Queen Mary's College (QMC) is a
sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
in
Basingstoke, Hampshire
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southam ...
, England.
The college's name is from the former grammar school
Queen Mary's School
Queen Mary's School is an independent day and boarding school for girls in Baldersby Park near Topcliffe, between Ripon and Thirsk in North Yorkshire, England. Established in 1921, the school is set on of landscaped grounds and houses approx ...
in the northern part of Basingstoke. The college is located in the former school buildings of the Shrubbery All Girls secondary modern, which date back to the early 1950s.
As of 2019, the college is managed and run as an academy, by the single academy trust North Hampshire Education Trust.
College Site
The college was opened in 1972. A majority of the college's classrooms are housed in a single, two-storey, wide spread main building with a few smaller buildings providing most of the rest of the teaching space. ICT & Art (and related subjects) are housed in The Allen Building, a £6m 3-storey teaching block completed in 2005. Science, English, Modern Foreign Languages and Foundation Learning takes place in a multimillion-pound teaching block called The Spectrum, which was completed during the later part of 2009, with the first lessons taking place at the beginning of January 2010. The building was officially opened by quantum physicist
Jim Al-Khalili
Jameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili ( ar, جميل صادق الخليلي; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in scien ...
OCE on Friday 23 April 2010. Drama and Music are located in the Central Studio, which plays host to a number of shows and performances all year round. In 2021, one floor of an existing building was converted to provide space for the new
Esports BTEC qualification offered at the college.
QM Sports Centre
QM Sports Centre is located on the main college campus and, although open to the general public, is widely used by the college both as a sports centre and for educational reasons, with all physical education taking place here. The centre's main facilities are a hall and a
swimming pool. The centre itself also incorporates a
fitness centre
A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.
In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...
and viewing gallery and also makes use of the college's various football, rugby and
artificial turfed pitches.
Central Studio
Central Studio is a professional theatre located on the college campus. While the college's various departments use the facilities of Central Studio, including the bar, theatre, dance studio and
recording facilities the building itself is often used to host various professional productions and concerts. In 2009, Central Studio put on a production of 'The Laramie Project', a play about an American youth who was killed for his sexuality.
Westboro Church planned to picket outside the college in protest, but were banned from the UK as a precaution against inciting hatred.
In 1978 Peter Cushing was present at the official opening of Central studio where students presented a number of theatrical and musical performances.
Curriculum
Queen Mary's College offers AS and
A-level courses in 40 different subjects, as well as several vocational courses and
BTEC national diplomas.
The college has approximately 2400 students (the majority aged between 16 and 19) enrolled on full-time courses. It also offers a range of Adult Education opportunities, and has over 1000 students enrolled on part-time courses. The majority of students come from the
Basingstoke and Deane
Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the village of Deane, som ...
&
Hart
Hart often refers to:
* Hart (deer)
Hart may also refer to:
Organizations
* Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer
* Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer
* Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores
* Hart's Reptile Wo ...
areas.
Notable alumni
*
Sarah Beeny
Sarah Lucinda Beeny (born 9 January 1972) is an English broadcaster and entrepreneur, best known for presenting '' Property Ladder'', ''Property Snakes and Ladders'', ''Streets Ahead'', ''Britain's Best Homes'', ''Sarah Beeny's Selling Houses, Ho ...
- broadcaster
*
Shelley Conn
Shelley Deborah Conn (born 21 September 1976) is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Lady Mary Sharma in the hugely successful Netflix series ''Bridgerton'', as Isabella in the film ''Love Sarah'', as Dr Elizabeth Shan ...
- actress
*
Monty Don
Montagu Denis Wyatt Don (born George Montagu Don; 8 July 1955) is a British horticulturist, broadcaster, and writer who is best known as the lead presenter of the BBC gardening television series '' Gardeners' World''.
Born in Germany and rais ...
- horticulturist
*
E O Higgins - writer and podcaster
*
Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English actress and model.
As an actress, her best-known film roles have been as Vanessa Kensington in ''Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997) and as the Devil in ''Bedazzled (2000 ...
- actress
*
Ramon Tikaram
Ramon Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Southeast Asian descent. He is known for playing such roles as Ferdy in the BBC television series '' This Life'' and Qadim Shah in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders''.
Ea ...
- actor
*
Tanita Tikaram
Tanita Tikaram (born 12 August 1969) is a British pop/ folk singer-songwriter. She achieved chart success with the singles "Twist in My Sobriety" and " Good Tradition" from her 1988 debut album, ''Ancient Heart''.
Background
Tikaram was born i ...
- singer/songwriter
*
Alex Thomson - journalist
*
Kathy Smallwood-Cook
Kathryn Jane Cook (née Smallwood; born 3 May 1960) is a former elite athlete, specialising in sprint and sprint relays. She is one of the most successful female sprinters in British athletics history. She is three-times an Olympic bronze med ...
- olympic sprinter
*
James Bye (actor)
James Edward Bye (born 23 February 1984) is an English actor who has portrayed the role of Martin Fowler in ''EastEnders'' since 2014. He competed in the twentieth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Early and Personal life
Bye was born on ...
- actor
*
Jeff Minter
Jeff Minter (born 22 April 1962) is an independent English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 19 ...
- video game designer
References
External links
*
Central StudioQueen Mary's College Students' Union website
{{authority control
Basingstoke
Sixth form colleges in Hampshire