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Becoming part of the QA Society is an integral part of life after Queen Anne’s and we are very proud of our alumni community.
Generations of girls who attended Queen Anne’s have progressed to be successful in their careers and personal lives, demonstrating the spirit of the school continues to thrive.
Since it was founded on Ascension Day in 1894, our alumnae network has continued to reach out and support former students, parents, staff and current students, all of whom combine to make Queen Anne’s a very strong community.
Being part of such an active community has many advantages: enabling members to reconnect with each other, broaden their professional and personal network, participate in a wide range of social events and keep up to date with Queen Anne’s School news.
We are always delighted to hear from alumnae. You can keep up-to-date with the latest school news via the school website, and our Facebook page.
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Recent News
Reunion Day 2024
We were so delighted to welcome over 130 QAS alumni back to school on Saturday April 27 for our annual QA Society Reunion Day. 130 alumni for our 130th year - how fitting! It was such a special occasion as friends reconnected with each other, revisited cherished memories and explored the school's rich history and modern advancements.
Such events remind everyone of the lasting impact the school has had on their lives and the importance of staying connected. It is truly wonderful to witness such appreciation for the bonds of friendship forged at Queen Anne's School. Here's to many more reunions filled with laughter, reminiscence, and cherished connections! All the photos from the day can be viewed here QA Society Reunion Day 2024 | Flickr
Ascension Day - our 130th birthday!
Under the lovely sun on Ascension Day, the QA community came together to enjoy a service of reflection led by Reverend Rachel in the School Chapel. We were then treated to a spectacular birthday cake from our fantastic catering team, and in time honoured tradition it was cut by both the eldest and youngest students in the school.
QA Golf Day
Two weeks ago, we hosted an exciting day on the fairways and greens at our QA Golf Day on Friday 10 May at The Caversham Golf Club, situated in the heart of the stunning Oxfordshire countryside. Blessed with glorious sunshine, our players included QAS alumnae, current parents and their guests, as well as QA staff.
After a welcome breakfast, our players enjoyed a challenging eighteen holes on the fantastic championship course, followed by a delicious afternoon tea.
Huge congratulations to alumna Sally Parish for winning the Bridget Evers cup who is pictured below with Head of School, Elaine Purves. More photos of the day can be viewed here. If you are a keen golfer and would like to take part in a future QA golf event please do get in touch.
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Merry Wanderers
Our Writer in Residence and QA English teacher, Mr Steven Jackson, has written a poem entitled Merry Wanderers which was inspired by QA alumna Margaret 'Peggy' Webster.
Margaret left QA in 1922 and her experience of performing as Puck from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' on the front lawn in 1919 inspired Mr Jackson to put pen to paper. You can read his evocative poem here.
Farewell to Mr Richards!
At the end of this term, we will sadly be saying farewell to Mark Richards, the Senior Deputy Head, following his 16 years at Queen Anne’s School. His incredible service to the school will be cherished and is a testament to the school’s staff.
If you have any memories or anecdotes about Mr Richards we would love to hear from you as we are compiling a book of memories for him as a parting gift. Please email [email protected].
Afia Titus
The Economics & Business society were delighted to host QAS alumna, Afiya Titus, as our visiting speaker this week. She gave a brief overview of her career in accounting and finance which led to her founding businesses in both the food and financial services industries.
Afiya who left QAS in 2008, is now a serial entrepreneur who founded Lime Hut, as well as being the co-founder of Coco Financial. Read more here.
Katie Dart
Many thanks to QAS alumna Katie Dart who recently returned to school to talk to our current L6 as part of our Lecture Series. Since leaving QAS in 2019, Katie demonstrated adaptability, perseverance, and a willingness to explore different career paths until finding her niche in the entertainment industry.
Katie has had quite the journey in exploring various career paths and gaining valuable experiences along the way.
Here's a summary of her experiences and the advice that she gave to our current students.
Hannah Shirley
It was great to welcome back Hannah Shirley recently to QAS, to share her career journey with our current Sixth Form students. Hannah who left school in 2017 is now a Commercial graduate at Aston Martin, joining the company 18 months ago following her graduation from the University of Leeds, with an MSc in Enterprise & Entrepreneurship.
Read more about her journey here.
Annabel Marlow
Earlier this term, the L6 had the pleasure of a visit from alumna Annabel Marlow as part of their lecture series. Annabel left school in 2018 and always knew she wanted to do something creative which she said QAS encouraged throughout her education.
Having trained at LAMDA and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, she has gone on to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and most recently as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
Read more about her inspirational career path here.
Hilarie Chong makes the Dean's list at Berklee
Alumna Hilarie left Queen Anne's last year with a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts for her talent and dedication to the Violin.
We are pleased to say Hilarie has earned a place on the Dean's List for her excellent academic performance in her first semester in Autumn 2023.
Congratulations on this incredible achievement Hilarie!
Caversham Warm Space
QAS are delighted to be supporting our local Warm Space initiative in Caversham for the 2nd year, offering a warm and welcoming environment where visitors can relax and chat to volunteers whilst enjoying a hot drink and some companionship
The QA Society have again kindly donated towards the running costs of this initiative.
Huge thanks to our students and QAS Head of Science Sarah Eagle for volunteering their time to help
Cohort 1985-1987
Thanks to Catherine Morgan (neé Edwardes) for this super photo of her fellow alumnae during a recent get together.
Catherine can be seen in her red cloak, whilst left to right behind her are: Annabel Falcon (neé Fairclough) , Alex Orr (neé Barr), Elli Hammond (neé Curtis), Harriet Hyde (neé Bush).
A Career in Entertainment
We were delighted to welcome Rosie Dart back to QAS on Friday the 22 September, Lower 6 were given the opportunity to attend a very interesting lecture titled From Script to Screen: A Career in Entertainment.
Written by Hannah (L6)
On Friday the 22nd September, Lower 6 were given the opportunity to attend a very interesting lecture titled From Script to Screen: A Career in Entertainment by Rosie Dart, a Queen Anne’s School alumna. After leaving Queen Anne’s in 2016, Rosie went on to study English at Durham University, and spoke about her experiences in casting and producing. She has worked on many projects, including Enola Holmes, Luther, and Girl from the North Country.
For the first part of the lecture, we explored the role of casting, which is the process of recruiting actors. We learned that there are six main stages to this: First, you must get the script, and then use this to create breakdowns for all of the roles. After that, an initial ideas list must be created. This is where the casting team decide on the actors that they want to play the lead roles. After this, the actors are then auditioned and then the selected actors have to be shared with the rest of the team. The director then meets the actors and the selection is finalised. After this, deals and contracts can be put in place for the actors and finances can be negotiated.
Once we had learned about the processes of the casting, we were asked to cast lead actors for a Romeo and Juliet series. Everyone found this activity very exciting and some very interesting discussions were had. Many names were suggested, including Theo James, Chloe Grace Moretz, Anthony Ramos, and Emma Watson.
We then learned about the role of producing, finding out about the three main areas that the role is responsible for. These were: project leadership, essentially managing the whole project, the creative concept (responsible for the vision of the piece), and finally making sure that the project does not go over the budget given.
The final part of the lecture explained all of the subjects that are needed in the entertainment industry. This was enlightening and inspiring as it showed us that a range of subjects can be applied to a career in entertainment. From the more obvious creative subjects such as english (writer, researcher, script supervisor), drama, and art (costume or production design) to the less obvious such as maths (working in the finance department), science (set engineering or working as a medic on site), and geography (location research and management).
In conclusion, the lecture was both entertaining and useful, as many people were not aware of the vast array of jobs available in the entertainment industry, and the nature and scope of jobs is constantly changing. Rosie gave us a valuable piece of career advice which was to curate a list of skills and preferences, and to identify career opportunities based on these rather than a specific job title or specific employer. She reminded us that the world of work and many industries are evolving all the time and that being open-minded alongside ambitious would serve us well. We all had lots of questions for Rosie and were inspired by this successful and passionate Queen Anne’s alumna!
Alumna of the month : Annabel Marlow
Congratulations to QAS alumna Annabel Marlow who will be playing the principal role of 'Dot' in The Wizard of Oz at the Watermill Theatre throughout November and December.
Annabel left Queen Anne’s in 2017 and has since trained as an actor at LAMDA, graduated with First Class Hons from the University of Leeds and just finished an MA from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Annabel says she is very grateful for the support that the school gave her with wanting a career in the arts. Queen Anne’s offered her a music scholarship and a drama scholarship when she applied to the school, which allowed her to have multiple music lessons and be involved in many other extra-curricular activities. She took LAMDA classes which she says were invaluable to her drama school auditions since leaving school. During her time at Queen Anne's, Annabel was one of 4 directors for the all student production of Annie. She was also awarded the Sixth Form Scholarship.
Annabel’s brother, Toby, wrote the award-winning musical Six and Annabel was in the premiere of the original show in Edinburgh where she played Katherine Howard. Annabel was 18 years old when she played Katherine Howard, making her the youngest actress to ever perform in Six, as well as the youngest principal actress to play the role.
Annabel is also a Musical Comedian and was awarded 3rd place in the UK Musical Comedy Awards 2023. Her one-person show ‘Annabel Marlow... is this okay??’ premiered at the Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023, presented by Stamptown.
We wish her every success in The Wizard of Oz.
A trip down memory lane
We were delighted to welcome back alumna Wendy Slattery (neé Channon) who attended QAS from 1951-1957.
Wendy who now lives in Canada with her daughter remembers her time at school fondly,
Miss Elliott was my head mistress. I was in Webbe on Derby Road and Miss Watson Smith, our house mistress, would be pleased to know I did go into teaching and became a Principal in Ontario!
We all enjoyed QAS so much and it gave us a wonderful all round education, preparing us for life. I am still friends with several people in my year.
Since leaving QAS, Wendy has enjoyed a successful career in education, achieving her dream of becoming a teacher in Canada.
I continued learning till I obtained a Masters in Education and then became a Principal. I loved sports at QAS and I am still playing tennis and skiing in the winter. Life is good!
Wendy summarised her day back at QAS which brought back a lot of very happy memories of her time here
I was glad to see a few things that had not changed! I can't believe the luxury the girls now have. They certainly shouldn't have anything to complain about!!
Before we said goodbye, Wendy couldn't resist trying on a red cloak to see if it still fits - which it did!
25 years of friendship
Christine Saul (neé Drew) recently got in touch to let us know about her weekend away with a group of 20 fellow QAS alumnae who all left school in 1998.
The girls have kept in touch since leaving school and have even created a WhatsApp group aptly named The Scarlet Runners!
Despite having busy lives, they try and meet up once a year for a weekend away and have just returned from a short break to Midsomer Norton near the Mendip Hills in Somerset.
Judging from all the smiling faces in the photograph, we can safely assume they thoroughly enjoyed their time together.
Saturday 13 May 2023 : QA Society Reunion Day
Each year, one of the highlights of the Trinity term is our annual QA Society Reunion Day. On Saturday 13 May we welcomed many familiar faces back to school for a trip down memory lane.
This year we remembered former Headmistress, Miss Scott, who sadly passed away last year. Chair of Governors, Margaret Corbally, read a personal tribute to Miss Scott during a moving chapel service, following which we gathered to plant rose bushes in her memory.
After a delicious lunch, our current students escorted our visitors on a tour of the school grounds, whilst swapping school experiences old and new. Here are a few photos of some of the day's highlights.
DofE Gold Awards for QAS Alumni
Huge congratulations to alumna Amy Ivey (pictured here with her father), Hannah Stronach, Evie and Camille Blunt, Rachael Feilder, Ruby Millard, Amy McCall, Lucy Gregory and Molly Skiel who were recently invited to Buckingham Palace for the Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award Garden Party.
Such an honour and terrific achievement reflecting all their hard work.
Good luck and farewell to our U6 Leavers 2023!
As they transition from current U6 to QAS alumnae, the students said their goodbyes and shared their favourite memories of their time at QAS, just before they all headed off on study leave.
Warm Space Initiative
The QA Society has been supporting our local Warm Space initiative in Caversham.
The 3Cs cafe in Caversham Baptist church is open on a Monday and Friday, offering a shelter for people to gather for free in a warm, safe and welcoming environment.
Visitors can relax and chat to volunteers whilst enjoying a hot drink and some companionship
The QA Society have kindly donated towards the running costs of this initiative, and the QAS Chair Lucy Bureau and QASPA Vice-Chair Katie Macdonald were amongst those who volunteered to help.
We hope this will carry on into the next academic year.
