HMC schools commemorating Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Discover how a variety of HMC schools have been celebrating and commemorating Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. HMC schools have been marking this historic ocassion in a variety of ways including taking part in the Queen’s Green Canopy, creating artwork to mark the Platinum Jubilee and learning about the history of the Queen’s 70 years as monarch to name but a few.

We are delighted at HMC to showcase these wonderful examples of how HMC schools have been marking and celebrating Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Abingdon School

Some of the students at Abingdon School, who are members of the Abingdon School in Partnership Eco group, have worked with students in their local state school, Thameside Primary School’s Eco Committee, to design a wildflower garden to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee year. Staff and students from both schools have since worked together to plant the garden in the grounds of Thameside Primary School.

The whole of Abingdon School is also getting together to celebrate at a special Jubilee ceremony the day before half term. The ceremony is due to include a CCF inspection parade and a BBQ lunch and will be followed by a special Jubilee cake.

Bolton School

Staff and pupils of all ages at Bolton School, from the youngest at the Bolton School nursery right up to both the sixth forms of the Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions, have planted trees across the schools’ sites. The tree planting is to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee as part of Her Majesty’s Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.

In the run up to the Jubilee, the school also invited 70 senior guests from their local community for a red, white and blue afternoon tea. The guests shared their memories and stories about the Queen’s coronation and previous jubilees, as well as brought in memorabilia for everyone to look at, as they enjoyed their tea and cake followed by the National Anthem (see here).

The Bolton School infants have also enjoyed making their own crowns.

Mount Kelly

Earlier this year, pupils at Mount Kelly were invited to produce a showstopper fit for the Queen in the Great Mount Kelly Platinum Jubilee Bake Off. Afterwards the cakes and biscuits, which included crowns, stamps and corgis amongst a plethora of other red, white and blue designs, were sold in a special bake sale. The winning cakes were also auctioned, and all of the funds raised have been donated to charities that the school has been supporting.

The school’s catering team also decorated both the dining hall and picnic benches and laid on a celebratory Jubilee lunch, which was followed by a special church service. Learn more here.

Repton School

The Queen’s coronation was a special moment for Repton School because the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, who conducted the ceremony and crowned the Queen, was once their headmaster. The school has therefore been enjoying several special events to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.

The celebrations began with a special Sunday Chapel, where Prep and Senior pupils came together to sing the Jubilee anthem. You can watch here, as well as seeing video footage from the school’s archives of when the Queen and Prince Phillip visited the school to mark the 400^th anniversary of its founding. The school has also displayed archive material, including memorabilia such as photographs signed by the Queen and Prince Phillip, as well as the spade and scissors used by her to plant a royal oak tree in the school’s grounds.

The school’s grounds team have decorated the school with celebratory red, white and blue; and specially themed lunches have been enjoyed in the week leading up to the Jubilee and half term. The lunches included the House chefs’ own versions of the Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle which won the nationwide Platinum Pudding competition. The pupils have also enjoyed a themed pop-up café in the precinct which Her Majesty opened in 1957, and the school’s therapy dog, Pippa, even joined in with the celebrations by having her face painted.

Finally, the school will also be planting two trees to mark the Jubilee this autumn as part of the Queen’s Green canopy initiative.

Bede’s School

At Bede’s School, a former parent has donated enough trees for each of the 2,000 pupils and members of staff at the school to plant one. The planting of the specially selected native trees is to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Pupils have written their names on special tags and attached them to their trees and a large ‘island’ has been left in the centre of the trees, so that a special commemorative plaque can be placed once planting is complete. Learn more here.

Gordonstoun School

To commemorate what would have been HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip’s 100^th birthday and the Platinum Jubilee of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, Gordonstoun School has re-launched the Moray Award. The Duke himself won a Silver Moray Award (the top award) for growing in confidence as he learned new skills and challenged himself physically by taking part in various sporting activities and expeditions. It is the Moray Award that inspired the Duke to launch his own Duke of Edinburgh Award. Find out more here.

For just one year, between 10 June 2021 (what would have been the Duke’s 100^th birthday) and the Queen’s forthcoming Jubilee weekend, children across Moray have been encouraged to earn a Moray badge by getting active and boosting their confidence following a year of lockdowns. Over 4,000 children from local state as well as independent schools have taken part in a variety of activities, such as orienteering, water sports, cooking and gardening and will all be invited to collect their badges at a very special awards ceremony later in June.

Kimbolton School

The Art department at Kimbolton School have created a special Kimbolton School Platinum Jubilee banner, which will be hung in their local high street. The schools’ banner will hang proudly amongst other banners created by people and organisations within the local community.

Kimbolton School’s senior pupils also took part in a school cookery competition that ran alongside the national quest to create a new ‘Platinum Pudding’. The winner has had their pudding served at lunch in the school dining hall on the run up to the Jubilee bank holiday. Learn more here.

Marlborough College Malaysia

Marlborough College Malaysia is contributing to the Queen’s wish for a Commonwealth Green Canopy by planting a new avenue of tress on its playing fields and erecting a plaque to name and commemorate the avenue in Her Majesty’s honour.

Throughout the Jubilee weekend footage of the Queen’s coronation and key moments in her reign will also be screened at the school’s breakfast, lunch and supper. Meals over the weekend will all also have a distinctly British theme, from fresh fish and chips to beef Wellington.

Royal Hospital School

The Royal Hospital School has taken part in the Festival of Suffolk’s Platinum Jubilee Torch Relay, with key staff and student members having been nominated to be torchbearers. The torch, passed through the school to the sound of their marching band playing the National Anthem; with staff, pupils, parents and members of the local community lining the way and the Union flag flying high. The torch is due to reach the Festival of Suffolk’s showground, its final destination, on 1^st June in time for it to be the centrepiece at the Big Jubilee Pageant. Find out more here.

Members of staff at the school have also worked together to make Jubilee-themed bunting, as well as working with pupils on an art installation of a giant Wildlife Willow Crown. The Crown is taking centre stage at the front of the school and the bunting is adorning houses both on and off of the school site. In addition, the school is holding a special Jubilee picnic and an old-fashioned sports day, including sack, egg-and-spoon and three-legged races; which the school is hoping will get the whole community in the spirit to enjoy half term and the celebrations within it.

Finally, later in June, the school hosted their own Festival of the Sea. Having been invited by the Countess of Euston, H.M. Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, to work with the Festival of Suffolk, the school has enjoyed both celebrating their Navel heritage and close links to the Royal Navy at the same time as honouring Her Majesty the Queen in her Platinum Jubilee year. The Festival of the Sea included various displays by Royal Navy and Marines teams, musical showcases and a sailing regatta, as well as a variety of nautically themed stalls and activities, a picnic and a nautical ball. The weekend celebrations concluded with a Jubilee Thanksgiving Service in the school’s Chapel.

Wimbledon High School

Earlier this year pupils at Wimbledon High School took part in a local Jubilee art competition to represent quintessentially British concepts. Winners of the competition can see their designs adorning five large plinths that have been erected along an ‘Exploring Wimbledon’ art walk. Pupils at Wimbledon High School came up with a winning design of trees, named ‘The Lungs of the Planet’, to fit in with Her Majesty’s own theme of ‘Plant a tree for the Jubilee’. See activity from the school on social media about the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee here.

St Peter’s School, York

The Eco Club at St Peter’s School York joined in with the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative by planting a variety of trees throughout the school grounds, including 10 apple trees donated by the grandparents of three pupils.

The Pre-Prep department also set up a throne where the children could act out what they thought it would be like to be King/Queen for the day.

In addition, the school has invited the broadcaster and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop and Barbara Weatherill (a former WW2 ATS Corporal and driver) to retell remarkable first-hand stories and provide context for a pivotal part of British history. The talk commemorates the 80^th anniversary of conscription for women, but is also a nod to HRH Queen Elizabeth II who served as an Army Girl and driver during the war herself.

Brentwood School

Pupils in years 3 and 4 at Brentwood School have all worked together to create a large celebratory collage to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The collage is of Her Majesty’s crown and will be displayed in school over the coming weeks. See this social media post here.

Bromsgrove School

Pupils at Bromsgrove School have joined in with the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative to commemorate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, as well as burying a time capsule to commemorate the event.

All of the school’s campuses have been decorated in celebratory red, white and blue and the official Jubilee flag will be flying throughout. Over 1,300 pupils will also be marking out E II R on the school green ready to be photographed by a drone.

‘Street parties’, Jubilee picnics and a Jubilee fair are also planned, and the schools’ Reverend will lead the official Jubilee prayer and whole-school rendition of the National Anthem.

Ashford School

In keeping with The Queen’s Green Canopy students at Ashford School are being given a printed leaf shape on which to write a brief message describing their hopes for the future of the world. The leaves are being gathered and presented at a special church service before being displayed on a tree created with support from the Art department. The school is also taking part in the Ashford Tree Trail; a community arts project where a mixture of real and wooden trees will be decorated by the community (including the schoolchildren) before being ‘planted’ all around the town.

The school has also invited children to go to school dressed in ‘something Royal’ on the last day of the half-term, when they will be holding a special Jubilee BBQ lunch with music from the last 7 decades.

Year 5 pupils also worked together at a special Art and DT morning to create small squares of art that have been put together to create a celebratory portrait of Her Majesty the Queen.

Photographs of the school’s celebrations will be turned into a special ‘look book’, a copy of which will be presented to Her Majesty.

St Dunstan’s College

Junior and senior students at St Dunstan’s College have been planting more than 70 trees to honour Her Majesty the Queen’s wish for her platinum jubilee to create a green canopy across the commonwealth. Native woodland and fruiting trees, as well as shrubs and hedges have been planted and the school is using the planting to teach students more about planting processes and growth cycles of the different species.

Having already established a Sustainability Committee, the school has committed to putting environmental sustainability at the forefront of its development plan; and it hopes to use the trees planted to mark Her Majesty’s jubilee to inspire future projects and learning along these themes too.

Social media

See social media activity from HMC schools that highlights how schools have been celebrating and commemorating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee here.

We know that many HMC schools will be involved in activities and initiatives to celebrate and commemorate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and whilst it is not possible to showcase every activity and initiative on this microsite, we would like to thank all of our member schools for sharing their content with us to mark this historic occasion.