver Scouts on Melksham’s role during the war. There wasn’t much interest from the junior scouts until I mentioned the large bonfire in the Market Place for VE Day!

Our visits to Keevil Memories Church and Keevil Airfield surrounds as well the Milestones Museum, Basingstoke, were well attended, although I know of one member who went to Steeple Ashton Church by mistake, which was coincidentally also holding an event and learnt about a whole different church and village from the rest of us!

We were successful in lobbying the Melksham Town Council to move the Avon Tyres and Avon Rubber Melksham History War Memorial to its new site with its dedication on 16th February.

The town hall has hosted our display cabinets, with monthly displays, where we have taken an initial tentative step towards a museum for the town. I have started to make enquiries about extending our use of the area, as they seem to be leaving the foyer fallow!

A final thanks for yours and the committee’s support in my role as Chair, as we look forward to the programme that WE (but mostly Glenis) have arranged for 2026.

Paul Carter, Chair,