Established in 1901, Queen Margaret's (QM) is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11-18 set in 75 acres of parkland, six miles south of York. The Good Schools Guide says "QM is small but perfectly formed and has everything you could wish for." In 2023 QM won the award of Small Independent School of the Year.
History
Queen Margaret's was established in 1901 in Scarborough mainly by Jane Leeke Latham of the Woodard Foundation. 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 who arrived from Lincoln with some of her former staff. In 1913, when ill health made her retire, it was said that QM was known as "Miss Body's School".
Rosalind Fowler became the second Head and she supervised the evacuation of the School to the Atholl Palace Hotel, Pitlochry during the First World War. Following another evacuation to Castle Howard in the Second World War, QM finally came to Escrick Park, six miles south of York, 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
QM serves the local, national and international market with its secondary school and sixth form provision. The school accommodates a mixture of full boarders, bespoke (flexi) boarders and day students.
QM is a relatively small school of circa 220 students, meaning it offers a high staff/student ratio, small class sizes, exceptional student support, individualised learning, and a plethora of sports and extra curricular activities. The school has its own stables on site offering riding lessons, livery, and husbandry.
In 2023, The Good Schools Guide 2023 summarised QM as "Lively, good facilities, great extra curricular offer, spot on pastoral care and a very committed set of staff; Queen Margaret’s is small but perfectly formed and has everything you could wish for, unless you crave anonymity and getting lost in the crowd."
QM won the Small Independent School of the Year award in 2023, and was awarded the Gold standard accreditation of the School Mental Health Award by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools.
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 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."
Awards
Small Independent School of the Year
In 2023 Queen Margaret’s School for Girls was named ‘Small Independent School of the Year’ by the Independent Schools of the Year Awards, beating off both local and national competition.
The Independent Schools of the Year Awards are the sector’s leading awards programme and receive hundreds of nominations from the best schools across the UK. Despite strong representation from other schools in York, Queen Margaret’s was the only North Yorkshire school to win an award.
The school won thanks to its personal tutoring system for each student, the opening of our brand-new Sixth Form study centre, its bespoke boarding arrangements and because it recently achieved a gold mental health accreditation.
Head, Sue Baillie, said “We are delighted to win this award as it recognises the truly unique nature of QM and the transformational impact it has on our students. In our small school we have been able to build a very special community spirit which underpins our success. We know our students well, we care about their welfare, and we support their ambitions. They never get lost in the crowd.”
Gold standard School Mental Health Award
In 2023, Queen Margaret's achieved the Gold standard School Mental Health Award, delivered by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools, for its outstanding mental health and wellbeing provision.
QM provides a wide range of activities to boost the wellbeing of pupils and staff; mindfulness, meditation and focus days which put mental health and wellbeing at the forefront are commonplace in the timetable. Each year group has student Wellbeing Champions who take the lead in encouraging positive mental health amongst their peers. The school also invites external speakers to run sessions for parents, ensuring that the whole school community is factored into its mental health strategy.