Wellbeing & Pastoral Care

QM was named Independent School of the Year for Student Wellbeing in the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2021 for our multi-dimensional approach to wellbeing.
QM’s Health and Wellbeing Centre is a well-equipped department with a waiting room, treatment rooms, well-stocked dispensary, lounge, counselling room, four single bedrooms, shower, bath and toilet facilities. The Centre is staffed by two Registered Nurses and a Nurse Associate who offer a comprehensive school nursing service.

Advice For Parents

The best way to get a taste of life at Queen Margaret's (QM) is to visit us; our Admissions Team is available all year round, including the school holidays, and are on hand to take you through the admissions process. From registration to taster days, and from entrance assessments right through to a girl's very first day you will be carefully guided through the process. Assessments usually take place in the January prior to the September of entry.

Typical Child

We are proud that we are continuing to make a QM education possible for an increasingly diverse range of girls. The girls are the focus of life at QM and are at the heart of everything we do. It’s this focus and an individualistic approach that allows our girls to carve their own path, and flourish as formidable, independent women.

Highly Regarded For

Named as Independent School of the Year for Student Wellbeing at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2021.

Notable Points

The School is fortunate in having its own Specialist Assessor who sees the examination process through from start to finish for each individual girl, carrying out the appropriate assessments for examination access arrangements, implementing arrangements in the classroom for girls and ensuring the appropriate paperwork is completed and applications made to the examination boards.
All girls on the Special Educational Needs register are offered weekly, personalised lessons, for which there is no charge. These are one to one, tailored to each girl’s individual needs and timetabled to fit with girls’ other commitments, so enabling girls to shine in all areas of the curriculum.
Progress, Achievement and Student Support embraces a ‘can do’ attitude and encourages girls that a special educational need is not a barrier to achievement. From the girl now reading English at Cambridge to the girl who has set up her own underwear business, anything is possible.

Leavers' Attainment

QM's 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%). Similarly, the pass rate at GCSE in 2021 was 100%. One third (33%) of all our GCSE results were at grade 9 and two thirds (67%) were at grades 9-7. These results continue the upward trend seen in 2020 and are reflective of our girls’ resilience and talent in an extraordinary year.

Leavers' Destinations

The majority of our girls go on to study at Russell Group Universities. Degree courses pursued are very varied; as well as Law, Medicine and Modern Languages; Music Production, Civil Engineering and Art Foundation courses are regularly chosen and lead to an exciting array of careers. Elsewhere, One Old Margaretian is studying to become a Norland Nanny and another recently secured a very prestigious Higher Level Apprenticeship with Northamptonshire Police (as well as five other university offers!).

Sports

At the heart of a QM education is a love of learning which is supported by a healthy body and healthy mind. With a reputation for being a first-class sporting school, there are opportunities to play a wide variety of sports and be part of a strong team every day. QM is unique in that girls play three winter team games - Lacrosse, Hockey and Netball, simultaneously. This means that there is a very strong culture of involvement in team games by girls at all levels of the school. Many QM girls represent their county or country in their chosen discipline and the school supports its elite athletes in balancing their academic and sporting commitments. QM offers a vast range of sports and activities to nurture every girl’s physical and mental wellbeing, from Swimming and Tennis to Personal Training and Riding.
Sports Facilities include an impressive indoor heated swimming pool which is 25m long by 13m wide. With a shallow end of 1m and reaching a depth of 2.5m, the pool is used for Swimming lessons, Water Polo, Aqua Aerobics, pool parties, lifeguard training and more. An Outdoor Pool is also available during the Summer Term.
Netball Courts, new AstroTurf and Sport pitches create a fantastic all-weather outdoor sport facility for students. With two onsite sets of Tennis Courts within the grounds, girls can enjoy individual, pair or small group Tennis lessons. QM’s Sports Hall is a vast space, suitable for all manner of indoor sports and housing its own Cardio Suite. Squash courts are also available. QMFit is an outside fitness trail providing a full body workout with age-appropriate equipment.

Art

QM welcomed a new Head of Art in September 2021. Our girls enjoy spacious and well-equipped studios and the calibre of work they produce is exceptional. Our Fine Art Sixth Form girls get their own studio space to work in, rivalling the offer at many universities and unlike most schools. There are also large-scale print making facilities, again a rival to university and college equipment. Our digital art offering is now a focus and we are expanding, with new equipment and facilities for Graphics, Photography and Digital Fine Art in the pipeline. This year we have a specialist Digital Art workshop provider in school.
Our Art Scholars have the opportunity to exhibit their work and are currently working on an opportunity to design next year’s school planner. The modern Art Department has its own gallery space.

Drama

With outstanding facilities including the state-of-the-art Chapman Theatre (seats 230), sound and lighting systems and carpenters’ workshop, Drama at QM is an outstanding opportunity for all and everyone is welcome to play a part. Each year, at least two full-scale productions are staged - a Senior Production in the Autumn Term and a Junior Production in the Summer Term. The productions are always delivered to an exceptionally high standard and encourage girls from across the School to work together. This helps students to develop their teamwork skills, professionalism and artistic excellence. QM’s stage crew welcomes those who want to learn the ropes and get involved behind the scenes with props, hair, make-up, lighting, costumes, cues and set management. By being a part of the stage crew, students grow in maturity, learn about personal responsibility, develop teamwork skills and demonstrate their ability to work independently, performing complex tasks to a high standard.

Music

From nurturing students at the start of their musical journey at QM, through to seeing our diploma and A Level musicians fly high, inclusivity and excellence is at the heart of what we offer. All girls in Years I and II experience the joys of collective singing in our inclusive choir, Cantiamo, as part of their Key Stage 3 Music curriculum. The Music Department also facilitates and supports individual excellence and those who wish to study Music vocationally - in recent years QM students have been invited to play with the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain, been personally headhunted to play in Ronnie Scott’s ‘Women in Jazz’ workshops and we have successfully supported many Choral Scholarships and Summer Residential applications for QM’s Music Scholars.
We have fabulous music facilities which are located at the heart of the School campus, boasting 14 practice rooms, each with pianos, and available from 07:00-21:00. St Margaret’s Chapel is also available to students as they wish, enabling them to practice or rehearse, with access to the School’s Yamaha Grand Piano and Pipe Organ. The Music Department Foyer doubles as an informal recital space and there is a well-equipped classroom including a PC suite with Sibelius software for use in composition classes, along with a separate multi-function rehearsal/teaching space in addition to the main Music building.

Dance

Dance encourages our girls to use movement as a mode of expression and communication. It engages the physical, emotional and intellectual dimensions of those taking part.
Girls from all years showcase their dance talent in our annual Dance Show. Set in the impressive Chapman Theatre, the shows are an annual highlight for the entire QM Family and are a sparkling opportunity for girls to express themselves through dance in a variety of genres including Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap and Modern. In addition to the Chapman Theatre which is used for performances, QM boast two purpose built dance studios.