Queenswood School is a girls-only independent school located near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, twenty miles from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It offers admission at ages 11, 13 or 16 (for

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

). The ''

Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...

'' 2013 described Queenswood as "a girls' school to which others should aspire."

History

The school's origins were with "The Educational Home for the Daughters of Wesleyan Ministers" founded in

Clapton, London Clapton is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and or ...

in 1869. After a transfer to

Clapham Park Clapham Park is an area in the Borough of Lambeth in London, to the south of central Clapham and west of Brixton. History The original Clapham Park Estate was a speculative development by Thomas Cubitt, who bought of Bleak Hall Farm in 1825 ...

the school reopened with its current name in 1894. The head was Marion Waller and she was the daughter of the school's founder David Waller. Marion Waller arrived with Ethel Trew as her assistant. Waller left to marry in 1897 and Trew was persuaded to give up her own ambitions to lead the school. During the first world war the school raised money to fund an ambulance that was sent to Salonika. Under Trew's leadership the school moved to Sheepwell House in

Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, and 39,201 at the 2011 Census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, home of the Marquess o ...

in 1925 and a preparatory school was established. The original school and the head's house was burnt down in 1936 and was replaced with a nearly identical building. Trew had many successes but took too many years to retire in 1944. She was superseded by Enid "Emma" Essame who had many hours planning the school's future with

Baron Stamp Baron Stamp, of Shortlands in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1938 for the civil servant, industrialist, economist, statistician and banker, Sir Josiah Stamp. The second Baron, Wilfred Car ...

, the chair of governors. Essame had been identified as the head designate in the early 1930s and she had turned down other offers in the long wait for Trew to retire. Essame was inspiring to the school's supporters and new money was found to support the school. A new science block and library were added in 1957. Essame served until 1971 and she was succeeded by Margaret Ritchie. In 1981 she in her turn was succeeded by Audrey Butler who had been educated at Queenswood.

Name

The name "Queenswood" along with the school's motto "in hortis reginæ" (In Queens’ Gardens) pays tribute to

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

(1819–1900) who was a champion of female education and women's place in society. In 1865 he published a lecture "Of Quenns' Gardens" on which the name and motto were based. The lecture was one of a series "Sesame and Lilies" delivered in December 1864.

Pastoral care

As Queenswood is a Methodist school, all girls are required to attend chapel services. Special services are held to welcome new girls and farewell upper sixth leavers. The tutor system is a key part of the school's pastoral care. Girls are organised into small groups and assigned to a tutor or their housemistress.

House system

Girls in years 7 and 8 belong to Stamp House, which accommodates up to 45 boarders. In year 7, girls are randomly allocated to one of the four houses but will only switch when they enter year 9. * Hartley * Clapham North * Clapham South * Waller

Boarding

The houses have a mixture of boarding and day girls to allow for integration. The boarding programme is generally flexible and accommodates part-time boarders. Day girls may sleep over on an

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...

basis or on weekdays only. Each house is supervised by a housemistress and a boarding assistant. Stamp House has 12 tutors and three full-time residential staff.

Notable former pupils

* Naomi Cavaday, tennis player *

Helen McCrory Helen Elizabeth McCrory (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Mac ...

(1968–2021), actress *

Muriel Nissel Muriel Nissel (née Griffiths; 30 January 1921 – 2010) was a British statistician and civil servant. Together with Claus Moser, she created "a national survey analysing trends in social welfare", that was to become ''Social Trends'', first pub ...

(1921–2010), statistician and civil servant *

Natalie Pinkham Natalie Jane Pinkham (born 20 September 1977) is a British television presenter and Formula One pit lane reporter for Sky Sports F1, having held the same post for BBC Radio 5 Live in 2011. She is also known for hosting '' Police Interceptors Spe ...

, television and radio presenter * Alison Richard,

Vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

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Carol Thatcher Carol Jane Thatcher (born 15 August 1953) is an English journalist, author and media personality. She is the daughter of Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990, and Denis Thatcher. She has written biographies of both he ...

, daughter of Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

Georgie Thompson Georgina Jane Ainslie, Lady Ainslie (born 25 September 1977), better known as Georgie Thompson, is an English television presenter. Education Thompson was educated at Queenswood School, an independent boarding school for girls near Hatfield ...

, television presenter During the 1980s, actor

Paul Bettany Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominate ...

stayed at the school regularly as his father, Thane Bettany was the resident Head of Department for Drama.

References

External links

Profile
on

The Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...

* ISI Inspectio
Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queenswood School Independent schools in Hertfordshire Educational institutions established in 1894 Girls' schools in Hertfordshire People educated at Queenswood School Methodist schools in England 1894 establishments in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Boarding schools in Hertfordshire