Queen Margaret's School, York
Encyclopedia
Queen Margaret's, York is an independent day and boarding
school for girls age 11–18 in Escrick Park
near York
. The school was named after Queen Margaret
the Queen of Scotland from c
.1070–1093.
in September 2009, but between its foundation in 1901 and the move to Escrick in 1949, the school has had three different homes.
QM was established in Scarborough by the Woodard Foundation, an organisation committed to the establishment of boarding schools where teaching would be firmly based on the Christian
religion. Following evacution to Pitlochry
during the First World War and Castle Howard
in the Second World War, QM finally came to Escrick Park
, six miles south of York
in 1949.
In September 2009, Dr Paul Silverwood took over the headship and stated "I'm delighted to be joining Queen Margaret's School and look forward to the challenge of making sure the planning and personal development here is irresistible, and that students have the support and facilities to make the most of their education so that they feel able to achieve anything when they leave."
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. Head Dr Paul Silverwood has just completed his first year and key to his approach has been modernisation (though he is keen to maintain traditional values too). There’s been a reshuffle of the scholarships, with new awards in sport, dance and drama. This September will see the introduction of a programme of ‘academic extension’ to bring more focus to current affairs and greater political awareness. Dr Silverwood’s philosophy is for the pupils to be ‘happy and challenged’, and we think he’s succeeded."
The School offers a full range of academic subjects at GCSE, AS- and A-level. GCSEs are chosen from twenty four subjects and girls must study English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Science and a Modern Foreign Language. In addition, most girls opt to study four other subjects. In the Sixth Form, twenty seven subjects are offered at AS and A2 level. At AS level, most girls opt to study four or five subjects, reducing to three or four at A2 level.
) and/or the Cecchetti Society examination boards and Tap and Modern Dance follow the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing board (ISTD
). Hip-Hop and Contemporary Dance are non- examination classes. We have introduced Dance Scholarships because we feel
Past productions have included West Side Story
(2010), Wizard of Oz (2010), Saint Joan
(2009), Anything Goes
(2008), A Christmas Carol
(2007), The Threepenny Opera
(2006), A Midsummer Night's Dream
(2005) She Stoops to Conquer
(2004), Les Misérables
(2003), As You Like It
(2002), and Kiss Me Kate
(2001).
, cross country
, hockey
and netball
. Summer sports include:athletics and rounders
. Badminton
, tennis
and squash
are also played at all levels.
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
school for girls age 11–18 in Escrick Park
Escrick
Escrick is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. It is equidistant between Selby and York on what is now the A19 road....
near York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. The school was named after Queen Margaret
Saint Margaret of Scotland
Saint Margaret of Scotland , also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England...
the Queen of Scotland from c
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.1070–1093.
History
Queen Margaret's celebrated 60 years on its current site in Escrick ParkEscrick
Escrick is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. It is equidistant between Selby and York on what is now the A19 road....
in September 2009, but between its foundation in 1901 and the move to Escrick in 1949, the school has had three different homes.
QM was established in Scarborough by the Woodard Foundation, an organisation committed to the establishment of boarding schools where teaching would be firmly based on the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
religion. Following evacution to Pitlochry
Pitlochry
Pitlochry , is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. Its population according to the 2001 census was 2,564....
during the First World War and Castle Howard
Castle Howard
Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, north of York. One of the grandest private residences in Britain, most of it was built between 1699 and 1712 for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle, to a design by Sir John Vanbrugh...
in the Second World War, QM finally came to Escrick Park
Escrick
Escrick is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. It is equidistant between Selby and York on what is now the A19 road....
, six miles south of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
in 1949.
In September 2009, Dr Paul Silverwood took over the headship and stated "I'm delighted to be joining Queen Margaret's School and look forward to the challenge of making sure the planning and personal development here is irresistible, and that students have the support and facilities to make the most of their education so that they feel able to achieve anything when they leave."
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. Head Dr Paul Silverwood has just completed his first year and key to his approach has been modernisation (though he is keen to maintain traditional values too). There’s been a reshuffle of the scholarships, with new awards in sport, dance and drama. This September will see the introduction of a programme of ‘academic extension’ to bring more focus to current affairs and greater political awareness. Dr Silverwood’s philosophy is for the pupils to be ‘happy and challenged’, and we think he’s succeeded."
Academic
Public examination results in 2010 put QM among the top schools in the country with 93% of entries achieving grades A*-B at A Level and 99% of entries achieving A*-C at GCSE.The School offers a full range of academic subjects at GCSE, AS- and A-level. GCSEs are chosen from twenty four subjects and girls must study English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Science and a Modern Foreign Language. In addition, most girls opt to study four other subjects. In the Sixth Form, twenty seven subjects are offered at AS and A2 level. At AS level, most girls opt to study four or five subjects, reducing to three or four at A2 level.
Dance
The school offers individual and group lessons in Ballet, Tap and Modern dance, all these disciplines can be studied to examination level. Ballet follows the Royal Academy of Dance (RADARada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
) and/or the Cecchetti Society examination boards and Tap and Modern Dance follow the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing board (ISTD
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing is a leading dance teaching and examination board based in London, England and operating internationally. Established on 25 July 1904 as the Imperial Society of Dance Teachers, it changed to its current name in 1925 and is now a registered educational...
). Hip-Hop and Contemporary Dance are non- examination classes. We have introduced Dance Scholarships because we feel
Drama
Girls from QM are regularly accepted into the National Youth Theatre and four QM girls were placed in the ‘top ten candidates’ for GCSE Drama in the whole country.There is a whole school production at the end of each Autumn term. Entry is by competitive audition, open to all girls in the school. The production normally runs for three or four nights and is open to members of the public.Past productions have included West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
(2010), Wizard of Oz (2010), Saint Joan
Saint Joan (play)
Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, based on the life and trial of Joan of Arc. Published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church, the play dramatises what is known of her life based on the substantial records of her trial. Shaw studied the transcripts...
(2009), Anything Goes
Anything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
(2008), A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
(2007), The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
(2006), A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
(2005) She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, son of an Anglo-Irish vicar, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a great favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in Britain and the United States. It is one of the few plays from the 18th...
(2004), Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
(2003), As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
(2002), and Kiss Me Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
(2001).
Music
The school undertakes to guide students’ musical development in a variety of ways. QM encourages ambitious musicians to view their musical commitments seriously but also as a source of recreation, enjoyment and personal fulfilment. Girls play individually and in ensembles from beginner to advanced level.Sport
Many QM girls are selected for regional and national sports teams. Sports facilities including an Astroturf, a sports hall, a competition swimming pool, all-weather tennis courts, squash courts, a nine-hole golf course and a riding school adjacent to the main School campus. Main winter activities include: lacrosseLacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
. Summer sports include:athletics and rounders
Rounders
Rounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...
. Badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
are also played at all levels.
Notable Old Margaretians
- See also Category:Old Margaretians
- Dame Eleanor KingEleanor Hamilton KingDame Eleanor Warwick King, DBE , styled The Hon. Mrs Justice Eleanor King, is a Justice of the High Court.-Biography:...
, High Court Judge - Winifred HoltbyWinifred HoltbyWinifred Holtby was an English novelist and journalist, best known for her novel South Riding.-Life and writings:...
, novelist and journalist - Joan HallJoan Hall (UK politician)Joan Valerie Hall, CBE has been a British Conservative Party politician and secretary.Joan Hall was educated at Queen Margaret's School, York....
, politician - Ann JellicoeAnn JellicoeAnn Jellicoe is a British actor, theatre director and playwright. Although her work has covered many areas of theatre and film, she is best known for "pushing the envelope" of the stage play, devising new forms which challenge and delight unconventional audiences...
, actor, theatre director and playwright - Elizabeth PostonElizabeth PostonElizabeth Poston was an English composer, pianist, and writer. She studied at Queen Margaret's School, York and then the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she was encouraged by both Peter Warlock and Ralph Vaughan Williams. She won a prize from RAM for her violin sonata, which was...
, Composer - Sarah ConnollySarah ConnollySarah Patricia Connolly CBE is an English mezzo-soprano.Sarah Connolly was educated at Queen Margaret's School, York and then studied piano and singing at the Royal College of Music, of which she is now a Fellow...
, Opera Singer - Emily McCorquodale, niece to Diana, Princess of Wales
- Amanda StaveleyAmanda StaveleyAmanda Staveley is a British businesswoman notable chiefly for her connections with Middle Eastern investors. In 2008 Staveley played a prominent role in the investment of £7.3 billion in Barclays by the ruling families of Abu Dhabi and Qatar, and by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund...
, businesswoman
- Dame Eleanor King
Headmistresses and headmasters
- Miss Agnes Body (1901-1913)
- Miss Rosalind Fowler (1913-1928)
- Miss Mildred Burella Taylor (1928-1934)
- Miss Lily Parsons (1934-1938)
- Miss Joyce Brown (1938-1960)
- Miss Barbara Snape (1960-1980)
- Mrs Pat Valentine (1980-1983)
- Mr Colin McGarrigle (1983-1992)
- Dr Geoffrey Chapman (1993-2009)
- Dr Paul Silverwood (2009-)