I wish you all a happy and refreshing Spring break.

Dear Parents and Guardians

As we reach the end of term, my year of firsts at Queen Margaret’s has continued at pace and highlights abound. Let me begin by recapping some of this term’s most memorable moments.

‘Small but mighty’ This was the mantra of the U18 lacrosse team as they competed in the National Schools Lacrosse Championships. It is so fitting of Queen Margaret’s in general - a school which punches above its weight in so many aspects.

Dance Through Time, QM’s annual Dance Show this past weekend was simply spectacular. Such talent, beauty, creativity, variety and energy. To have such a strong Dance programme within the school is one of QM’s exceptional strengths and it is wonderful to see so many girls expressing themselves creatively through Dance. A true expression of self-belief. Alison Leadley, Head of Dance, expresses the power of Dance at QM: 'I believe from the moment we are born we are dancing, for joy, for sadness, for love, for friendship. What we all know to be true is that the dancers at Queen Margaret's School are unstoppable and that life is better when we are dancing!'

Chamber Choir’s Evensong at York Minster earlier this term was also inspiring, the purity of the girls’ voices providing a moment of calm reflection at the end of the day. Yesterday evening we saw an impressive range of performances in the LAMDA Showcase and, as I write, our musicians are busy preparing for the Easter Service and Spring Concert at the end of term.

In sports, the inaugural QM Ribbons Lacrosse Tournament in January was followed by the North Schools Tournament in February culminating with great performances at the National Schools Lacrosse Championships. The U18 team progressed further than they had previously by reaching the final of Division 2 and narrowly losing in a closely fought game.

It has also been a fantastic term for netball, with a large number of girls participating both in school and through the Mavericks Netball Club. Two Mavericks teams competed in the Ladies York & District (Y&D) League. Each team demonstrated a remarkable commitment to playing weekly fixtures against adult opposition, a valuable experience that differs significantly from school matches. Within school competitions, all age groups from U12 to U16 have proudly represented Queen Margaret's in the York & District tournaments with the U12 team reaching the semi-finals and the U14 team successfully winning their pool of league matches. To round off the season we were proud to host and organise the 1st and 2nd VII Invitational Netball Tournament. This was a fantastic event bringing together top schools from across the North of England. It was a wonderful, sunny afternoon of competitive high-quality netball.

Then there have been school-wide community events: Soft Song, the annual house competition involving all girls and Burns Supper, a very enjoyable sociable evening organised by the Friends of Queen Margaret’s. I have continued to enjoy meeting OMs and recently enjoyed our annual OM drinks reception in London. In all of the above, the strength of the QM community and friendship combined with individual passions and talents shine through.

Of course academic work has received its necessary focus with Years V and UVI completing their mock exams. University offers have been flowing for UVI with offers from a wide range of competitive universities including Durham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Exeter, Bristol, Glasgow, Bath, Leeds Conservatoire and further afield in Toronto, amongst many others. Younger girls had their eyes opened to a rich variety of career pathways through our fantastic Careers Afternoon supported by parents and OMs as guest speakers. The world is their oyster and it is so important that they build awareness of the breadth of opportunities open to them and follow their passions.

It has been one of my priorities this year to be both inward and outward-looking. One of the comments I sometimes hear is that QM is a hidden gem - it is certainly a gem but I wish it was less hidden! Over the last six months I have spent time meeting Prep School Heads and visiting Prep Schools to help raise the profile of QM. My trip to Hong Kong over Half Term was a wonderful opportunity to engage with current parents, but also to connect with established and new agents. This was followed shortly afterwards by the British Boarding Schools Workshop, the largest recruitment fair in London for British Boarding schools to connect with international agents. There is no doubt that recruitment is slower with current headwinds which are having ripple effects in both UK and international markets, and all Heads I speak to are reinforcing the same message. Schools are having to work harder at recruitment than ever before and this creates a knock-on effect across the sector. Word of mouth is our most powerful tool and we are grateful for all the positive promotion of QM which takes place daily through members of the QM community.

At the end of this term we are sadly saying goodbye to several valued colleagues who are leaving QM to move onto a variety of pastures new, and in some cases looking forward to a very well-earned retirement. I send a heartfelt thank you for all their hard work, care and commitment during their time at Queen Margaret’s and wish them all the very best in their future. May I finish by expressing my huge appreciation to all members of the QM community once again. Girls, staff, parents, Governors, OMs, the kindness and warmth of the community carries me along, and the hard work, support and commitment of all are so greatly appreciated.

I wish you all a happy and refreshing Spring break.

With best wishes

Nicola