Scotland - Aspire Magazine

Education 3
Welcome to another issue of
Niche, the new mini-mag
for Aspire.
This issue we take a closer look at a collection
of the best companies Aspire has come across
over the past year in Showcase, whilst we also
recommend some of England’s best schools,
whether your son or daughter is just starting
school, or looking to move on to further
education. Finally, Martin Dalby talks us
through his long and successful career.
Enjoy!
What’s Inside...
Education
Showcase
2 5
Our school days are supposed to
be the best days of our lives, so
finding the right school for your
child is extremely important.
Choosing the right establishment
to educate your child can be a
difficult decision.
The search for a good school starts with
gathering as much information as you
can about the schools in your area from
your local authority. Every year, your local
authority produces an annual booklet
for parents, detailing schools’ application
processes and deadlines. The booklet also
states how many pupils are at each school,
plus the number of allocated spaces
each year. Reading achievement and
attainment tables, as well as the Ofsted
reports – which covers the quality of
teaching and learning, how the curriculum
is taught and the student’s personal
development – will give you an idea of
how suitable the school will be for your
child.
The benefits of an independent education
have always been up for discussion, but
with more and more parents choosing to
educate their child within an independent
environment, 671,000 children in around
2,600 independent schools in the UK
(http://www.isc.co.uk/TeachingZone_
SectorStatistics.htm), the benefits are
clearly outweighing the negatives.
There are numerous reasons for choosing
to educate your child in an independent
school, including: small classes with
individual attention, high standards
of education and examination results,
good discipline, encouragement of a
responsible attitude to school work,
development of social responsibility, and
extra-curricular activities.
The all-round education provided by
independent schools enables pupils to
achieve their full potential. Although there
is more freedom within the curriculum,
there are specialist teachers in most
subjects, so each child can excel in certain
areas of the curriculum.
The smaller class sizes seen in
independent schools benefit all the
children, no matter what their level of
intelligence is. Teachers can set work for
the quicker students, whilst having time
to explain procedures to less mature
students in a different manner so they
understand the work. As teachers will be
extremely familiar with the children and
where they are in regards to class work,
parents can be advised immediately if
there are any concerns, enabling each
child to fulfil his/her own potential, both
academically and socially.
At the end of the day, choosing the
school in which your child will spend the
best years of their life should be a joint
decision; so once you’ve decided on a
shortlist of schools, visit them with your
child. This will enable you to see how they
react to the surroundings and if they’ll be
happy there!
Aim High &
Help Your
Child Reach
Their True
Potential
Producing Great Girls,
Queen’s Gate School
Our school days are supposed to be the best days
of our lives, so finding the right environment
to support, nurture and encourage your child
is essential. Founded in 1891 by Miss Eleanor
Beatrice Wyatt in her parents’ home, Queen’s Gate
School is an independent day school for girls aged
four to eighteen-years-old, offering an excellent,
all-round education for its 400-plus girls.
In 1892, the School moved to 132 Queen's Gate, later
expanding into the adjacent houses at 131 and 133. In
May 2005, the School acquired 125/126 Queen's Gate and
refurbished it to a high standard as accommodation for the
Junior School. Now housed within five elegant Victorian
buildings, ideally situated for everything central London
has to offer, Queen’s Gate School is a very special place.
Pupils are drawn from a wide catchment area including
Notting Hill, Holland Park, Fulham, Chiswick, Chelsea,
Pimlico, Battersea and St John's Wood, ensuring the pupil
body reflects London's international diversity. Queen’s
Gate were recently awarded an Aspire Certificate of
Recognition for Excellence in Education.
Principal, Rosalynd Kamaryc, said: “Queen’s Gate School
has thrived as a school for girls since it was founded. We
provide an excellent, rounded education, offering a very
wide range of GCSE and A-Level subjects – 28 subjects are
offered at A-Level. We seek to inspire a love of learning; we
want lessons to be lively and engaging, thus encouraging
girls to develop intellectually, to see learning as an exciting
process and to have an inquisitive and creative attitude to
their work.
“Queen’s Gate is renowned for its excellent pastoral
care and commitment to extra-curricular activities. We
also achieve outstanding academic success and we are
particularly pleased this year to have taken top place in
the Telegraph’s small schools’ A Level table and also in
the University of Durham value added table. Academic
success and a caring nurturing environment do not have
to be mutually exclusive and we believe that it is the
successful combination of both that make Queen’s Gate an
exceptional School.”
Teaching methods at Queen’s Gate combine the best of
modern technology with traditional rigour at all stages;
there is great emphasis on necessary study skills, instilling
the habits that will sustain pupils throughout their time
at Queen’s Gate, and later at university or college. This is
evident in the latest exam results in both GCSE and A-Level
pupils; 75.9% of GCSE results were graded A* or A, with an
impressive 35.4% being an A* grade, whilst at A-Level, 91%
of results were graded A or A* and 33.8% were graded A*.
If you would like to learn more about Queen’s Gate,
visit the website - www.queensgate.org - or even
better, contact Registrar, Miss Janette Micklewright,
on 0207 594 4982 to arrange a visit.