Parents' Association (QASPA)

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.

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 funds raised have been used for the following:

• 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 DJ equipment, lighting, music stands, media equipment and a pyrotechnic system for drama performances,
• A contribution towards the update of the PAC over summer 2024
• Donations to the Sports Development Fund.
• Sports equipment, including specialist sports filming equipment

We are currently fundraising for No5 - who offer mental health support for young people aged 11-25 who live, work or study in the RG postcode area and Homestart Reading.

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.

Meet the committee

Victoria Edwards - QASPA Chair

I am a mum of two, Annabel who is in L5 and a weekly boarder in Michell and Polly who is in Year 4. 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, years later she and her sister are thriving and thoroughly enjoying school life.

Katie Macdonald - QASPA Vice Chair

I am Katie Macdonald, mum of Ella (L6) and Tabi (U5). 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 events for the school.

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 20 March 2025 : QASPA Gin & Rum Tasting Evening

On Thursday 20 March, QASPA are partnering with the Henley Gin Distillery for a Gin and Rum Tasting evening at Café 6. The event will begin at 7:30pm with a welcome drink, followed by the tasting session at 8pm. We’ll also have delicious cheese and charcuterie boards, and the bar will be open until 10pm for additional purchases.

Tickets are just £15 per person and include a welcome drink and grazing boards. Tickets can be booked here.

Additionally, Mr. Towse and his team are kindly providing a shuttle bus service home after the event for a £10 fee, with places available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please see booking form to express your interest - routes to be finalised nearer the time. 

We hope you can join us for what promises to be a very enjoyable evening.

Recent events

QASPA Quiz & Curry Night

On Thursday 10 October,  the school restaurant was transformed with twinkling lights and autumnal décor to host the QASPA Quiz Night!

A sell out event for the third year running, the atmosphere buzzed with excitement from the moment guests arrived.

As parents and staff took their seats, Quiz master Mr Towse and Tori Edwards (QASPA Chair) settled us in with a warm welcome and a few house rules.

 The quiz itself featured a diverse range of questions and tensions were high as the teams strategized and exchanged thoughts and answers.

By half time, the aroma of spices wafting from the kitchen were in abundance and at last Mr Towes declared dinner was ready! Ali and his team treated us to mouth-watering curries, fragrant rice, onion bhajis, freshly baked naans and poppadoms with chutneys.

A quick stock up on beverages and it was time for the second half of the quiz. Mr Towes did a fantastic job of keeping the energy high, with playful commentary and engaging interactions. One of the highlights of the night has to be the welcome return of the kazoo round which is always particularly challenging!

Laughter and friendly banter continued to fill the room as parents and staff battled for a place on the quiz podium!

As the evening progressed, the anticipation for the results grew and it was Connect 4’s who were finally announced as the winners.

Congratulations to everyone who took part and helped make the evening such a success and a fantastic opportunity for the whole school community to come together. We can’t wait for the next one!

An Evening in the Wild Wild West

On Saturday 15 June, The Forum was magically transformed into a vibrant saloon bar reminiscent of the Wild West. Hay bales were strategically placed, saloon doors swung open and shut, line dancing was in full swing, and a lively casino kept everyone entertained. The atmosphere was electric, with everyone fully embracing the theme with a dress code of cowboy boots, Stetsons and gingham shirts!

Guests enjoyed delicious Tex-Mex food courtesy of our fantastic catering team which added to the authenticity of the evening.

A huge thank you goes out to QASPA (Queen Anne’s School Parents' Association) for all their hard work in organising and executing this fantastic event. Their efforts ensured that the evening was a memorable one for all current parents and staff who attended. This event was also a fundraiser for No5, a Reading based organisation offering counselling and support to young people and those around them. An incredible £1,500 was raised!

Overall the Wild West Evening was a smashing success; a night filled with laughter, dancing, and camaraderie, leaving everyone looking forward to the next themed event.

Click here to view more photos of the night.

Thursday 8 February 2024 - QASPA Quiz & Curry Night

The ever popular QASPA Quiz & Curry Night turned out to be an eventful and lively evening filled with brain-teasing trivia, delicious food, and a great sense of community spirit.

At 7.30pm sharp, the quiz kicked off with our charismatic compere, Mr. Stephenson, taking the stage and setting the tone for the night, immediately engaging the crowd. He expertly guided parents and staff through several rounds of challenging and entertaining questions, ranging from general knowledge to more niche topics!

Teams huddled together, whispering and debating answers, showcasing not only their knowledge but also their teamwork and camaraderie. Mr. Stephenson’s witty commentary and playful banter with the teams kept the atmosphere light-hearted and fun.

Midway through the quiz, it was time for the highly anticipated curry dinner. Guests were treated to a sumptuous buffet from our fabulous catering team featuring a delicious curry—both meat and vegetarian options—along with all the traditional accompaniments like naan bread, rice, and chutneys. The food was a hit, with many going back for seconds (and even thirds!).

The QASPA Quiz & Curry Night was a tremendous success, thanks to the efforts of the organizers, the participation of the community, and the dynamic hosting by Mr. Stephenson. The evening raised funds for QASPA, which will go towards supporting various school projects and activities.

A big thank you to everyone who attended, volunteered, and contributed to making this event memorable. We look forward to seeing you all at the next QASPA Quiz!

Thursday 30 November 2023 - 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 and hot chocolate for sale.

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 were delighted to host an evening with our two esteemed guests who talked about their leadership and teamwork experiences.

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

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.