Houseparents Mike and Sophie Rickner
Assistant Houseparent Rebecca Brown
Under Houseparent Jessica Nichols
Matron Laura North
We took over Queen’s in 2017 and are the first HouseParents at Stowe School. We pride ourselves on running a very family orientated house, helped by our two young children, Arthur and Lily. We also have two working cockers, Tali and Jura.
We met at Stowe in 2010 as newly qualified teachers. I then went onto work at Summer Fields Prep School in Oxford, teaching English, Head of PSHE and Head of Year 5 and Year 6. I read English and Sport at Durham University and was a pupil at Lancing College where my Mother was a Housemistress. As a third generation housemistress it seems to be in the blood.
Mike has worked at Stowe since 2010 and is currently the Deputy Head (Pastoral) and Safeguarding Lead. He read Theology at Exeter University and has a MSc in Teaching and Learning from Oxford University. Mike represented England U18s, England Students and gained two winning ‘Blues’ for Oxford University in Rugby Union.
Queen’s House prides its self of enabling the girls to become the best versions of themselves. The embodiment of the Changemaker skills, each ‘Queenie’ strives to cherish each opportunity they are faced with. We pride ourselves on being a well-mannered, tight-knit community who seek to support and care for each other throughout the Stowe journey.
Queen’s House was opened in November 2007 by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. There is an engraved stone on the front of Queen’s, which originally had the apostrophe behind the s in Queen’s. This grammatical error was quickly picked up by Buckingham Palace, who were very clear in reminding Stowe that this House is her Majesty’s – not future Queens’.
A vertical 13-18 year old girls’ boarding house, which also houses 60 boarders and 12-15 day in boarding pupils, Queen’s is ideally placed for ease of access to Chapel and the Academic Area. A purpose built boarding house, it benefits from all the modern commodities of en-suite, small numbered dorms, which creates the perfect home away from home feeling for both boarding and day pupils.
"Queen’s is a house that exemplifies kindness and compassion, which I have experienced over the past four years. Queen’s girls show determination in all that they do, another reason which creates this special atmosphere. Queen’s has great inter-year relations, which are amplified through having house families. I believe that if anyone had a problem, big or small, they would feel more than comfortable asking anyone in the house. Over the last four years, Queen’s has become a family to me and that I will be forever grateful for. I know that whatever happens after Stowe, Queen’s will be a family that I will always be a part of."