The Salopian Summer 2023

SCHOOL NEWS 15
Queen Elizabeth Hall: A New House Community
In a matter of weeks Shrewsbury
School will be home to a brand-new
community of kind, talented, creative
young women who are ready to throw
themselves into school life from day
one. Hailing from myriad walks of
life and global locations, across four
year groups, they are an energetic and
eclectic bunch who will be part of the
wonderful paradox of something which
is both new and what will be a key
moment in the School’s history – its
fifth girls’ house.
And I am fortunate enough to be their
founding Housemistress.
We are so lucky that we will be able
to call Queen’s – a beautiful, purposebuilt,
green building – our home at
School. The appeal of being the first
to use the Common Room, or House
Hall – and to have a material impact
on the way they look and feel – is
a privilege for both the pupils and
me. As I know to be true from my 18
months at Shrewsbury, Salopians are
deeply connected to and proud of
their Houses – and I hope Queen’s will
be no exception. Girls who join us in
our first few years will have the unique
opportunity to shape our identity, which
will be grounded in our values as a
community. They will be pioneers in
this regard, and I am looking forward
to seeing what they bring.
I have been in the fortunate position of
being able to meet incoming September
2023, 2024 and 2025 pupils among the
hundred or so prospective families I
have toured in my time at Shrewsbury
so far. Without a building to show
them, or, more importantly, existing
Queen’s girls for them to talk to, I am
convinced that photographs of our
two dogs have been the clincher for
several… But their genuine excitement
to be part of something new is tangible.
I am very pleased to be working
already with our incoming Upper Sixth
pupils who are taking an inspiring
leap of faith and moving from some of
the existing girls’ Houses to create the
Queen’s pupil leadership team. With
a wealth of experience of the School,
they are well placed to guide and
support our incoming new pupils.
In a narrative of new beginnings,
it seems fitting that we are named
after a woman who made her own
beginning, as our late monarch, at
the youthful age of 25 – offering a
lifetime of service with kindness,
dedication and fortitude. Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II showed the
immeasurable strength of young
women, in good times and in bad,
and is a fitting figure after whom we
are honoured to be named.
A House community is defined by its
people, both within and without, and
I would like to thank all colleagues
who have been working hard to make
the launch of Queen’s a success,
particularly Martin Cropper and his
team in the Admissions Department
and Jon Taylor and his team in
the Estates Department. I am also
particularly grateful to Anna Peak and
my Housemaster and Housemistress
colleagues for welcoming me into their
midst and providing sage words of
wisdom that I know will stand me in
good stead as I take up this role.
The House team and I look forward
to opening the doors of Queen’s to
our first cohort of around 50 pupils in
September, who will make their own
important contributions to Shrewsbury
School at this exciting point in its coeducational
journey.
Sally Pearson