015242 71275 office@qes.org.uk
Lunesdale Learning Trust QEStudio Vacancies Blended Learning
Staff

Bromcom

Email

Careers

CPOMS Logo

CPOMS

IT Support

School Cloud

SOCS

Maintenance

Sisra Logo

Sisra

Bromcom

Email

Streaming

IT Support

School Cloud

SOCS

Maintenance

Queen Elizabeth School

Free School Meals

As QES is a Cumbrian school, all parents wishing to apply for Free School Meals, regardless of what county you live in, should make the application through Westmorland & Furness Council.

Your child will get free school meals if you receive any of the following:

If your child is eligible for and has been registered to receive free school meals between 1 April 2018 and the end of the rollout of Universal Credits (currently expected to be March 2024), they will remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) they are in at the end of Universal Credits rollout. This is regardless of any change to your circumstances.

Please click the button below for the application form.

Application Form

Starting at QES

Introduction

Welcome
Parents

Welcome
Students

Media
Library

Useful
Information

Introduction

Thank you for visiting the Starting at QES page. You will most likely be here because you are joining our community in September or you are starting to think about secondary schools for the following year. There is plenty of information for you to browse including an introduction from Cathy O’Neill, Executive Headteacher.  Simply scroll down or click on the links at the top of the page.

The Year 7 team consists of Kirsten Mooney (Assistant Headteacher), Phil Reid (Head of Year 7) and Ellie Townsend (Deputy Head of Year 7). 

You will also find lots of useful information about starting in September, including our uniform policy and how the curriculum is organised. Please also keep up to date via our Twitter @QES_Starting and Instagram @QES_Y7

VIEW ALL
VIEW ALL

Welcome Parents

Welcome to QES! Whether you are already a familiar face as a parent or guardian or just beginning your journey with us, I’m delighted to welcome you to our community at this special time in your child’s life.

We know that joining secondary school can feel pretty daunting, but believe me, we are very keen to get Year 7 ensconced in their forms and lessons, making friends, and getting used to our Values, our systems of support and the vibrancy and excitement of their school.

I’m delighted to welcome our new intake: Thursday 22nd June at 6.00pm – Induction Evening for Year 6 pupils and their parents/carers and Monday 3rd July – Welcome morning for Year 6 pupils.

We know that children enjoy learning and gain in confidence when we get our partnership with you right. Of course we may well make mistakes, or we might disagree on occasions about the right processes, but we hope that parents and guardians appreciate that we share the same aims – aims that go back over 400 years, as we provide ‘Scholarship and Care’, enabling young people to grow and learn in our very special Values led community.

Goodness knows what that first cohort of Queen Elizabeth School students would have made of our 21st Century take on this, but I hope they would like the energy and warmth communicated though our Twitter accounts, such as our Starting feed or our main school feeds. These are just some of the ways we are trying to broaden our means of communicating with you and, until we can welcome children on to our school site, they will continue to be the most useful conduit for key messages.

Thanks again for choosing QES and thank you in anticipation of your support which is never taken for granted but much appreciated. I look forward to meeting you.

I look forward to meeting you.

Best wishes.

Cathy O’Neill
Executive Headteacher

Welcome Parents

I had the pleasure of joining QES in September 2022 as an Assistant Headteacher and one of the Designated Safeguarding Leads. Previously I have undertaken many different pastoral and curriculum leadership roles in secondary schools in Preston and Barrow-in-Furness. My responsibilities at QES include the scholarship and care of all Key Stage 3 pupils, including transition. I started my teaching career in primary education nearly 18 years ago and since then have undertaken my National Professional Qualification for Headship, the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordinators and transitioned into secondary school teaching and subsequently middle then senior leadership. 

QES has been the most welcoming and supportive environment where well-being is at the heart of all we do.  Many of the Year 7 pupils have said to me that one of the best things they have found since starting at QES is the help they receive from the older students, particularly the sixth formers.  It is very special and contributes to our nurturing environment.

Community is an important aspect of school-life and we have extensive opportunities as part of the curriculum and beyond, which I would encourage you to be a part of as often as possible. I am proud to be a part of such a phenomenal school and its history, guiding pupils on their journey throughout education and beyond.

Kirsten Mooney
Assistant Headteacher for Key Stage 3

Welcome Students

I can still remember my first day at QES. It was sixteen years ago, I had just moved back to the North from London and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be teaching in a school where people held doors open for each other and the view from each classroom window contained some sort of reminder that we live in a truly beautiful part of the country.

Sixteen years later, I count myself very lucky to have the kind job where, as well as teaching a subject that I love, I can venture out into our beautiful countryside every Spring and meet the next generation of QES students. You should count yourself lucky too; you have lived and learned in one of the most picturesque parts of England. You are also about to join a very special community.

As well as being a member of QES, you will also be a member of Year 7; it is an exciting time for so many reasons. What makes it unique out of all the other years though is the fact that you are coming from such a wide range of different backgrounds and experiences. What makes the Year 7 community so special is you. During your first few weeks, you will need to get to grips with our routines and expectations but also think about what unique contribution you will make to the life of the school – just like every QES scholar for the last 433 years.

I am so pleased that you and your family have chosen to join our community and I look forward to seeing you.

Mr Reid
Head of Year 7

 

 

 

 

I joined QES in 2020 as a PE teacher and form tutor to Year 10. As a PE teacher, you will often see me running a hockey match or netball training. When you join in September, I will be encouraging you to get involved in the wide variety of extra-curricular activities that we have on offer. Getting involved is one of our key values at QES and I hope that you are just as excited as I am to take part in a club whether that be music, sport, drama or languages!

However, in 2021, I became a member of the Year 7 team as Deputy Head of Year. I have had the pleasure of welcoming new students into school, as well as helping them to settle in, find their way around the school site and overcome any challenges that might come in their way. Every new adventure begins with a challenge!

Transitioning from Year 6 to Year 7 can be an overwhelming experience and we understand that it may take a bit of time to get used to our expectations and rules, but don’t worry, you won’t be the only one!

We are here to help you every step of the way and we are very excited to meet all of you!

Miss Townsend
Deputy Head of Year 7

Media Library

We hope that you are looking forward to joining us in Year 7 next year, but we also know that a lot of you will be a little bit nervous and may not know what to expect.  We hope these videos and factfiles will answer your questions and tell you everything you need to know.

Videos

We know that one of the biggest concerns new students have is how to find their way around the site.  To help with this, we’ve created a tour of the school.  To find out more information about the buildings around site click on the link below. We learnt some things putting it together!

BUILDING FACTFILES

QES isn’t just lots of buildings and classrooms, there are also a lot of special places dotted around the grounds. Hopefully, you will get to see these in person next year but for now, here is a brief rundown of some of the places in school that carry a lot of meaning for our community.

SPECIAL PLACES

Have a look at the Form Rooms video above for a guided tour of the Year 7 form rooms!

In the Getting from A to B videos Mr Reid walks you through how to navigate your way around school. 

Useful Information

The main Parents and Students sections of our website contain all the information about day to day life at QES for all students. This is updated every year ready for the following September. These can be accessed via the links in the green header at the top of the page. We appreciate that this may seem a lot of information and may be a little overwhelming so as a starter we would recommend that you visit the following areas in the Parents section.

Key Information: Transport, Holidays & Absences, MCAS, Free School Meals, School Meal Provision

Scholarship: Teaching & Learning, Curriculum Overviews, Literacy for Learning

Aims Care: Pastoral Care overview, Personal Development, External Support, Safeguarding, SEND, Health

We would also recommend visiting the following areas in Students section with your child:

Scholarship: Our Library

Care: Health, Safeguarding

School Routines: Key Practical Information, Behaviour Expectations

In the section below you will find some further information specific to new starters in Year 7.

Getting Ready This Summer

Uniform
Our uniform can be purchased from Monkhouse www.monkhouse.com.

Monkhouse will be offering a fitting and sales service in school at the beginning of the summer holidays and we will send out more information nearer the time.

QES Uniform 2021
QES Uniform and Equipment List 2021
QES Uniform Reminders 2021

Summer Reading
We aim to embed literacy skills to ensure young people’s success in later life. Our two wonderful school libraries therefore sit at the heart of the school, and we promote reading and speaking through many events and strategies.

Parents are encouraged to develop their child’s literacy skills and work in partnership with the school so over the summer we suggest reading some of the books and e-books on the recommended reading list put together by our librarian. Enjoy!

Summer Reading List and Tracker 2023
Summer Reading Tracker

Frequently Asked Questions
We know there’s probably lots of questions about school and how things work.  Hopefully the document below will answer them!

Frequently Asked Questions

Are You Year 7 Ready?
Open the document below to find a series of challenges for you to complete over summer to get you ready to start Year 7 in September.  Get an adult to sign off on your challenges and hand the completed sheet into your form tutor at the start of term to earn community credits!

Year 7 Challenge Sheet

Starting in September

Year 7 Team
We have a special team dedicated to overseeing the welfare of students in Year 7, together with their social and academic progress. See the document below for information about the Year 7 Pastoral Team and Year 7 Form Tutors.

Introduction to Year 7 Pastoral Team 2023
Meet Your Tutors

Our Curriculum
For more details about teaching from September, including groups for Maths and English see the information below.

Teaching Groups

Getting Ready for School
It’s really important to be prepared for the day ahead so that you are organized and pack everything that you need. So here are some useful tips that we know will make a big difference to your daily routines…

Getting Ready for School

Learning at Home
Completing homework and daily reviewing is an important part of learning and doing well. So here are some top tips to help you make solid study habits…

Tips for Learning at Home

Reviewing Process
We use a variety of ways to keep you updated on your child’s progress, including a Subject Review and a Tracker document that’s updated online every half term. Please see the information below for more details.

Reviewing Progress