Appointment of:
School Administrator
Information for Candidates

The School

Queen Mary’s School is a Christian community that values, nurtures and respects every individual. It is a place
where all are challenged to do their best, serve others, show compassion and act with integrity.

Queen Mary’s School

Strives for excellence in every endeavour
Loves life and enjoys learning

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•
•  Nurtures spirituality and personal growth
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•
•
•  Makes strong and lasting friendships

Respects individuality and embraces diversity
Enhances character and builds resilience
Creates independent young people

Queen Mary’s School is an all girls’ independent boarding and day school situated in beautiful countryside, between
Ripon and Thirsk. Baldersby Park, the school’s current home, is a Grade 1 listed building surrounded by 40 acres of
landscaped grounds, sports fields and paddocks.

Queen Mary’s has a reputation for high academic achievement to add to a long-standing tradition of building all-
round confidence in pupils through a very wide range of educational and co-curricular opportunities. The current
Headmistress, Mrs Fe Beadnell, firmly believes in happily empowering girls from the earliest years, nurturing
leadership skills and a strong sense of self so that every pupil is equipped to become who – and what – they aspire
to be. Our school is a dynamic and supportive environment where academic excellence, creativity, adventure, and
personal growth go hand in hand.

The School is on a very strong footing financially, with a healthy endowment and recent investment in major
facilities. The Board wishes to build a long-term programme of investment to sustain Queen Mary’s into the future.

The School’s Pre-Prep department is co-educational, while the Prep and Senior School is for girls only and spans
the age range 7 to 16. The School has a strong boarding tradition with a healthy mix of full, weekly and flexi-
boarding. The boarding life of the School is a central part of the Queen Mary’s culture for both day girls and
boarders.

Queen Mary’s is part of the Woodard Corporation, a group of 43 independent and maintained schools. Woodard
Schools operate  as stand-alone entities, with professional support from the centre where required. The Woodard
ethos promotes Christian education and high academic and pastoral standards within all its schools.

The Role:

An exciting opportunity has arisen at Queen Mary’s for a School Administrator to join our thriving
independent girls’ school, situated between Ripon and Thirsk.

The School Administrator will be an Ambassador for the School as the initial point of contact, and
provides a friendly and professional welcome to parents and visitors, dealing efficiently and promptly
with all enquiries and providing administrative support.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and outgoing candidate who is experienced in building excellent
relationships with a wide range of people. Previous experience of working in a receptionist role would be
preferable. You will be joining a small, busy team at a happy School which has a strong ethos of
community.

Reporting to: Director of Marketing, Admission and Communications (DoMAC).

The main duties of the role are to be ‘front of house’ to all those who visit or contact the School,
providing an excellent first impression for every visitor or enquiry.

The role also involves liaising with different departments within the School and liaising with parents on
important matters. It is essential that the successful person has good communication and ICT skills, a
positive ‘can do’ attitude towards providing excellent customer service and working with young people,
and the ability to remain calm under pressure. It is vital that you are able to work both under your own
initiative and as part of a team and have excellent attention to detail.

Start Date:

January 2026

Hours of Work:

Monday and Tuesday: 08:00-18:00 and Wednesday: 08:00-13:15
This is a permanent part time role, working term time only.

Overview of Responsibilities

The School Administrator will:

Front Desk

−  Be the first point of contact for telephone calls to the School switchboard and emails to the

Administration email address, and direct as appropriate.

−  Meet and greet visitors, ensuring the appropriate safeguarding processes are followed.
−  Sort and distribute incoming mail. Process external mail.

Administration of Systems and Compliance

−  Ensure that the School MIS system is up to date.
−  On a daily basis, maintain the Attendance Register and support the DoMAC with the maintenance of

the Admissions Register.

−  Support the administration of the Co-curricular Programme and Fixtures. The current system

includes Involve.

−  Take on the responsibility and training to be a First Aider and Fire Warden.
−  Ensure all activities comply with school policies, current law and inspection requirements, training can

be provided.

Communications

−  Support the DoMAC with the implementation of the Communications Strategy. Collate information and
write the weekly Message Board and other School communications for sign off, by the DoMAC and the
Headmistress.

Events

−  Maintain the School events calendars (print and online) and compile the School diary to plan ahead.
−  Support  with  the  administration  and  planning  of  events  and  meetings  that  can  involve  liaising  with

Catering, Estates, Cleaning and external suppliers.

−  Assist the DoMAC with the planning of major whole School events including Mark Reading, Speech Day

and the Carol Service.

−  Arrange for the School boards and trophies to be updated and engraved.

Administration

−  Provide general administrative support for the School which could include, but is not limited, to

copying, laminating, travel arrangements, email and letter writing.

−  Offer administrative support to the DoMAC and other members of the Leadership Team when

required.

Person Specification

Attributes

Essential Criteria

Desirable Criteria

Knowledge

Front of House / Receptionist duties

−  Understanding MIS systems
−  Understanding of the independent

Schools market

Skills and
abilities

−
Strong communication and inter-personal skills
−  Ability to be discreet and uphold confidentiality
−
Excellent time management and organisational
skills
−
Excellent written English and attention to detail
−  Ability to show initiative and respond to a changing

environment

−  Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines
−
−

Strong IT skills (MS Word, Excel, CMS)
Energy, drive, enthusiasm and a positive manner

Experience

Experience in a customer-facing role

−
−  Experience of building excellent relationships

with a wide range of people

Qualifications   −  Educated to A Level or with equivalent work

experience

−  Prepared to undergo appropriate training as

requested

Personal
circumstances

−  A willingness to engage with and articulate the
School’s Christian values, ethos and heritage
−  Clear sympathy with the advantages of single

Current driving licence

sex education

−  Awareness of the importance of Child

Protection and Safeguarding of young people
−  Willing to play an active part in the life of the

School community

−  Willing to work out of hours as and when

School functions occur

Terms and Conditions of
Employment

The following particulars  do not form any part of an offer of employment. Terms and conditions, which will
incorporate  the  Staff  Handbook  and  Contract  of  Employment,  will  be  documented  in  due  course  to  the
successful candidate.

General Notes

−  The salary for this role will be £12,631.00 (working term time only: 34 weeks per year). Paid in monthly
instalments in arrears at the end of each month and inclusive of holiday pay; no over-time is paid.
−  This is a permanent part-time role, working during term time only. The hours are Monday and Tuesday
from 08:00 to 18:00, and Wednesday from 08:00 to 13:15. Some flexibility will be required to allow for
attendance at special events, including Open Mornings, which may take place outside these hours in
the evenings or at weekends. All staff are required to attend INSET, Open Mornings, Sports Day and
Speech Day. When the school hosts an evening event, attendance will be required for meet-and-greet
duties. This will typically mean finishing by 18:00, although flexibility may be needed on occasion.
−  The appointee shall be able to take 28 days holidays pro-rata in any one academic year in addition to

Bank Holidays when the School is not in session.

−  Additional benefits will include a significant fee discount for children to be educated at Queen

Mary’s  School (subject to places being available and all relevant admissions criteria being met).

 The appointee will be expected to participate in an annual appraisal.

−  Meals will be provided free of charge during term time hours of work.
−  The School operates an employer stakeholder contributory pension scheme.
−
−  The appointee is required to give the School one terms’ notice of their intention to leave this post.
−  Accommodation is not provided.
−  The appointee is required to give the School one full term’s notice of their intention to leave this post.

The Application Process

An application form can be downloaded from the school website, and this should be submitted accompanied with
a covering letter addressed to the Headmistress, Mrs Fe Beadnell, explaining the motivation for applying for this
post and the experience, skills and qualities you would bring to the role.

Suitable candidates may be interviewed before the closing date, and the school reserves the right to withdraw the
position if an early appointment is made. Applicants are therefore strongly encouraged to apply early.

Closing date for applications:
Interviews will take place:

12:00 Thursday, 11 December 2025
15-16 December 2025

Please send your completed application form to the Headmistress's PA: head@queenmarys.org.

All applications will be acknowledged by email. If you have not received acknowledgment that your application has
been received within two working days of submitting it, please contact Amanda Stringer (Headmistress's PA) by
telephone on 01845 575051.

Please be aware that we do not accept or review curriculum vitaes, please do not include these as only completed
application forms will be submitted to the shortlisting panel.

Safeguarding and Recruitment Checks

Queen Mary’s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All
shortlisted candidates will be required to complete identity, and qualification checks in line with our Safer
Recruitment Policy, and references will be taken up at this stage. The successful applicant must also complete a
medical questionnaire before an appointment is confirmed.

As part of our safeguarding commitment, candidates will undergo child protection screening appropriate to the
role, including checks with previous employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. All staff share responsibility
for safeguarding and must adhere to the School’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.

No Agencies Please

Baldersby Park
Topcliffe
Thirsk
North Yorkshire
YO7 3BZ

01845 575000
admin@queenmarys.org
www.queenmarys.org