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.
At Queen Mary’s School, we empower pupils to grow through four core pillars of character
Trustworthiness: To develop integrity, think independently and act with honesty, responsibility and moral purpose.
Good Hard Work: To cultivate ambition, resilience and a lifelong love of learning through high expectations and academic challenge.
Public Spirit: To inspire social responsibilities leading with empathy and contributing positively to communities.
Good Manners: To foster a culture of kindness, respect and consideration where everyone can flourish.
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.
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 has an exciting long-term programme of investment to sustain Queen Mary’s into the future.
The School’s Nursery and 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 flexiboarding. 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 and Development.
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:
01 September 2026
Hours of Work:
Wednesday: 13:00-18:00 Thursday and Friday: 08:00-18:00.
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 Director of Marketing and Development 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 Director of Marketing and Development with the implementation of the Communications Strategy. Collate information and write the weekly Message Board and other School communications for sign off, by the Director of Marketing and Development 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 Director of Marketing and Development 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 Director of Marketing and Development, and other members of the Leadership Team when required.
Person Specification
| Attributes | Essential Criteria | Desirable Criteria |
| Knowledge | Front of House / Receptionist duties | Understanding MIS systemsUnderstanding ofthe independent Schools market |
| Skills andabilities | Strong communication and inter-personal skillsAbility to be discreet and uphold confidentialityExcellent time management and organisationalskillsExcellent written English and attention to detailAbility to show initiative and respond to achanging environmentAbility to work under pressure and to deadlinesStrong IT skills (MS Word, Excel, CMS)Energy, drive, enthusiasm and apositive manner | |
| Experience | Experience in a customer-facing roleExperience of building excellent relationshipswith a wide range of people | |
| Qualifications | Educated to A Level or with equivalent workexperiencePrepared to undergo appropriate training asrequested | |
| Personalcircumstances | A willingness to engage with and articulate theSchool's Christian values, ethos and heritageClear sympathy with the advantages of singlesex educationAwareness of the importance of ChildProtection and Safeguarding of young peopleWilling to play an active part in the life of theSchool communityWilling to work out of hours as and whenSchool functions occur | Current driving licence |
Terms and Conditions of Employment
The following particulars do not form any part of an offer of employment. They provide guidance, without prejudice, on the likely main provisions. Terms and conditions, which will incorporate the Staff Handbook and Contract of Employment, will be issued 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 Wednesday from 13:00 – 18:00 and Thursday and Friday from 08:00 to 18:00. 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).
Meals will be provided free of charge during term time hours of work.
The School operates an employer stakeholder contributory pension scheme.
The appointee will be expected to participate in an annual appraisal.
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.
Other Benefits
Benefits of working for Queen Mary’s School include:
Significant Fee Remission (subject to criteria)
Royal London Defined Contribution Pension
The Application Process
The closing date for applications is 12:00 noon, Friday, 05 June 2026
All applications will be reviewed once submitted and suitable candidates may be interviewed before the closing date. The School reserves the right to withdraw the position if an early appointment is made. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early if interested.
If you are interested in applying for this role, please download and complete the application form available via the job vacancy page on our website and return it to the Headmistress: head@queenmarys.org
All positions within the school are exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Please be aware that we do not accept curriculum vitaes. Only completed application forms will be submitted to the shortlisting panel.
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.
Queen Mary's SCHOOL
Baldersby Park
Topcliffe
Thirsk
North Yorkshire
YO7 3BZ
01845 575000 admin@queenmarys.org www.queenmarys.org