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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

Year Teams

The key people in our pastoral teams are our Heads of Year, in most instances they would be your first point of contact if you have a query about your child.

Year 7

Year 7

Year 7 is a key year for our children; the transition from primary to secondary school is a big step for our children. Our pupils quickly learn about our ten core values especially the history of the school and its importance in our local community. They are part of the QES story and will leave a legacy for future generations.  

We have fixed specialist team of pastoral staff which focus on this important stage of a child’s life and development, they are truly experts in their field. 

Message from Head of Year 7
It’s a huge privilege to be able to support our students on the first step of their QES journey. We welcome children from a wide area, across three counties, and many come from small village primary schools where there may have only been three or four other peers in their year group. To go from this to 250 students is inevitably a daunting experience and one we do our best to make as happy and exciting as possible.

The year group is organised into eight forms (Q, E, S, K, L, W, M and C) of roughly 32. Each form has their own Form Tutor who is responsible for their tutees on a day-to-day basis. They register their form in the morning before lessons and provide activities to get them ready for school as well as to gel as a social group. They are normally the first port of call for students who are struggling or who have a minor issue that needs addressing. If things cannot be resolved quickly, then I or Miss Townsend (Deputy Head of Year 7) will provide support.

The forms are mixed ability and because we know that the presence of a familiar face can often make the Transition from Year 6 to 7 easier, we do our best to consider friendship group requests when creating them.

We firmly believe that Induction at QES is not simply something that starts and finishes in the first week of September. We spend the year trying to instil an appreciation of our School Values as well as an understanding of whole-school expectations. We also understand that alongside Induction for our students, it is important to keep you informed about what is happening at school, particularly if you have never had a child learn here before. You can expect regular communications via email, Twitter and Instagram throughout the year which will remind you about important events and give you information about whole school routines such as Effort Grades.

Phil Reid

Head of Year 7

Ellie Townsend

Deputy Head of Year 7

Year 8 & 9

Year 8 & 9

As our children grow and develop and turn into teenagers the type of support they need also changes. We have dedicated Y8 & 9 pastoral teams who are experienced and specialize in this key developmental age, guiding them through.  

Each year group team stays with their year group for two years. 

Message from Head of Year 8
As Year 7 move into Year 8 they will remain in their existing form but will usually have a new Form Tutor and Head and Deputy Head of Year. They will continue to be taught PD in their forms but there will be new groups for their other subjects.  While there will continue to be 8 forms, there will be 9 teaching groups for many subjects. To allow us to create the extra groups we structure the year group into 3 parallel, mixed ability populations A, B and C, with 3 teaching groups in each. Food, Textiles, Design Technology and PE will have extra groups due to the practical nature of their subject.

All subjects are taught in mixed ability groups except for Maths, Science and Modern Foreign Languages who create settled groups arranged according to ability. With the transition from primary school long complete and no longer the youngest in school, Year 8 will be a different and more familiar year. Pupils will more easily navigate their way around the site, know the majority of our staff and be well versed in our ethos. We will continue our work on developing good study habits both in school and at home and developing social and communication skills.

Year 8 is one where we have greater expectations of our pupils as they start to become role models for the younger members of our community. Growing up and adolescence can be a challenging and ongoing part of life for children and for you as parents. For example, friendships may be changing which can be challenging for some.

The Year Team is here to work with you closely and offer support if needed. Overall, we hope Year 8 will be one where students feel more at ease with our school community and their place in it.

Rachel Everett

Head of Year 8

David Banfield

Deputy Head of Year 8

Marion Jeffery

Pastoral Support Year 8

Message from Head of Year 9
Year 9 is a year focused on making choices! Much will be familiar to pupils and parents as the Year Team, Form Tutors and populations will generally stay the same. However, this is the year when pupils start to look towards the future, and we start to prepare for KS4. We will build on and consolidate the work we did in Year 8; developing effective study and organisation skills.

A focus for this year is for pupils to become independent learners, taking responsibility for their own learning and developing resilience. The challenges of growing up and adolescence are not over yet! But the Pastoral Team will be here as ever to offer help to parents and pupils along the way. Pupils will follow a comprehensive PD programme of options support which will help them to choose their subjects for Year 10 and Year 11.

Subject and academic reviews, the Options Parents’ Evening along with a range of resources will play an important part in informing your discussions at home. We will work alongside you at every stage in the process to help you and your children make the right decisions for KS4. There will also be an emphasis this year on working towards target grades in each subject for the end of KS3 grades. This mirrors a focus in KS4 as pupils work towards their predicted and target grades in each subject. 

The Year Team will continue to work with you closely and offer support as needed.

David Foster

Head of Year 9

Laura Sullivan

Deputy Head of Year 9

Heather Burkitt

Pastoral Support Year 9

Year 10 & 11

Year 10

As our children continue to grow and turn into young adults, these are pivotal years for our pupils as they specialize in subject options and work towards their GCSE qualification. Our specialized team of KS4 pastoral staff expertly guide them through. Again, each year group team stays with their year group for two years. 

Emily Edwards

Head of Year 10

Message from Head of Year 10 & 11
In Key Stage 4 at QES our ethos is to instill self-confidence in all our pupils and help them fulfil their potential.  We consider it important to develop a sense of community and to help pupils develop their empathy and respect for people from all backgrounds.  We nurture the students as individuals and encourage them to be an active member in their school and wider community. As they begin their GCSE journey, they will have smaller form groups and stay with their Form Tutor for the two years along with their Head of Year who would be your first port of call should you have any issues or concerns about your child. 

Over the two years they will be given the opportunity to further their passion for the subjects they are familiar with and explore new ones.  We take pride in developing students’ self-respect and confidence through our through Personal Development programme and encourage them to take responsibility in becoming independent and resilient learners.  We help prepare students for life post GCSE with the skills and fortitude to face the future. We work alongside the student body and communicate with our students as much as possible.  In Year 10 we have a Buddy System with our Sixth Form and in Year 11 we have a Prefect System where the students are encouraged to develop their leadership skills. We value the relationships with parents and carers and always work to communicate effectively and work collaboratively to secure the best possible outcome for our students. 

Over the course of the two years there will be mock examinations, academic reviews, regular reporting, and constant communication from the Head of Year.   

We look forward to welcoming your children into Key Stage 4 at QES and working with you.

Year 11

Laura Shepherd

Head of Year 11