The Queen's School

What The Queen's School does

The Queen's School is an independent girls' school in Chester, England, founded in 1878 and operated as a charitable company limited by guarantee. It serves pupils aged 3-18 across four phases — Pre-School (age 3-4, launched January 2026), Lower School (ages 4-11), Senior School (ages 11-16), and Sixth Form (ages 16-18) — delivered from two city-centre campuses: the Senior School at City Walls Road (the original 1878 building) and the Lower School at 55 Liverpool Road. The school employs 133 staff and holds the highest possible Independent Schools Inspectorate rating of 'Excellent' across all areas, alongside Good Schools Guide endorsement, TES Independent School Awards recognition, and a unique Confucius Classroom designation (the first independent school in northern England) for Mandarin language promotion.

The core curriculum combines GCSE and A-Level preparation with broad subject choices including sciences, multiple languages (Mandarin, French, Spanish, Latin), humanities, arts, and technology, plus co-curricular sport, drama, music, and leadership programmes. Differentiated offerings include the Queen Elizabeth Baccalaureate (EPQ plus two MOOCs plus the QUEST enrichment programme), Oxbridge and medical/dental/veterinary pathway support, an Alumni Mentor Programme, and an Academic Lecture Programme. The school's technology stack is built around Firefly VLE for parent communication and progress tracking, ISAMS for student information management, Microsoft 365 for staff and pupils, Scopay for fee collection, and Schoolblazer for uniform distribution — standard educational SaaS rather than proprietary systems.

The business model is subscription-recurring tuition billed termly, supplemented by fundraising, an Annual Fund, the 150 for 150 Bursary Foundation Appeal (targeting £150,000 by the 150th anniversary in 2028), charitable donations, and the registered QSPA parents' association. Fees are not publicly disclosed. Customer acquisition runs through a multi-channel marketing mix including a detailed website, open events and personalised taster days, segmented e-newsletters, Good Schools Guide third-party endorsement, and alumni network referrals; admissions is handled directly by an in-house team. Geographic catchment spans Chester, Wirral, North Wales, and wider west Cheshire, with families travelling up to one hour by car or minibus.

Name

The Queen's School

Legal name

The Queen's School Chester

Website

https://thequeensschool.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1878

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Queen's School is an independent girls' school in Chester, England, founded in 1878, operating across Pre-School, Lower School, Senior School, and Sixth Form (ages 3-18). It delivers ISI 'Excellent' rated education with Mandarin, Oxbridge preparation, and bursaries, funded via termly tuition fees and charitable fundraising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent School Education (Girls' Day School)

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Single-Sex (Boys/Girls) Private Schools (EDAJABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools (EDAJABAA), Academic/School-Readiness Preschools (EDACABAB)

Keywords

• Private girls school
• Preschool education
• Primary education
• Secondary education
• Sixth form education

Headquarters

HQ city

Chester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees: The school generates primary revenue from tuition fees charged to parents for educating girls aged 3-18 across Lower School, Senior School, and Sixth Form. Fee income is supplemented by fundraising initiatives, the Annual Fund, and charitable donations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Queen's School provides all-girls independent day-school education from age 3 to age 18, structured across four phases: Pre-School (ages 3-4), Lower School (ages 4-11), Senior School (ages 11-16), and Sixth Form (ages 16-18). The school delivers a broad academic curriculum including English, maths, sciences, modern languages (Mandarin, French, Spanish, Latin), humanities, arts, IT/coding, and PE, alongside extensive co-curricular activities such as orchestras, drama productions, competitive sport, and leadership programmes. Specialist support is provided for Oxbridge applicants and aspiring medics/vets/dentists, with the Queen Elizabeth Baccalaureate (EPQ + MOOCs + QUEST) anchoring the Sixth Form offer. Families contract for a termly subscription and may apply for bursaries or scholarships at Infant, Year 7, or Year 12 entry.

Product overview

The Queen's School is an independent girls' school offering a unified educational journey from Pre-School (age 3) through to Sixth Form (age 18), structured across four distinct phases: Pre-School, Lower School (ages 4-11), Senior School (ages 11-16), and Sixth Form (ages 16-18). The core educational offering combines academic excellence with holistic development through a broad curriculum, co-curricular activities, and enrichment programmes including the QUEST enrichment programme within the Queen's Baccalaureate. Specialised offerings include the Confucius Classroom for Mandarin language education and dedicated support programmes for Oxbridge and medical career pathways. The school also operates supporting platforms including Firefly VLE for parental engagement, and publishes academic and historical records through Have Mynde and Lux Magazine. Financial support is available through bursaries and scholarships, with ongoing fundraising campaigns for facilities improvements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-School Early years education for children aged 3-4 at the Lower School campus in Chester, providing foundational learning through stories, music, play, and creative development with access to specialist teaching in art, languages, music, and PE; features small class sizes and cross-year mentorship with older pupils. Termly subscription tuition model.
• Lower School

Quantifiable outcome

• 43% of GCSE entries achieved A*/9-8 and 67% achieved A*-A/9-7 grades
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQueen's was the first independent school in north of England designated a Confucius Classroom. The partnership promotes Mandarin language learning across the school and extends to local primary schools through after-school clubs. CLEC teachers provide expertise in language, culture, and traditional crafts including origami, knot-making, wushu, abacus, and fan dancing.
• The Ogden TrustminorOthersPhysics education partnership supporting the teaching of physics in schools. Logo displayed on school website indicating partnership status.
• SchoolBlazerminorOthersUniform supplier partner for school uniform orders. Website links directly to SchoolBlazer for uniform purchases.
• EasyfundraisingminorOthersCharitable donations platform where school supporters can raise free donations from retailers when shopping online. Has raised over £1,100 to date through the partnership.
• Good Schools GuideminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThird-party school review platform providing independent validation and recommendations of the school's quality to prospective parents.
• Local Community SchoolsminorOthersNew Astroturf facility will be available for local schools and community groups to use, extending school facilities beyond its own pupils.
• Chester-based Community PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Chester partners involved in Pre-School community events, sharing the school's focus on early learning through play and creativity.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Maynard School: Independent day school for girls aged 2-19 in Exeter, Devon. Comparable size, day-school structure, single-sex positioning and age range (including Pre-School), serving a regional UK catchment — directly comparable operational profile.
• Bolton School (Girls' Division): Independent day school girls' division in Bolton, Northwest England. Similar profile: regional independent girls' school, comparable academic outcomes, comparable fee structure, comparable catchment size. Directly competes for Northwest fee-paying families.
• Withington Girls' School: Independent day school for girls aged 7-18 in Manchester (Greater Manchester, Northwest England). Closest geographic and structural comparator to Queen's: similar size, similar selective intake, single-sex girls' day school model serving similar Northwest catchments.

Broad incumbents

• Badminton School: Independent girls' day and boarding school in Bristol, Southwest England. Comparable single-sex girls' premium positioning, similar academic outcomes, similar broad co-curricular model.
• Roedean School: Well-known UK independent girls' boarding school on the Sussex coast. Comparable all-girls premium positioning and similar breadth of academic/co-curricular offering, though operating on a much larger scale.
• Westonbirt School: Independent girls' boarding and day school in Gloucestershire. Comparable premium all-girls school with similar broad curriculum and academic outcomes.
• St Mary's School, Ascot: Independent girls' boarding school in Berkshire. Direct peer in the UK independent girls' school category, similar broad curriculum and Oxbridge/medical preparation focus.
• Cheltenham Ladies' College: Large, established UK independent girls' boarding and day school. Larger and more national in reach than Queen's; serves a similar all-girls premium positioning with comparable examination outcomes.
• Queen Anne's School: Independent girls' boarding and day school in Berkshire. Comparable breadth of curriculum, similar Confucius Classroom-style international positioning, similar high-credential academic outcomes.

Regional players

• More House School: Small independent boys' day school in London. Comparable small-scale independent day school operating model with similar pastoral intensity, included as a structural (rather than direct) peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/QSChesterAlumni
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/the-queen's-school

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Queen's School