Local clubs and organisations: A year in review

Melksham Oak Community School

Pictured: Students at the Remembrance Day Parade with associate headteacher, Abbie Clark

The new school year has seen a flurry of activity with a number of new faces being welcomed into the MOCs community including, Mr Cooper (executive headteacher) and Mrs Clark (associate headteacher), alongside many other committed staff with a renewed drive on our school values of respect, ambition and pride, to provide every student in our community with the best possible education.

Throughout the academic year so far it has been a privilege to welcome so many visitors into the school and hear all the positive feedback of our wonderful students demonstrating these values.

We are proud of the many events that our students have participated in, including the Year 7 trip to   park, Year 8 with a careers STEM day, Year 11 with geography and business studies trips, Year 13 joint careers day with Devizes, the many events organised by our fabulous PE team (including our Year 11 football win against Devizes), the food collection for the food bank and not forgetting how well our students represented the school at the Remembrance Day Parade.

In the pursuit of the best possible education, curriculum development has continued this year across the school allowing us to build upon the great teaching and learning provided by our committed teachers in order to provide students with the best possible opportunities. These changes have been positively received by our students with them telling us, through student voice, how they appreciate their teacher’s high expectations, clear lesson structures and relationships they have with staff.

As the signs of spring start to show over the coming weeks we look forward to supporting our Year 11s in their preparations for the summer exam season, which is fast approaching and guiding them through their next steps post-16. We are pleased that many, having experienced our open evening and exceptional Sixth Form facilities, wish to stay with us in our thriving Sixth Form.

Finally, a massive thank you to all the parents and members of the local community that have visited or supported the school in some way, your help has been invaluable in enriching the lives of young people at Melksham Oak Community School and we look forward to continuing to work with you in 2025.

Melksham Oak Community School team

Bowerhill Primary celebrates school achievements

Pictured: Year 6 class on a visit to the houses of parliament

Last year was a real celebration at Bowerhill Primary School.

The academic performance of our outgoing Year 6 children in the summer was truly outstanding, achieving well above the national average, which has now been a theme over recent years. 

In June, we were visited by three Ofsted inspectors who spent two days in school judging every aspect of what we do. We are delighted that they saw an accurate and fair picture of the school, judging us as Outstanding in our personal development, which we are really proud of. 

We have been so brilliantly supported by our wonderful Bowerhill Buddies (PTA), who have worked tirelessly to raise over £16,000 for the school this year. All of this money goes back into the school, funding enriching experiences for our children. This includes paying for the tickets and transport for 180 of our children to go to the theatre without it costing parents a penny. 

A highlight of our year has been the Year 6 Enterprise Project running for the second year. Our school community wanted their children to learn about managing money and financial literacy, so we brought in Thomas Porter Wealth Management to run a workshop with our Year 6 children on how to manage a fictional £500. 

Our PTA then provided £500 of real money to turn into a profit. The children decided to sell drinks and ice cream after school as well as organising a ‘bounce’ event. They raised a phenomenal £1,700. Once the PTA had their original investment back, the Year 6 children decided to spend the £1,200 profit on a sensory room for the children they were leaving behind as they went onto secondary school. They even came back in October and helped put it all together!

We are looking forward to the school going from strength to strength as we move into 2025.

Headteacher, Chris Light

Holt Crafters

Starting in January 2024, we put an ad in Spotted in Holt for people who could knit and crochet to help create a poppy cascade to flow from St Katharine’s church. We were aiming for 4,000 poppies, which seemed like a huge amount; however, by the time we completed the cascade, we had an incredible 7,296 beautiful handmade creations.

Holt was transformed in November with a spectacular cascade lit in the evenings by Light Fantastic and other wonderful projects around the village created by the preschool, Brownies, Guides, Holt School, the Youth Club and wonderful volunteers from 4 to 96 years old.

Then there was a concert that raised over £1,500 for Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion with two choirs, the Warminster Military Wives Choir and West Wilts Good Afternoon Choir who meet weekly in Holt. 

To top it all, a local Holt publisher, From You to Me, published a wonderful book ‘A Year to Remember in Holt’ following the year from start to finish, which is now on sale. 

So, what now? Holt will continue to add to the spectacular display for Remembrance Day next year and Holt Crafters are now working on producing a spectacular, huge crocheted and knitted tree to be displayed near the Wild Herb Cafe for Christmas 2025. 

2024 has been so successful that the volunteers wish to continue creating for local charities and already have orders for Dorothy House. Holt raised over £2,000 for the two charities and looks forward more creations in 2025.

Helen Gray – organiser of the Holt Crafters

The Manor Primary School

Pictured: Pupils with the Kampala Children’s Home Choir

Last year was an action-packed year at The Manor Primary School with so much to celebrate.

The children have loved learning through their inspiring lessons and memorable curriculum. As part of this we have introduced our ’11 by 11’ programme which is eleven trips and experiences that every child at The Manor will have by the age of 11.

In 2024, this included our Year 4 children visiting the Roman Baths during their history topic and our Year 5s walking in the footsteps of Isambard Kingdom Brunel on the SS Great Britain and Clifton Suspension Bridge.   

Our Year 3 children were archaeologists on the Jurassic Coast searching for dinosaur fossils and our Year 1 children visited the aquarium in Bristol as part of their science topic on plants and animals.

Our Reception children had an exciting day in the summer travelling on the train to Weymouth beach for ice creams.

We have also been active in our local Melksham community with the school choir recently performing Christmas carols at Leekes, Wharf Court and the Rachel Fowler Centre.

Our children laid a wreath at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday to support the Royal British Legion and we welcomed families into school to remember the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Everybody danced and sang with the Kampala Children’s Home Choir just before they performed at the Melksham Assembly Hall.

Our Year 6s have been especially busy with a week’s residential on a farm in the New Forest where they were up early looking after the animals. They also enjoyed a very special day in London visiting the Tate Britain Art Gallery and the Houses of Parliament.

The Manor always welcomes visitors so if you would like to visit the school, please get in touch with our office. We are already looking forward to 2025!

Melksham Gardeners’ Society

Pictured: Prize winners at MGS Flower and Produce Show with Cllr Tom Price

Melksham Gardeners’ Society meet on the last Tuesday of the month at the Rachel Fowler Centre, meetings commence at 7.30pm and are open to members and non-members.

Membership is £15 per year with an entry fee to meetings of £1 for members and £3 for non-members.   

Currently we have 94 members from Melksham and the surrounding area.   

In 2024, the society organised presentations and demonstrations by seven speakers on a wide range of topics including clematis, foxgloves, a Victorian head gardener, growing fruit, propagation from cuttings, growing food you can’t buy and plants of the season. We also organised a very popular plant swap and quiz evening.   

Coach trips to Forde Abbey and Kew Gardens were very popular with full coaches going to both events. On a beautiful summer evening in June, we visited Chisenbury Priory near Upavon which opens under the National Gardens Scheme.

The Flower and Produce Show in September was again a big success. The show is open to members and non-members. With a wide range of classes to enter there is something for everybody.  There are 14 cups and medals to be won in sections including flowers, vegetables, fruit, floral art, baking, handicrafts and photography, as well as children’s classes.   

We were very fortunate this year to have the awards presented by the town’s Mayor Cllr Tom Price.

The society’s final meeting of the year was an evening making Christmas wreaths, with plenty of mulled wine and mince pies on offer the evening had a very festive atmosphere.

Plans for 2025 are well advanced with a full programme of speakers already booked, details of these can be found on the society’s website https://www.melkshamgardenerssociety.co.uk/.

Finally, a big thank you to all of our members and the committee for making the society a big success.

Mike Goodhew, Melksham Gardeners’ Society

Melksham Lions Club

Pictured: The Lions at the 50th Charter dinner

Last year saw Melksham Lions celebrate their 50th birthday, with current president Simon White there right from the start.

Over the past 50 years, we have raised around £500,000 to be distributed locally. This year, our membership has continued to flourish as we welcomed new members—Dave, Mia, Trevor, Mandy, and Sharon—into the fold. One of our members, and the only Horace Prickett in England, retired, and sadly, long-standing member Jim Whyborn passed away.

In March, our regular Easter Egg Hunt and Hamper Raffle were great successes so watch out across the town this Easter!

We were also grateful to be presented with a civic award by the town council for our ‘inspirational dedication to the Melksham community.’

Then, our summer of celebration events took place; local retailers helped us with our Spot the Golden Lion shop window competition, the fantastic Picnic in the Park and concluding with our 50th Charter meal at the Assembly Hall.

On top of this, litter picks, car boot sales and stalls at other local events (although Storm Darragh prevented us and others attending the Christmas lights switch-on) filled our calendar.

As for 2025, why not come along to the Kings Arms on the second Monday of the Month at 7.15pm to see first hand what’s in store.

Paul Carter, director, Melksham Lions Club

Atworth History Group

After the excitement of our 50th anniversary in 2023, this year could have seemed dull by comparison. 

However, our history group has had an excellent year with some fascinating speakers, increased membership and lots of visitors, both to our evening meetings and to our museum.

Our talks this past year have included a look at some of the follies and gate lodges in Wiltshire, as well as an update of Pevsner’s guide to the buildings of Wiltshire. Special thanks must go to Claire Mills, who was scheduled to deliver two talks but ended up doing three. 

We thoroughly enjoyed her talks about how DNA testing can help support family research and the darker side of Wiltshire. Then, when a speaker had to cancel due to ill health, Claire stepped in at the last minute and gave us a very entertaining talk about the history of Colerne. 

In October, Peter Richardson took time out from campaigning against the proposed battery storage site in Whitley to give us a history of Shaw and Whitley. Remarkably, he also brought along several visitors, so we had over 50 people in attendance that evening!

Our summer outing this year was to Corsham Court. A group of us had an excellent buffet lunch at the Flemish Weaver, followed by a tour around the interior of Corsham Court and its gardens. The weather was very kind to us, so we had a most enjoyable day.

We now have a new website with lots of information about Atworth and a few old photos. It will soon be updated to show our programme for 2025. 

Please go to https://atworthhistorygroup.netlify.app/ or just put Atworth History Group into your search engine.

Our museum has been quite popular this year with just over 90 visitors. The new layout and exhibits seem to have been a success, so even people who’d been before were able to find something new to enjoy.

David Hough, Atworth History Group

Spencer Melksham Bowls Club

Pictured: Winners of the Wilson Trophy from L to R Alan George; Kev Mullett; Richard George

Spencer Melksham Bowls Club pulled out all the stops to celebrate their centenary year in style.

It all started in April with the unveiling of the new flag and kit, alongside the donation of our old kit shirts to the Swindon Town FC Community Foundation to send to their partner schools in Zambia. From May until September, it was all systems go, with league, county and national competitions keeping the players busy.

All our teams performed well in their respective leagues, with the Ladies coming second in The Bowls Wiltshire and Norwest League Division 2. The Men’s 3 rink team finished 4th, and the 4 rink team finished 5th in very competitive leagues. While the Open Triples Tigers Team finished mid-table, success came in the form of League Champions for the Open Triples Lions Team, securing promotion to the Premier League for 2025. In addition, a Lions squad of Alan George, Richard George and Kevin Mullet won the Wilson Trophy.

All bowlers aspire to play in the National Championships at Leamington Spa, the home of Lawn Bowls, and 2024 saw Club Captain Claire Edwards, alongside Jayne Edwards, representing Wiltshire in the Ladies Pairs. Two of our Men’s Triples Teams reached the last 8 of the National Triples Competition, with one of these teams progressing to the semi-final before being knocked out. Leamington Spa was also the venue where club member Jamie Pugsley was part of a winning Mixed Ability Triples Team.

For the second year running, SMBC had representation in the County 2 Wood Singles on Finals weekend, with Amanda Tucker reaching the semi-finals this year. A full programme of club competitions culminated in the crowning of our Club Champions: Kevin Mullet and Claire Edwards, who have earned the right to represent SMBC in the County Champion of Champions Competition in 2025.

As if this wasn’t enough, we also found time to host friendly matches with other local clubs, including a squad from Bowls Wiltshire and 7 local clubs that sent teams to play one afternoon, as well as the usual friendly matches and an evening of bowls to thank our sponsors. The season finale was our inaugural Gala Day. 3’s a Crowder from Avon Melksham were our champions, while Top Trumps (Spencer Melksham/ Spencer Moulton) triumphed in the Plate Competition. Before closing the rink, we played a game of Night Bowls, illuminating the rinks with battery-operated lanterns and torches. Some of us agreed we played better in the dark!

Our Centenary Year also featured our Gala Dinner and Presentation Night in October, along with a full programme of social events (bingo, quizzes, and games nights) that kept us going until we begin again in 2025. It’s been hard work but a hugely enjoyable and successful season for Spencer Melksham Bowls Club.