Queen Margaret's School, York

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 remained until closure. Mrs Sue Baillie commenced her headship in September 2019, taking over from the previous Head Mrs Jessica Miles.

On 13 June 2025, it was announced that the school would close due to financial pressures on 5 July that year.[[File:Queen Margaret's School for Girls Logo.jpg|alt=Queen Margaret's School for Girls Logo|thumb|275x275px|Queen Margaret's School for Girls Logo]]

Exam results

The 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%).

The pass rate at GCSE in 2021 was 100%. One third (33%) of all GCSE results were at grade 9 and two thirds (67%) were at grades 9–7.

Inspection

A 2019 inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate awarded Queen Margaret's its highest 'Excellent' rating across all categories inspected.

Dance

The School offered lessons in ballet, tap, hip-hop, contemporary and modern dance.

Sport

Sports facilities included an all-weather Astroturf, a sports hall, a competition-standard indoor swimming pool and a recreational outdoor pool, all-weather tennis courts, indoor squash courts, and a riding school adjacent to the main school campus. Main winter activities included: lacrosse, cross country, hockey, and netball. Summer sports included: athletics, cricket and rounders. Badminton, tennis, and squash were played.

Houses

Queen Margaret's had horizontal boarding houses for boarding, and vertical houses across all ages.

There were six vertical houses: Garry, Pitlochry, Duncan, QM Hall, School and St Aidan's. Each pupil and teacher was assigned to one of the houses and each house was run by a teacher as Head of House; two Upper Sixth girls were chosen to be House Captain and Deputy House Captain, and two or three Fourth Year (Year 10) girls were chosen as House Monitors. Inter-house competitions included those for sport, cookery and music.

Boarding

Around 80% of pupils were boarders. They were assigned to a boarding house based on year group and age. Each boarding house was supervised by a housemaster or housemistress who was assisted by the Head of Year.

• Warwick House (Years 7–9, QM's Years I-III)
• Winifred Holtby House, also known as "Winnie's" (Years 10-11, QM's Year IV-V)
• Cloisters (Year 12, QM's LVI Lower Sixth)
• The Cottages (Year 13, QM's UVI Upper Sixth)

Notable former pupils

See also :Category:People educated at Queen Margaret's School, York

• Druie Bowett, artist
• Sarah Connolly, opera Singer
• Joan Hall, politician
• Winifred Holtby, novelist and journalist
• Ann Jellicoe, actor, theatre director and playwright
• Katharine, Duchess of Kent
• Dame Eleanor King, High Court Judge
• Matilda Lowther, fashion model
• Lady Alice Manners, fashion columnist
• Lady Eliza Manners, socialite
• Lady Violet Manners, fashion model
• Suraya Marshall, Air Officer Commanding of No. 2 Group RAF
• Elizabeth Poston, Composer
• Amanda Staveley, businesswoman

Heads

;The Heads of Queen Margaret's were as follows:

• Agnes Body (1901–1913)
• Rosalind Fowler (1913–1928)
• Mildred Burella-Taylor (1928–1934)
• Lily Parsons (1934–1938)
• Joyce Brown (1938–1960)
• Barbara Snape (1960–1980)
• Pat Valentine (1980–1983)
• Colin McGarrigle (1983–1992)
• Geoffrey Chapman (1993–2009)
• Paul Silverwood (2009–2014)
• Carole Cameron, Acting Head (2014–2015)
• Jessica Miles (2015–2019)
• Sue Baillie (2019–2024)
• Nicola Dudley (2024-2025)

Arms

References

References

1. Independent Schools Yearbook 2011-2012. The 'Bible' for information on Independent Schools
2. (2004-09-23). "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".
3. J.P.G. Taylor ''Queen Margaret's School 1901–2001'' Originally printed 2001, reprinted with additions 2006
4. (2025-06-13). "York's Queen Margaret School announces closure after 125 years".
5. "2021 Academic Results".
6. "Independent Schools Inspectorate - Queen Margaret's School".
7. "Boarding".
8. Margaret A. E. Hammer, ‘Body, (Mary) Agnes (1866–1952)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/73541, accessed 23 January 2017]
9. "Queen Margaret's School". Heraldry of the World.