Muddy Stilettos


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-where"><strong>WHAT? WHERE?</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Untitled-design-19.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-80506" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Untitled-design-19.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Untitled-design-19-600x400.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Untitled-design-19-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Untitled-design-19-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington educates girls from 4-18 across five inter-connected white stuccoed Victorian villas in an enviable location &#8211; literally around the corner from the Natural History Museum, with the Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park also a mere hop-and-a-skip away. </p>



<p>The school’s exterior looks peaceful and elegant but once inside girls are on the move up and down the stairs to their various classes in a school that feels lived in and homely (the two pet tortoises outside the Junior School Reception help). Outdoor space is accessed directly across the road at the private Stanhope Gardens.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queens-g-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-78996" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queens-g-1.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queens-g-1-600x450.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queens-g-1-1000x750.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queens-g-1-700x525.jpeg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Queen’s Gate boasts a 130 year history, having been founded by Eleanor Beatrice Wyatt, its first headmistress, in 1891 at the age of 24 (she later went on to found Heathfield School in Ascot). Now Queen’s Gate teaches 496 girls in total, with a large international contingent, with around 50% of pupils coming from the Junior school (Reception to Year 6). Average class sizes of 13 in both junior and senior classes ensures a strong eye on the academics, as you’d expect from this affluent, competitive district.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>FACILITIES</strong></h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sports"><strong>SPORTS</strong></h3>



<p>It’s always a fairly short paragraph when describing sports facilities at central London schools! Naturally, the prime location of Queen’s Gate precludes acres of private grounds, but for sport Fulham Pools, Kensington Leisure Centre, Battersea Park, Imperial College Ethos, Hyde Park and Retro Fit are all used regularly. There’s a small, multi-use basement gym at the school, with indoor rowing, karate, fencing and gymnastics taking place throughout the week in lessons as well as morning, lunchtime and after-school clubs. With an exceptionally strong fencing team across the whole school the hard work starts at junior level, with many pupils progressing to represent GB.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-creative-arts"><strong>CREATIVE ARTS</strong></h3>



<p>You’re not going to be wowed by performing arts wings or anything like that here, but drama is taken seriously, with the hall (with full lighting rig) used for rehearsals and performances. The larger, annual Senior School productions held at RADA studios and the Junior School productions take place at the Chelsea Theatre and there&#8217;s good student engagement &#8211; in 2023 113 pupils took LAMDA exams across the school, with 96 distinctions and 13 merits. By the time students get to their A-levels, at least one girl per year follows the bright lights to RADA, so they&#8217;re obviously doing something right.</p>



<p>Musically, singing is the strongest suit at Queen’s Gate Juniors, with all pupils taking part in the choir, but there are also three classical string groups, a guitar group, and class lessons in strings (Y3 &#8211; 5) for violin, cello and double bass. There’s no junior orchestra as such, but talented players are encouraged to join the senior Sinfonietta. Just under 40% of girls in the junior school take instrumental lessons, with a wide variety offered from drums to harp.</p>



<p>Littlies have opportunity to perform too – they play in small public recitals to parents in Little Mozarts concerts where they learn to play anything from a few bars to full pieces from memory. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>GENERAL</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-chemistry-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-78440" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-chemistry-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-chemistry-600x400.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-chemistry-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-chemistry.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Though there are separate entrances to Junior and Senior Schools (125-6 Queen’s Gate is the address of the Junior School, bought and refurbished back in 2005, versus the 131-133 for Seniors), they do of course share some of the facilities including Dining Rooms, Gym, Science Laboratories and the Senior School Hall. However, there’s a separate junior library, three fully equipped laboratories, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) Room and an Assembly Hall.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>ACADEMICS</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DSC06987.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-78532" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DSC06987.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DSC06987-600x400.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DSC06987-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>No worries on this score. Specialists teach the sciences, languages, art, music, DT and PE from Reception onwards and, though the vast majority of children stay on for the Senior School, Queen’s Gate also delivered pupils to 10 other top secondary schools in 2023, including Godolphin and Latymer, Putney High and Latymer Upper. The school teaches a mind-boggling six languages in the Junior School (French from Year 1 onwards, Italian, Spanish and German between Years 4-6, Latin in Year 5-6 and Mandarin as a club) &#8211; highly unusual in the UK education system, one of only a handful I&#8217;ve come across offering such a range. Beyond the languages, there’s no absence of academic flexing nationally – in 2023 Queen’s Gate won a gold, silver and five bronze awards at the Junior Physics Challenge, and five golds, five silvers and nine Bronze awards at the UK Mathematics Trust.</p>



<p>The curriculum, even for the Junior School, is broad, comprising 22 subjects including History of Art, Philosophy and Debating. However, while there’s definitely a firm academic rigour and desire to succeed here, the school does seem to have a less elite entry procedure than some of its competitors, which might appeal to parents who are looking for a less pressurised environment and a broader, more international cohort of girls.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>PASTORAL CARE</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-namaste-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-78443" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-namaste-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-namaste-600x400.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-namaste-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-namaste.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>In a Junior school with just one class for each year group (apart from Year 6 in which there are two forms), personal attention and strong pastoral care becomes much easier. Aside from the usual scaffolding of form teacher and Director of Pastoral Care, Queen’s Gate offers its young charges yoga, mindfulness clubs, and termly Wellbeing Workshops, which parents can also attend. Sixth Form prefects come across to read to the girls and offer an unofficial channel for support, and there are two school counsellors who work across both Junior and Senior schools.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>THE HEAD</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queensgatehead-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-94187" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queensgatehead-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queensgatehead-600x400.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Queensgatehead.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Lydia Kyle held a number of leadership roles at Queen&#8217;s Gate before becoming Director of the Junior School in 2024. She spent her own formative years growing up in rural Norfolk and then attended Stowe School in Buckinghamshire where she developed a love of the arts. A dedication to shaping young minds followed once she obtained her teaching certificate from the University of Roehampton, specialising in primary education.</p>



<p>At Queen&#8217;s Gate, her mission is to instill girls with a strong sense of self and prepare them for life beyond the classroom. This commitment to a well-rounded education means social skills are prized just as highly as academics, laying the foundations for secondary school and beyond.</p>



<p>She goes the extra mile in her own extracurricular life too, staying energised by running, tennis and cycling. Her husband and two young boys are her biggest cheerleaders as she takes up the challenge of steering Queen&#8217;s Gate Junior School to new successes. In her own words, there&#8217;s never a dull moment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>QUIRKS</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-pupil-smiling-in-boater-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-78444" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-pupil-smiling-in-boater-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-pupil-smiling-in-boater-600x400.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-pupil-smiling-in-boater-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-pupil-smiling-in-boater.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The biggie is that there’s no uniform, though there some boundaries &#8211; no denim or leggings for example, and you still have to buy an ‘outer’ uniform of boater and coat. The ambitious and eclectic extra-curricular clubs is unusual for a junior school, including French drama, calligraphy, chess, art history, fencing, karate, debating, Lego, rowing and coding. Also, this is a school where children will get fit by stealth – all those stairs!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wrap-around-care"><strong>WRAP-AROUND CARE</strong></h2>



<p>The typical day runs from 8.10 – 3.45, although morning clubs begin at 8am and there are options until at least 4.30pm daily. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SEND PROVISION</strong></h2>



<p>There are roughly 25% of pupils needing SEND provision, mostly for dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and ADHD. The Head of Learning has supercharged creds &#8211; a fully qualified SENDCo with the National Award for SEN Coordination, an MA in Special Education and qualifications as a Specialist Dyslexia Teacher and Assessor.&nbsp;Mostly support remains within the classroom though occasionally teaching is offered one-to-one for those struggling. The school is able to assess students internally for areas of need including access, meaning that there&#8217;s no need for parents to obtain external Ed Psych reports. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>ISI</strong><strong> REPORT</strong></h2>



<p>The <a href="https://www.isi.net/school/queen-s-gate-school-6816">latest ISI report</a> is from 2021 with all criteria met.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MOBILE PHONE POLICY</strong></h2>



<p>No mobile phones are allowed during the school day.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>TRANSPORT</strong></h2>



<p>Hello, South Ken tube! It’s tube, bus and walk to Queen’s Gate, anything else is madness.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>FEES</strong></h2>



<p>Average for this part of town. Junior fees are £8190 (including lunch for R-Y3; Y4 onwards it’s £490 lunch fees). Senior School and Sixth Form fees rise to £9075.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>WORD ON THE GROUND</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-swing-2-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-78447" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-swing-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-swing-2-600x400.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-swing-2-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Queens-Gate-school-Kensington-London-swing-2.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The pastoral care and lack of hot-housing is the big draw here, with most parents content to overlook the lack of immediate outdoor space. A new caterer is wowing the kids at lunch. The new head teacher is a hit and seems to be shaking things up in a good way.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>THE MUDDY VERDICT</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Good for:</strong> Parents looking for strong academics but without the ‘sharp-elbowed’ approach of some other schools. The location is a dream for making the most of some of London’s best museums and outdoor spaces.</p>



<p><strong>Not for: </strong>The interiors are due a spruce but if you’re a design maven you’ll find the school a bit scruffy in places. The lack of integrated outdoor space will put off some, though in fairness the garden access is just seconds away.</p>



<p><strong>See for yourself! </strong>Contact the Director of Admissions on admissions@queensgate.org.uk, <a href="https://www.queensgate.org.uk/join-us/visit-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">register here</a> or <a href="https://www.queensgate.org.uk/book-a-private-visit/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">book a private visit</a>. </p>



<p><a href="http://queensgate.org.uk/"><em>Queen&#8217;s Gate School</em></a><em>, 133 Queen&#8217;s Gate, Kensington, London, SW7 5LE. <a href="http://www.queensgate.org.uk/">queensgate.org.uk</a> Tel</em><strong><em>:</em></strong><em>02075893587</em></p>


Queen’s Gate Junior School, Kensington

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