Queen Margaret's, York is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

and

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...

for girls age 11–18 in Escrick Park near

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England. The school was named after Queen Margaret, the Queen of Scotland from 1070 to 1093.

History

Escrick, Queen Margaret's Girls School - geograph

Queen Margaret's was established in 1901 in Scarborough by mainly Jane Leeke Latham of the

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. Woodard are an organisation committed to the establishment of boarding schools where teaching would be firmly based on the Christian religion. The founding head was

Agnes Body Agnes Body (29 April 1866 – 31 March 1952) was a British headmistress. She was the founding head of Lincoln Christ's Hospital Girls' High School and Queen Margaret's School, then in Scarborough. Life Body was born in Sedgley in 1866 where her ...

who arrived from Lincoln with some of her former staff. In 1913, when ill health made her retire, it was said that QMS was known as "Miss Body's School". Rosalind Fowler became the second Head and she supervised the evacuation of the School to Pitlochry during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Following another evacuation to

Castle Howard Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Henderskelfe, located north of York. It is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, QM finally came to Escrick Park, six miles south of

, in 1949, where it remains today. Mrs Sue Baillie commenced her headship in September 2019, taking over from the previous Head Mrs Jessica Miles.

Today

Tatler Schools Guide 2011 stated: "QM is one of those all-girls country boarding schools that is quietly doing great things. Girls are playing

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

for the England under-19s, representing Great Britain at skiing, getting ace grades at A-level, performing for the National Youth Theatre and winning places at the London Contemporary Dance School." Queen-margarets-crest

Awards

Best Independent School for Student Wellbeing

In 2021 Queen Margaret’s was named as the winner in the Student Wellbeing category of the Independent Schools of The Year (ISOTY) Awards 2021, held by the Independent School Parent magazine. The award was chaired by Dr Helen Wright, International Education Adviser and past Vice Chair of the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busi ...

(ISC). Dr Wright commented, ''"As we navigate our way through the challenges of the pandemic, I hope that the awards will provide schools an opportunity to take stock of all they have achieved in 2020-21 – often against the odds – and celebrate the amazing student experience they have continued to be able to provide... Great schools believe in their students’ ability to grow and develop and become the best of themselves. The UK’s independent schools are vibrant exciting places which, as the past year has demonstrated, are constantly evolving to respond to the needs of their individual students. These highly-regarded awards recognise and celebrate the amazing experiences and opportunities for students in independent schools across the UK and British schools overseas."''

Performing Arts School of the Year

In 2019 Queen Margaret's was shortlisted in the ‘Performing Arts School of the Year’ category in the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2019. The Boarding Schools' Association noted, ''"QM has been shortlisted based on its ability to focus on girls’ individual talents as well as create group performances of the calibre and breadth you’d usually see in a much larger school. Recent individual successes include the School’s Head Girl winning the Ripon Cathedral Competition to promote new sacred music and a Year III violinist being invited to join the National Children’s Orchestra. Meanwhile, 45 girls were invited to perform in front of 1000 guests as the opening act at November’s White Rose Awards.The Escrick school has also been recognised for breaking down boundaries and proving that there is no area of Performing Arts that girls should not explore. Students adopt traditionally male roles both on and off stage - the backstage crew for their recent production of Blue Stockings was led seamlessly by an Upper Sixth girl. What’s more, QM has recently launched a Music Technology A Level challenging the issue that, in the industry, males outnumber females 5 to 1."''

Boarding Innovation Award

In 2018 Queen Margaret's was crowned winner of the Boarding Innovation Award at the Boarding Schools' Association Achievement Awards 2018. The Boarding Schools' Association (BSA) commented, ''"QM’s ‘Community Weekends’ have been recognised by the BSA as an outstanding example of boarding innovation. Introduced in September 2017, they were developed to stimulate further a thriving weekend life with the girls themselves taking charge and leading their organisation. With 12 Community Weekends held every year, each one is led by one of the School’s six vertical houses or other girl-led groups such as the International Council.As the only all girls’ full boarding school in the North of England, one of QM’s great strengths is its thriving boarding life which ensures full integration across the years. Girls take full responsibility for Community Weekends, consulting with all year groups to devise themes and content, which gives the girls the opportunity to develop essential soft skills such as communication, leadership and negotiation."''

Best School Food Award

In 2015 Queen Margaret’s was named as the winner of the Best School Food award by

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

magazine. The award recognised excellence in produce, menu ideas, presentation and taste.

Exam Results

The pass rate at A Level in 2021 was 100% and 47% of all grades were at A*, with 78% at A*-A (nationally that figure was 44%). The pass rate at GCSE in 2021 was 100%. One third (33%) of all GCSE results were at grade 9 and two thirds (67%) were at grades 9-7. ''"The results provide a fantastic foundation for the next stage of each girl’s educational journey and demonstrate that QM girls are ready to 'take on the world'."''

Inspection

A 2019 inspection by the

Independent Schools Inspectorate The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect independent schools in England. These schools are members of associations ...

awarded Queen Margaret's its highest 'Excellent' rating across all categories inspected. The report notes that ''“pupils develop outstanding study skills during their time at the School”,'' and how ''“boarding makes a very positive contribution to pupils’ overall academic success”.'' Also noted was the personalised learning and development, where ''“the school does not expect them to fit a particular mould, but that they have the freedom to ‘find their own niche’ and flourish as individuals”''. The report also acknowledges the strong sense of community which is fostered at QM. It reinforces how seriously the older girls take their responsibility of acting as role models to the younger ones – the supportive roles they adopt often develop into lifelong friendships.

Dance

The School offers individual and group lessons in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

, tap, hip-hop,

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

and

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

dance.

Music

Music plays an important role in life at QM with 45% of girls learning at least one instrument and over a quarter of those girls learning more than one instrument.

Sport

Sports facilities include an all-weather Astroturf, a sports hall, a competition-standard indoor swimming pool and a recreational outdoor pool, all-weather tennis courts, indoor squash courts, and a riding school adjacent to the main school campus. Main winter activities include:

, cross country, hockey, and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

. Summer sports include:

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, cricket and rounders.

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

, and squash are played at all levels.

Houses

Queen Margaret's has horizontal boarding houses for boarding, and vertical houses across all ages. There are six vertical houses: Garry, Pitlochry, Duncan, QM Hall, School and St Aidan's. Each pupil and teacher is assigned to one of the houses and each house is run by a teacher as Head of House; two Upper Sixth girls are chosen to be House Captain and Deputy House Captain, and two or three Fourth Year (Year 10) girls are chosen as House Monitors. Inter-house competitions include those for sport, cookery and music.

Boarding

Around 80% of pupils are boarders. They are assigned to a boarding house based on year group and age. Each boarding house is supervised by a housemaster or housemistress who is assisted by the Head of Year.Boarding
/ref> *Red House (Years 7–8, QM's Years I & II) *Atholl House (Years 9-10, QM's Year III-IV) *Winifred Holtby House, also known as "Winnie's" (Year 10, QM's Year IV) *Cloisters (Year 12, QM's LVI Lower Sixth) *The Cottages (Year 13, QM's UVI Upper Sixth)

Notable former pupils

''See also :People educated at Queen Margaret's School, York'' * Druie Bowett, artist * Sarah Connolly, opera Singer * Winifred Holtby, novelist and journalist *

Joan Hall Joan Lynette Hall (née Bullock) (born 22 December 1946) is a former member of the South Australian House of Assembly, serving in the electoral district of Coles from 1993 to 2002 and the renamed electoral district of Morialta from 2002 to 2 ...

, politician *

Ann Jellicoe Patricia Ann Jellicoe (15 July 1927 – 31 August 2017) was an English playwright, theatre director and actress. Although her work covered many areas of theatre and film, she is best known for "pushing the envelope" of the stage play, devising ...

, actor, theatre director and playwright *

Katharine, Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent, (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Roman Ca ...

* Dame Eleanor King, High Court Judge *

Matilda Lowther Matilda Grace Lowther (born 10 July 1995) is a British fashion model. Early life A granddaughter of James Lowther, 7th Earl of Lonsdale, Lowther was born to James and Vanessa Lowther and is the oldest of four siblings. Her grandmother, Nancy R ...

, fashion model * Lady Alice Manners, fashion columnist * Lady Eliza Manners, socialite * Lady Violet Manners, fashion model *

Suraya Marshall Air Vice-Marshal Suraya Antonia Marshall, (born 1973) is a senior Royal Air Force officer, serving as Air Officer Commanding No. 2 Group RAF since October 2021. Education and career She was educated at Queen Margaret's School, York, an independe ...

, Air Officer Commanding of No. 2 Group RAF * Elizabeth Poston, Composer * Amanda Staveley, businesswoman

Heads

;The Heads of Queen Margaret's are as follows: *

(1901–1913)Margaret A. E. Hammer, ‘Body, (Mary) Agnes (1866–1952)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 23 January 2017
/ref> *Rosalind Fowler (1913–1928) *Mildred Burella-Taylor (1928–1934) *Lily Parsons (1934–1938) *Joyce Brown (1938–1960) *Barbara Snape (1960–1980) *Pat Valentine (1980–1983) *Colin McGarrigle (1983–1992) *Geoffrey Chapman (1993–2009) *Paul Silverwood (2009–2014) *Carole Cameron, Acting Head (2014–2015) *Jessica Miles (2015–2019) *Sue Baillie (2019– )