Impact of partnership work done in 2024 (ISC annual Census 2025)

• 14 state schools involved
• 201-500 state school pupils involved
• 150 staff hours given

Impact Statement

Arts, Music and Drama

One of the important elements of any Woodard school is the concentration on arts, music and drama. Queen Mary’s is involved in all different aspects of these activities with a number providing the training necessary to pass graded exams set by national institutions.
The annual Art exhibition in June continues to be a well-attended, popular event with excellent contributions from students, staff and parents. The strength of the event is its inclusive nature as contributions from as many different ages and capabilities as possible were represented.

The Art Scholars also worked together on joint projects, in particular, they were invited to Ripon Cathedral to lay out hundreds of candles for the Cathedral’s Candlemass festival.

The Chapel Choir continues to be the flagship ensemble of the Music Department and gave many excellent performances throughout the year. In December 2017 they performed their annual Candlelit Concert at St Oswald’s Church, Sowerby which included an outstanding performance of Benjamin Britten’s ‘A Ceremony of Carols’ alongside other seasonal music. In March the Chapel Choir alongside the Senior Choir performed a Baroque Classics Concert at St Mary’s Church, Thirsk which included a wonderful performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria and extracts from Handel’s Messiah. In June the Chapel Choir sang Evensong for the first time at Hexham Abbey to great acclaim and further collaboration with Hexham Abbey is planned for the future.

Outstanding instrumental playing was demonstrated by the School’s leading instrumental ensemble, The Scholars’ Ensemble, who successfully performed a wide range of repertoire including works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Carl Jenkins. The Scholars’ Ensemble performed the Waltz from Swan Lake at the McMillan Carol Service at Ripon Cathedral in December and also performed in the Baroque Concert in March and the Summer Cabaret.

Physical Education and Sport
The enormous range of sports offered at Queen Mary’s reflects the importance given to sporting activity and physical education. The Physical Education department teaches across the whole school and also provides an extensive extra-curricular programme.

The more able are nominated for Area, County and Regional representation with many of our pupils being successful. Teams are entered into Area competitions with opportunities to qualify at higher stages.

Our KS1 & KS2 girls entered the Thirsk School Games for the second year running. This has allowed girls from Queen Mary’s to enter sixteen competitions/tournaments across the year in a range of activities from Netball to Tag Rugby to Swimming. It has allowed for the higher ability teams to qualify for County Rounds and where possible to increase participation rates for girls who less frequently represent the school.

The Gymnastics and Trampolining Programme continues to thrive. As a school we are affiliated to the Yorkshire School’s Gymnastics Association (YSGA) and have competed in YSGA Trampolining Competition, the Milano Trio Competition and the YSGA Floor and Vault Competition, where the U16 Gymnastics team finished in 3rd place. We have achieved individual success in the Kingston League as U9, U11 and U16 Champions in the Foundation category.

Our holiday sports camp, Sport 360, has continued to grow and develop over the last year and regularly attracts up to 35 participants each day. Camps including specialist sessions delivered by external coaches which have been particularly well received.

Significant events

Highlights have included a summer Art Exhibition and Art for Youth, Year hosting a group from Thirsk Community Care for, our now annual, Christmas afternoon tea. In addition one of our pupils was a finalist in the BBC’s Young Chorister of the Year and we hosted a colour run in aid of our school charity for the year The Karkeri School in Rajasthan, India to who we donated in excess of £5,000.

Wider Education

The Woodard Corporation is involved in the development of academies as part of the government’s initiative. In support of this project all Woodard schools have provided support, where asked, through provision of educational expertise, participation in governance, direct curriculum support etc.

Community

The school continues to invite local schools to join workshops and attend school productions. This has included the North Yorkshire Animation Competition, an initiative set up by the Head of Computing, and hosting annual Battle of the Books Competition.

The proceeds from the Harvest Festival and the surplus Easter Eggs from the annual Easter Egg Hunt are taken to the local food bank.

We continue to allow local schools to make use of our minibuses as and when required.

Outreach

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme in the senior school and the Archbishop of York Youth Leaders Award in the Junior school allow pupils to engage in community based projects supporting charities unrelated to the school. In addition some girls undertake community service as part of an organised after school activity.