The Queens’ Federation was formed in 2011, when the then Queen Edith Community Primary School put in a bid to federate with a new primary school being built on Gunhild Way.  The bid was successful and the new school was opened that year as Queen Emma Primary School. The Federation was therefore named the Queens’ Federation.

A Federation is a partnership that runs two or more schools, while still remaining under Local Authority control. (This distinguishes Federations from Academies and Multi-Academy Trusts, which are run by a Trust and are outside Local Authority control). The Queens’ Federation has a single Executive Headteacher and a single Governing Body, which includes representatives from the local community, local institutions, parents and staff, and which oversees the running of Queen Edith School, Queen Emma School and the Nursery, under the overall direction of Cambridgeshire County Council.

The Queens’ Federation was set up to allow our two schools to flourish and grow both in partnership and individually.  There is constant sharing of ideas and expertise between the two schools, and our larger size enables us to offer staff opportunities for training and career development, and for our children to gain the benefits of two schools, each with its own ethos and style, but each in partnership with the other.

Why are we called The Queens’ Federation?

Our Federation is named after two remarkable women, Emma and Edith, both Queens of Anglo-Saxon England.  

Much of the land where our Federation schools stand belonged originally to Edith 'Swan-Neck', wife of Harold Godwinsson, the King of England killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Queen Edith’s Way, which gave its name to the Queen Edith’s area of Cambridge, seems to have been named after her when the area was first built up in the 1930s.

Strictly speaking, this seems to have been a mistake! Edith Swan-Neck was never a queen and the developers may have confused her with another Edith, the wife of King Edward the Confessor, who certainly was a queen. However, since both Ediths, as well as Emma, were powerful women and strong role models, perhaps the mistake does not really matter.

You will find more information about our two queens on each school’s Welcome page.