Queen's College Preparatory School provides an exceptional, rounded education which harnesses the very best of traditional values with a thoroughly modern approach to education.
Our curriculum combines core subjects with the humanities to give knowledge, understanding and a sense of perspective. Our science teaching extends across technology, creativity, research and exploration, building real skills for real life, both at Senior School and beyond.
We understand that our job is to prepare your daughter for the future, not just to get her through the present. Our focus on the development of character, motivation and self-confidence provides skills and attitudes that will adapt as the world continues to change. Our girls are encouraged to think for themselves, to be ambitious, to be resilient and to be resourceful.
The Visual Arts curriculum is considered a vital aspect of our girls’ development at QCPS. Much of the practical work created is linked to other areas of the curriculum, enriching the pupil’s experience in art lessons while they gain a deeper understanding of history, religion, culture and science.
Over the course of the academic year, pupils explore a wide range of processes and techniques whilst working in a variety of materials.
During lessons they explore the artwork of different artists and craftsmen in art history and which is directly linked to their practical work. This allows pupils to gain a more in-depth understanding of how artists created work to express and represent the history of their time.
The importance of self-expression and risk-taking, in a safe and supportive environment, while exercising the imagination and creativity of each individual is at the heart of our lessons.
We regularly invite 'Artists in Residence' to establish workshops in the QCPS art studio. Visiting artists offer possibilities for creative work that extend beyond the normal range.
The girls also regularly visit galleries for inspiration and to further embed their learning. Most recently, we have visited the Tate Modern, National Gallery, Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Every year our school community join together to celebrate the artwork of our pupils at our annual Art Exhibition, this is representational of the large and important role that Art plays in our school.
At QCPS, we want to excite and engage our girls to be creative with technology in an ever-changing and increasingly connected world.
We want to furnish our pupils with the skills, knowledge and understanding that will make them responsible and digitally literate citizens; as well as help them develop into the next generation of programmers, bloggers and debuggers.
The syllabus is broken down into half termly topics with internet safety being taught throughout the year. All girls sign an Internet Safety Agreement each academic year and Internet Safety Day is celebrated with additional activities in February.
Throughout their education at QCPS, pupils will explore and advance their knowledge of:
This allows them to develop skills such as problem-solving, logical reasoning, and debugging.
As the girls continue through the school they will use Discovery Education Coding units of work and supplement this by learning to code with Scratch and Python. An even wider range of IT skills are further developed through units of work including:
Language is the key building block of culture and social interaction. At QCPS, we aim to ignite a love for English language and literature by promoting an exciting and effective curriculum, equipping our pupils with the essential language skills they need to communicate successfully and creatively.
We encourage a lifelong passion for reading in all the girls at QCPS and instil in them an ability to engage with, question and challenge any text that they encounter.
We have a creative, theme-based curriculum in Reception and Form I, where cross-curricular links are made at every opportunity.
From Form II to VI, the curriculum ensures the pupils access a variety of text types and have the opportunity to write in many different styles. From narrative to newspapers, discursive to descriptive, all pupils will master a range of skills within these genres.
Amongst many other skills, the girls will learn:
These skills will prepare them to be confident and competent readers, writers, speakers and listeners in years to come.
The department seeks to employ a full range of learning styles, catering for all educational needs. Drama workshops which cross over into history, trips to the theatre, author visits and Public Speaking Week are just some of the many ways in which QCPS seeks to enrich the curriculum and inspire our pupils.
Geography at QCPS is an opportunity for our pupils to explore our planet.
Our lessons inspire a wonder of the natural environment such as:
Our aim is to ensure we support the girls to become confident collecting, analysing and interacting with a range of data gathered through their experiences. They also learn to use an atlas, follow directions and other basic mapping skills.
We take advantage of our local area and embrace the vast opportunities available on our doorstep. Geography field trip activities include trips to local farms, orienteering excursions, boat trips on the River Thames and a variety of excellent workshops and exhibitions provided by The Natural History Museum.
From cultural awareness to diving headfirst into new and exciting experiences, Geography can work wonders on the minds of young children. It’s a scholastic way to broaden their minds through complete immersion!
At QCPS, History is integral to our curriculum, providing context to our contemporary global topics. Our teaching approach generates an enthusiastic and enduring interest in the subject. It allows our pupils to develop skills of enquiry and analysis, helping them to think for themselves and arrive at logical and reasoned judgements.
History fires the curiosity of our pupils, helping to cultivate an interest of the past.
During lessons, the girls consider how the past, and its relevance to the present, impact on the world today.
In the Pre-Prep, the pupils enjoy learning about how London has changed over time, studying topics from the Great Fire of London to Florence Nightingale.
In the Prep department, the girls explore a range of cultural histories, such as:
We teach the girls to consider alternative viewpoints, encouraging them to consider how a range of people would have reacted and reflected on the events they experienced.
QCPS employs varied teaching techniques including traditional historical enquiry, role-play and visits to places of historical interest and discussion.
Educational visits by all classes take place regularly to a wide variety of historical buildings and sites, and of course, museums – The British Museum being a particularly popular destination. Classes also visit venues such as Shakespeare’s Globe, The Museum of London and the Tower of London, as well as travelling further afield to visit places such as Bletchley Park, Hampton Court and The Ragged School.
Languages at QCPS are taught throughout all year groups by specialist and native-speaking teachers.
In the Early Years at QCPS, our languages teaching focuses on sounds and gradually evolves towards reading and writing. With time, the girls retain vocabulary and gain confidence in making their own statements. They enjoy being able to communicate purposefully. The first time they realise they are able to do so is always very exciting!
At this stage the girls’ learning focuses primarily on sounds through listening and singing.
Pupils understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing, focused on familiar and routine matters, using their knowledge of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary. At this stage the girls’ learning focuses primarily on sounds through listening and singing.
As pupils’ knowledge of grammar improves, so does their communication and autonomy. In the Prep, they are able to extend their conversations to write and talk about themselves, their home, family and their school life.
Pupils are also exposed to French culture through a residential visit to France in Form VI, workshops, films, stories, songs and rhymes.
Forms IV, V and VI have a recorded assessment at least four times a year which is shared online with their parents.
Form VI exchange mail with l’Ecole Catherine Dior in Normandy and have the opportunity to spend a fun afternoon with the children they have been writing to during the residential trip.
At QCPS we aim to develop a sense of enjoyment, confidence and competence with numbers and measures through structured teaching and learning experiences.
We follow the renowned Mathematics scheme, ‘Maths, No Problem’. This approach to teaching ensures children develop a deep understanding of topics using concrete materials and a focus on making Mathematics practical.
We are determined to foster and nurture a love of numbers.
At QCPS our Mathematics mantra is simply - Maths is fun! We are proud of our excellent attainment, but high achievement in Mathematics is about more than completing assessments and results. We are determined to foster and nurture a love of numbers, a high level of confidence in, and enjoyment of, Mathematics in all aspects of everyday life.
Stretching and challenging our girls is at the heart of our lessons and we always provide plenty of opportunity for differentiation. Advanced learners are now no longer accelerated through new content but are challenged with rich and sophisticated problems within the topic being studied, stretching their understanding even further. Those children who are not sufficiently fluent are provided with additional support to consolidate their understanding before moving on.
At QCPS we firmly believe that music enriches our lives and we strive, above all, to foster a love and appreciation for music in every pupil. As Plato said, “I would teach children music, physics and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning.”
All pupils, from Reception to Form VI, receive specialist music teaching covering the main elements of music:
A creative curriculum approach links music with other subjects, making learning more relevant, immersive and fun. We believe all girls should receive instrumental tuition; therefore, we include lessons on various instruments, from whole-class ocarina, recorder and ukulele lessons, to African drumming and Indonesian gamelan music.
The music department includes five bespoke music-teaching rooms, a large music classroom and the Hall, with its handcrafted S4 Yamaha grand piano. Girls have access to a host of classroom percussion instruments, as well as class sets of ukuleles, djembe and dun-dun drums, marimbas, plus online music software to aid independent home learning.
Pupils perform regularly throughout the year, both at large whole-school events and at smaller, informal class concerts. We attend concerts around London and take part in various music workshops in and outside of school.
Find out more about the host of co-curricular musical opportunities at QCPS.
At QCPS, the girls lead healthy active lives, with a rich and varied physical education programme that gives everyone the chance to develop competence and confidence.
We offer a very broad range of individual and team sports, including both indoor and outdoor activities.
The PE curriculum allows all abilities to succeed in sport.
We are lucky to have many excellent facilities on our doorstep in Regent’s Park, as well as the outstanding water-based hockey pitch at Paddington Recreation Ground. For swimming, we use Marshall Street Leisure Centre. Our locality to these excellent outdoor facilities enables the girls to access a wide arrange of sports such as:
The girls also take part in gymnastics and team-building activities, which not only develops their athletic skills but also their personal skills. As well as valuing individual effort and achievement, we have plenty of team and House competitions, as well as matches against other local schools. All this helps build character and embeds our values as well as a healthy competitive spirit.
We aim for the girls to use sport as a vehicle for learning other skills such as leadership and organisation. The PE curriculum allows all abilities to succeed in sport, either as a performer, a coach or even an umpire. PE at QCPS is also a chance for the girls to have fun and enjoy the company of their peers outside of the classroom.
Understanding different religions is the key to understanding cultural diversity. Religious Education at QCPS encourages consideration of others and respect for those holding different beliefs. Our main aim in this subject is to contribute to the spiritual, moral, social, cultural and intellectual development of our girls, enabling them to make reasoned and informed judgements on a wide range of issues.
Religious Education at QCPS is taught by examining the principal religions in the UK through their stories, fundamental tenets, and learning about the founders who helped develop these faiths. This makes for a rich tapestry that helps our girls to develop their sense of identity and belonging, preparing them for life as citizens in a multicultural society.
At QCPS, science is considered to be an integral and essential component of the curriculum from Reception onwards.
Right from the very beginning of their time at QCPS, pupils are encouraged to question how the world works and develop a sense of curiosity and excitement. This will equip them to explore and discover a deeper understanding of the world around them.
We provide enquiry-based lessons which enable our students to achieve scientific literacy, satisfy their own intellectual curiosity and develop their abilities to reason and draw worthwhile conclusions.
At Reception, science is studied as part of ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World’.
The curriculum then progresses onto topics such as forces, animal and human skeletons.
Pupils undertake practical experiments that are carefully designed to illustrate and embed all concepts included in Common Entrance examinations.
The girls are encouraged to think creatively and use their intuition to discover scientific facts for themselves.
Science topics link to our creative curriculum to provide a rich opportunity for learning links and develop independent learning.
2018 saw the completion of our multi-purpose, state-of-the-art, STEM Laboratory.
Alongside our fantastic resources, we also organise enriching trips to various scientific venues across London, as well as hosting workshops and events from space domes to chick hatching!
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