Church and Community Links
We have a close link with St Mary’s Church, Broughton Gifford.
Rev Andrew Evans is the vicar at St Mary’s who is heavily involved in the life of the school. He is a governor, leads worship regularly and takes part in many other in school activities.
Rev Ruth is also a regular visitor to our school, leading collective worship on a Wednesday morning. This is an important time for the whole school to come together to learn about and celebrate God’s teachings.
They are both well known and loved by the children and their families.
We are fortunate to have an active Open the Book group visit the school each week to share Bible stories with the children and discuss the impact the messages may have on the way we live as Christians
Children visit church regularly to lead special services which are attended by other pupils, families and members of the community. Children also visit the church to learn more about the church as a special building and place of worship. As a school it is important for us to celebrate important events in the calendar down in the church; this is a special place for us to reflect and pray away from the school
Meet Our Vicar
My name is Revd Canon Andrew Evans and I have been the Rector of Broughton Gifford and two other parishes since 2006. I live in Holt. Prior to this I served my curacy in Great Bookham in Surrey and before that I was a solicitor.
For all my time in these parishes I have been a governor at the school and it is a privilege to serve this school, its staff and children. We have worked to establish strong links between the church and the school, and we currently provide both an Open the Book and a clergy led assembly each week. The Open the Book assemblies are led by members of the congregation of St Mary's church, who dress up and act out stories from the bible with the aid of the children. We also work together with the school to provide one longer and more in depth spiritual engagement for the children each term which might last half of a day.
The Christian message is one of generosity and love, and that is at the heart of our school, so that each child may flourish and achieve their potential. It is one of my favourite parts of my job to be involved in this wonderful school.
Community Links
We are proud of the positive reputation we have in the village of Broughton Gifford. We feel that the school is an integral part of the village and this is largely due to our involvement within our community. Our school lies in the heart of our community, serving the needs of the village community as well as those who live in areas around Melksham. Once a month the Church holds a Sunday service in the school hall which is attended by our families as well as parishioners in the village. Our Foundation Governor supports fund raising for the school with regular quiz nights in the village. It is important to us that the village community feels St Mary’s is their school too, therefore we advertise our own events widely and welcome members of the community along to our summer fete, BBQ’s and Christmas celebrations.
These are some of the key ways we get involved in our community:
Quiz nights – These are held termly in The Bell to support the school. Money raised has been used to buy instruments, music for worship as well as resources for the library.
The Friendship Group – This is a group of local residents who kindly invite the Y5/6 children to their annual literary event. The children are asked to prepare them perform poetry during the afternoon. This is an excellent way to involve the children with older residents in the village as well as boosting their confidence speaking to an audience. In the summer the children entertain residents during their annual garden party.
The Parsonage - This is a local care home in the village. It has been our pleasure to visit the home at Christmas to share carol singing with the residents. Our children gain a great deal from these experiences and we know they are highly appreciated by the residents.
Fundraising - As a school we actively raise funds throughout each year for those who are less fortunate. This includes national charities such as Children in Need as well as charities selected by the children. Children are given the opportunity regularly to fund raise for charities close to their hearts which supports them in demonstrating our Christian values and standing up for those who need support.
In recent years the children have supported the work of Bishop Hassan. The Peace School under construction in Sudan was supported by fund raising events at the school. The children took an interest in the building process and appreciated the cost of the build when compared to the cost of their new play equipment.
Sporting events - We take part in a wide variety of sporting events during each year in our local community. These include the West Wilts dance festival, gymnastics competitions, football tournaments, swimming gala, and cross country. We are proud that our children are always great sports men and women and great ambassadors for our school.