Queen Margaret's School, York


Queen Margaret's, York is an independent day and boarding school for girls age 11-18 in Escrick Park near York, England. The school was named after Queen Margaret, the Queen of Scotland from 1070 to 1093.

History

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. 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 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. 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

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."

Dance

The School offers individual and group lessons in ballet, tap, hip-hop, contemporary and modern 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 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: lacrosse, cross country, hockey and netball. Summer sports include:athletics and rounders. Badminton, tennis and squash played at all levels.

Houses

There are six houses: Garry, Pitlochry, Duncan, QM Hall, School and St Aidans. 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 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.
;The Heads of Queen Margaret's are as follows: