Every parent of a Queen Anne’s student is a member of the Queen Anne’s School Parents’ Association (QASPA). The QASPA Committee is a friendly and active group of parents and staff that organises events that bring the school community together, raise funds and promote the school.
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What We Do
The aims of QASPA are:
- Family: to bring the girls, parents and staff together and help contribute to the sense of community within the school
- Fun: to enjoy a wide range of activities
- Fundraising: to fund welcome ‘extras’ for the benefit of the whole school and to raise money for selected charities
Over the years, QASPA has organised many successful initiatives of benefit, firstly to the girls but also their families. Some of the key:
- QASPA Sports Pavilion which is hosted and run by committee members. This is a regularly run on sporting match days and provides parents with refreshments and a way to all keep in touch.
- A marquee lining for the Sports Hall, which allows Queen Anne’s to convert indoor space to a bespoke venue for school events.
- A range of equipment including music stands, media equipment, a pyrotechnic system for drama performances and a donation to each of the houses on a regular basis to ensure the facilities are up to date.
We are currently fundraising for The Red Cloak Foundation.
Committee
The QASPA Committee meets about twice a term and represents families from all year groups and houses. We currently have a committee of 40 parents and the list below highlights those with key responsibilities.
| Key Committee Members | |
|---|---|
| Elaine Purves Head | Amanda Hatfield Alumni & QAS Community Officer |
| Katie Macdonald Vice-Chair/Upper 5 Class Rep | Victoria Edwards Chair/L4 Class Rep |
| Adam Collier Secretary | Jackie Delaloye Treasurer |
| Rebecca Crayford Lower 4 Class Rep | Hema Malladi Lower 5 Class Rep |
| Femke Okten Upper 4 Class Rep | Julie Guppy Upper 5 Class Rep |
| Jenny Watson Upper 6 Class Rep | Laura Candy Year 4 Class Rep |
| Suzi Van Der Mark Year 4 Class Rep | Kate Harman Year 4 Class Rep |
| Katherine Cox Upper 4 Class Rep | Maria Lawrence Upper 4 Class Rep |
Meet the committee
Victoria Edwards - QASPA Chair
I am a mum of two (Annabel who is the 4s and is a weekly boarder in Michell and Polly who is 10 and has just joined L4) and a full-time lawyer working in London. I volunteered to be part of QASPA as we are new to the school and we wanted to get to know the Queen Anne's ethos and parents, whilst immersing ourselves in school life.
I am relishing the challenge of being involved with QASPA and we have a fabulous committee of enthusiastic people and are looking forward to hosting many social events.
We chose QAS for Annabel as it was recommended by the head of her last school as being a very good fit for her (I also remember playing against QAS in lacrosse when I was at school and they had a fearsome reputation as excellent sportswomen!). We instantly knew this was the school for her when we were lucky enough to come to an open day.
Annabel also spent a taster day getting to know the school. She loved it straight away and therefore so did we! Now 2 years later she is still thriving and enjoying school life and I am sure her sister will follow in her footsteps.
Katie Macdonald - QASPA Vice Chair
I am Katie Macdonald, mum of Ella (L5) and Tabi (U4). I am a Critical Care Nurse Specialist, I took some time out of my job during Covid to support Intensive Care and am presently at home focussing on the family.
I wanted to join QASPA as a way of meeting some of the parents and doing my bit to support the school. Queen Anne’s has a great community and I was keen to be involved. The challenges facing QASPA when I joined were largely based around creating an entirely new committee, with the previous committee drawing to a close. We now have a great, friendly team up and running and are focussed firmly on organising our next big fundraising event for the school which will be the Scarlet Ball which we hope will capture and build on our QAS community ties post Covid pandemic.
Both of our girls have flourished at Queen Anne’s and we have been very happy with the journey so far. I look forward to welcoming you to one of our many social events in the near future.
Dates for your diary
Thursday 16 November 2023 : Flying High and Pulling Together
An Evening with Air Vice-Marshal Suraya Marshall CBE MA LLB RAF and James Cracknell OBE
7.00pm-9.30pm in the Forum
QASPA are delighted to host an evening with our guests who will be talking about their leadership and teamwork experiences for what promises to be an empowering, enlightening and entertaining session.
Tickets cost £20 per person. Girls in U5, L6 and U6 are also welcome to attend free of charge.
Please complete the booking form if you'd like to join us.
Save the date!
Thursday 8 Feb 2024 : QASPA Quiz & Curry Night
Saturday 15 June 2024 : QASPA Summer Event
Recent Events
Tuesday 13 June 2023-QASPA Menopause Talk with Dr Shilpa McQuillan
On Tuesday evening, QAS parents gathered outside The Space in the evening sunshine for a glass of fizz, before heading upstairs to the Sixth Form classrooms to listen to Dr Shilpa give a very informative talk about her vast knowledge of women’s health, and specifically the menopause.
Dr Shilpa is an accredited menopause specialist and community gynaecologist who runs the Berkshire Menopause Clinic in Henley-on-Thames. She is devoted to providing personalised, professional, and high-quality menopause, perimenopause and gynaecology care for all women.
Her presentation was a combination of lifestyle advice and HRT information with a few myth busters along the way! The evening culminated with a very useful Q & A where she took time to answer all questions from the audience which was very much appreciated by everyone.
We hope to welcome her back to QAS for further talks with our sixth form students later in the year.
Thursday 30 March 2023 - QASPA Quiz and Curry Night
The infamous QASPA Quiz and Curry Night provided lots of healthy competition and plenty of laughter again this year as Queen Anne's parents and staff gathered to test their knowledge of world heritage sites, the QAS charters and how to successfully play the kazoo.
A special thank you to quiz master Mr Stephenson for being our compere and Steve Beaumont and his team for the delicious curry supper.
Thursday 1 December 2022 - QAS Christmas Market
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
We were thrilled to see the return of our annual Christmas market this year at Queen Anne's School. There were plenty of mince pies, mulled wine, Christmas gifts, a raffle, prizes up for grabs! QASPA's stall was as popular as ever with popcorn, hot chocolate and Christmas decorations.
Thursday 6 October 2022 - Cheese and Wine Tasting with Purple Foot wines
Last night, many QAS parents gathered for the QASPA cheese and wine tasting event. Many thanks to Gavin from Purple Foot Wines for an informative evening and a beautiful selection of tasting wines.
And a special thanks to Nettlebed Creamery for the delicious cheese and Waitrose & Partners Caversham for supplying biscuits and chutneys.
Thursday 15 September 2022 - QASPA Coffee Morning
Parents and teachers gathered at the beginning of the term for our first coffee morning of the academic year. These sessions are aimed at new parents to welcome them to the QAS community and introduce them to members of the QASPA committee.
Saturday 11 June 2022 - QASPA Scarlet Ball
The Scarlet Ball is a biennial event in the school's calendar. The QASPA ball committee come together to plan, organise and create a spectacular ball based on a chosen theme. The 2022 ball, 'Beneath the Big Top' saw the sports centre transformed into a circus-themed spectacle.
