Stretch & Challenge

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Nurturing Every Girl’s Unique Gifts & Talents

At The Queen’s School, we pride ourselves on nurturing every girl’s unique gifts and talents. Through stimulating lessons, engaging extension activities, and a dynamic co-curricular programme, we support every girl in achieving her aspirations.

Stretching and challenging all our pupils, including those who are more able and talented, is a crucial part of ensuring they push beyond their comfort zones, develop critical thinking skills, and achieve their full potential.

Our aim is to bring out the best in all our pupils by giving them a rich and diverse programme of opportunities to extend their talents to the very highest levels.

THE QUEEN’S SCHOOL
Empowering Excellence
BEST
Independent school
North West England
Highest Possible
Inspection rate of ‘Excellent’ in all areas.
Gold Level Award
Outstanding careers provisions

Stretch & Challenge

We provide a rich and diverse array of opportunities to ensure every girl can extend her talents to the highest levels, fostering a passion for learning and personal growth. Some examples are showcased below:

Academic Success
  • Mathematicians: Succeed in regional and national competitions.
  • Linguists: Enhance cultural knowledge and language skills on trips to places like Spain, France, and China.
  • Scientists: Attend workshops and trips such as visiting CERN in Switzerland.
  • Sportswomen: Receive expert tuition to compete at high levels.
  • University Applicants: Get tailored support for competitive courses like Medicine,
  • Dentistry, Veterinary Science, and Oxbridge applications.
Enrichment Opportunities
  • Trips: Experience real-life applications of classroom knowledge through trips to places like art galleries, Holland, field trips and West End theatre visits.
  • Speakers: Engage with Olympic athletes, authors, and industry experts through workshops and series such as our Academic Lecture Programme.
  • Public Speaking and Debating: Develop confidence and debating skills in our Model United Nations programme and debating society.
The Arts
  • Musicians: Perform at school and public events from a young age such as the annual Cabaret, school productions and Music Festivals.
  • Actors: Participate in theatre trips, professional performance critiques, and annual productions.
  • External qualifications: Both the Music and Drama Departments offer optional external qualifications, in addition to the GCSE’s and A-levels. LAMDA qualifications in drama are offered up to Grade 8 and we are fortunate to have 13 peripatetic music teachers who specialise in a variety of vocal, instrumental and theory lessons and guide our pupils through their graded ABRSM Music examinations and prepare them for their GCSE and A-level recitals.
  • Artists: Exhibit works at regional exhibitions and participate in gallery trips.
  • Workshops: Attend theatre and STEM workshops and benefit from alumni experiences.
  • Co-curricular Clubs: Join drama clubs, choirs, instrumental ensembles, and pupil-led music groups.
STEM
  • Biology: Compete in the Biology Challenge and Biology Olympiads to expand and extend their knowledge and study.
  • Physics: Participate in Physics Olympiads and attend STEM experience Days and masterclasses at Liverpool University. Physics society is a club aimed at Years 10-13 offering the opportunity to discuss and present on physics topics, often outside the GCSE or A-level syllabus.
  • Computing: Succeed in the National CyberFirst Girls Competition which involves challenges in ciphers, coding and cyber security, as well as the BEBRAS Computational Thinking Challenge, which tests their ability to apply logic to a series of tasks against the clock. Impressive results are always achieved with many girls earning distinctions and qualifying for the next round and beyond.
  • Mathematics: Excel in the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge that encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems.
Business and Economics
  • GAIN Challenge: A national competition designed to give students an insight into the world of investment management and banking.
  • Tycoon for Schools: This entrepreneurial competition is organised and held by the Peter Jones (Dragons’ Den) Foundation and is designed to allow students to gain valuable hands-on experience in running a business.
  • Enterprise Club: Encourage entrepreneurship with activities led by Year 12 students.
Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Psychology: Compete in a range of competitions to extend knowledge and learning including the British Brain Bee, Minds Underground essay competition, Immerse essay competition, John Locke institute competition, British Psychology Olympiad, and International Psychology Olympiad, as well as attend national conferences.
  • Classics: Enter competitions like the Ovid Competition and Latin Reading competitions and Ancient Greek is a co-curricular club led by pupils.
  • Geography: Participate in the Geographical Association WorldWise Quiz and national competitions on climate change and geography.
Library and Literature
  • Book Clubs: Engage in discussions and competitions like the National Reading Champions Quiz.
  • Digital Library: Access extensive online resources for extended reading and independent study.
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