Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
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| Motto | Turpe Nescire (Latin:"It is a disgrace to be ignorant") |
|---|---|
| Established | 1591 |
| Type | Independent school |
| Religion | Christian/None |
| Headmaster | Mr. David Craig[1] |
| Founder | Thomas Saville and others |
| Location | Wakefield West Yorkshire WF1 3QX England |
| Gender | Male |
| Ages | 7–18 |
| Colours | Black & Gold |
| Former pupils | Old Savilian |
| Website | www.wgsf.org.uk |
Coordinates: 53°41′18″N 1°30′05″W / 53.68844°N 1.50135°W
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is an independent school in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. QEGS is distinct from most other schools in that it was founded by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1591 at the request of leading citizens in Wakefield (headed by Thomas Saville and his two sons) 75 in total and some of whom formed the first governing body.[2]
In 1854 QEGS moved to its present site in Northgate, Wakefield, into premises designed by the architect Richard Lane[3] and formerly occupied by the West Riding Proprietary School.[4][5] The attached Junior school for boys aged 7 to 11 was founded in 1910.
Under the Tripartite System, QEGS was a direct grant grammar school, but following the abandoning of the grammar school system in Yorkshire, it became fully independent again.
The school is part of a foundation, with both QEGS Senior and Junior schools joined together, along with the nearby Wakefield Girls High School, Wakefield Girls Junior School, and Mulberry House, which is a nursery and pre-prep department.
As of September 2010, the current headmaster of the school is David Craig[1], taking over Les Hallwood, who stood in as acting Headmaster during the time between the leave of the previous headmaster, Michael Gibbons, and the beginning of the next academic year.
QEGS is a member of the Headmaster's Conference.
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[edit] Education
The school is renowned nationally for attaining excellent pass rates in both A-Levels and GCSE's. In 2006, the pass rate for GCSE (5 or more at Grades A* - C) was 100%, which was matched by the A-Level students who also achieved a 100% pass rate.[6]
[edit] Facilities
A new building (the Saville Building) was opened in 2005 by Ted Wragg, the famous educationalist. The new building provides a new 6th Form Centre, English Department, state-of-the-art Theatre, and Learning Resources Centre for the pupils of QEGS.
[edit] Sport
The school is often noted for its sporting ability, having achieved frequent success in a number of sports. Over 83% of the school's boys represent QEGS in one sporting event or another. The most popular sport is Rugby Union, followed by Hockey, Cricket, Athletics and Basketball. Hockey in particular has experienced substantial growth in the school throughout the last decade, and is now close to matching Rugby Union's dominance internally. In 2006, the under-15's Rugby side reached the Daily Mail Cup final, but were unable to match the achievement of the 1996 U-15 team who won at Twickenham. In 2009 every age group won the hockey 'Yorkshire Cup' for the first time in the school's history with the under 16's going on to reach the national semi-finals, only to lose to Whitgift School. As well as plenty of sporting opportunities, the School also gives students the opportunity to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. The picture shown is the Sixth Form Centre for sixth formers.
[edit] In popular culture
- David Storey's Booker Prize winning novel Saville (1976) includes an account of the experiences of a working class boy at a Yorkshire grammar school in the 1940s. Storey, like the protagonist of Saville a miner's son, is an old boy of QEGS.
- The school is mentioned in the novel Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace.
[edit] Notable Old Savilians
- See also Old Savilians.
[edit] Academia
- T.D. Barnes, Professor of Classics in the University of Toronto 1976-2007
- Stuart Jones, British historian, Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Manchester
- Professor Sir Hans Leo Kornberg, British biochemist and master of Christ's College, Cambridge (1982-1995)
- David May, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Bristol, former lead architect of the transputer and Chief Technology Officer and founder of XMOS.
- Joseph Moxon, Mathematician and Hydrographer to King Charles II*.
- Professor Alan M. Taylor, Director, Center for the Evolution of the Global Economy, Department of Economics, University of California, Davis
- John Wolfenden, Baron Wolfenden, Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading, and chair of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, which in 1957 published the Wolfenden Report that recommended the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
[edit] The Arts
Music
- Andrew Cocup, aka Andy Cato from the band Groove Armada.
- Noel Gay, famous composer of popular music
- Kenneth Leighton, classical and Anglican church music composer.
- Sam 'Whiskas' Nicholls, guitarist with Leeds alt-rock band ¡Forward, Russia! and founder of Dance to the Radio record label.
- John Scott, famous choirmaster and organist.
- Lukas Wooller, keyboardist with the band Maxïmo Park.
- Ade (Adrian) Wilson, singer, songwriter and famously inspiration for Chrissie Hynde's Brass in Pocket.
Literature
- Richard Bentley, theologian, classical scholar and critic (1662–1742)
- David Storey, playwright and novelist, winner of the Booker Prize in 1976 for Saville.
Film
- David Firth, animator and dark comedy writer, best known for the Devvo and Salad Fingers series.
[edit] Politics
- Jonathan Baume, trade unionist
- William J. Howard, American-born Politician and Free Trade activist.
- Richard Henry Lee, sixth President of the United States in Congress assembled.
- Sir Francis Molyneux, 7th Baronet, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod (1765–1812)
- Edward Thompson, Member of Parliament for York and later the Commissioner of the Admiralty
[edit] Sport
- Reg Bolton, rugby union footballer of the 1930s for England, Yorkshire, Wakefield, and Harlequins
- William Guest, rugby union footballer of the 1920s and '30s for Yorkshire, South Elmsall, and Wakefield
- Mike Harrison, former captain England national rugby union team.
- Alister MacKenzie, British golf course designer (1870-1934)
- Roger Pearman, rugby union and rugby league footballer of the 1960s for Sandal, Headingley, Loughborough University, Wakefield Trinity, and Canterbury-Bankstown, and coach of the 1960s for Canterbury-Bankstown
- Adam Pearson,Current Hull City Chairman, former commercial director of Leeds United football club and former chairman of Derby County
- Mike Smith, England and Gloucestershire cricketer
- Mike Tindall, world cup winning rugby union footballer.
- Andrew Tunningley, former full back with Saracens and England A
- Greg Wood, former England U19 cricket captain
- Ben Woods, flanker for Newcastle Falcons and England Saxons rugby union.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- George Allan, English antiquary and lawyer. Co-writer of History and Antiquities of the Country Palatine of Durham.
- Edmund Cartwright, Inventor of the Power Loom (1743-1823).".
- Herbert Grainger, Former President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and Founding Secretary of the European Pharmacopoeia[7]
- Stephen Griffiths, a serial killer, from Dewsbury, known as the "Crossbow Cannibal".[8]
- John George Haigh, serial killer in England in the 1940s, known as the "Acid Bath Murderer"
- David Hepworth, journalist and magazine publisher
- Sir Richard Hoare, 2nd Baronet, English antiquarian, artist, traveller and archaeologist of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
- John Hopkins, Cambridge University academic.
- John Radcliffe, British physician (1652–1714).
[edit] Religion
- Joseph Bingham, English scholar and divine (1668-1723)
- Hugh Paulinus de Cressy, English Benedictine monk (c.1605-1674)
- Rt Rev Jack Cunningham, inaugural Anglican Bishop of Central Zambia
- Robert Maynard Hardy, Anglican Bishop
- The Rt Revd and Rt Hon The Lord Hope of Thornes, former Archbishop of York.
- John Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury (1674–1747)
- Rt Rev Arnold Lomas Wylde, Bishop of Bathurst during the mid 20th century
- Barnabas Oley, English churchman and academic (1602–1686)
- Daniel Cresswell, English divine and mathematician (1776–1844)
[edit] References
- ^ a b "QEGS Independent Senior School for boys aged 11 to 18 in Wakefield, Yorkshire". http://www.wgsf.org.uk/qegs-senior-head-and-staff.php. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
- ^ History of Wakefield Cathedral 16th Century
- ^ "Images of England—Detailed Record". English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=445042. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ "The Annals of Yorkshire from the Earliest Period to the Present Time By Henry Schroder, page 172". Published by George Crosby, 1852. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-hgHAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=%22West+Riding+Proprietary+School%22+richard+lane&source=web&ots=_o9wiaSodU&sig=SKVat_YY_APXKafxGN0j9nXOK2k&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA172,M1. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ "Loudon's Architectural Magazine, And Journal of Improvement in Architecture (edited by John Claudius Loudon), page 142". Published by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown Green & Longman; and Weale Architectural Library, 1834. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C4EAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=Loudon%27s+Architectural+Magazine+Richard+Lane&source=web&ots=Ql-g_EGi6J&sig=sbnlwViKF6Wz0Uayaw6Hd0XB4vI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- ^ Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (Senior School)
- ^ Ryder, Susan (2008-06-26). ""Obituary of Herbert Grainger" - The Guardian". London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/jun/26/5. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
- ^ ""Crossbow cannibal" appears in court - Wakefield Express". http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/34Crossbow-cannibal34-appears-in-court.6327029.jp. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
