Queen's College (QC) is a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is ...

History

It was established in 1844 by Bishop William Piercy Austin as an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

grammar school for boys and was aimed at educating the colonial elite. The school was temporarily quartered at what is the current location of the High Court before moving to another property at Main and Quamina Street until 1854. The current site of Bishops' High School was the location of Queen's College from 1854 to 1918. From there it moved to another property at Brickdam and Vlissingen Road, until 1951, when it moved to its current location. The final move saw significant expansion of classrooms and facilities, however an arson attack destroyed 1997. In 1876, the Compulsory Denominational Education Bill secularized education and it became Queen's College of British Guiana as a national institution funded by the government. and in 1975 became

co-ed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

. The library was opened in 1880 and the school produced a variety of student papers, starting in 1881 as Our College Gazette, QC Gazette, the Queen's Chronicle and, the QC Lictor newspaper in 1950. The school also produced The Queen's College Magazine yearly from about 1912 to the 1974-76 edition.

Accomplishments

The school has received the Dennis Irvine Award for academic excellence in the Caribbean 3 times and the

Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is an examination board in the Caribbean. It was established in 1972 under agreement by the participating governments in the Caribbean Community to conduct such examinations as it may think appropriate an ...

examinations premier science award 6 times.

Traditional Organization

The school has a

House system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...

of 10 houses, named in honor of famous people to the history of Guyana; William Exley Percival,

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

, Bishop Austin,

Benjamin D'Urban Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Benjamin D'Urban (16 February 1777 – 25 May 1849) was a British General officer, general and colonial Administrator of the Government, administrator, who is best known for his fro ...

, Edward Oliver Pilgrim, Frederick Thomas Weston,

Edwin Moulder Edwin Moulder (9 October 1873 – 21 November 1942) was a cricketer from British Guiana. He played in sixteen first-class matches for British Guiana from 1901 to 1913. He was born in Friendship Village, East Coast Demerara. His father was a ...

, Charles Campbell Woolley, John Henry Dacres Cunningham, and Captain Howard Nobbs. By convention, siblings are often put into the same house, and could also apply to other relatives and the children of previous students.

Notable alumni

Michael Abbensetts Michael John Abbensetts (8 June 1938 – 24 November 2016)Asantewaa, Michelle Yaa (25 November 2016) Way Wive Wordz. was a Guyana-born British writer who settled in England in the 1960s. He had been described as "the best Black playwright to eme ...

, playwright *

Norman Beaton Norman Lugard Beaton (31 October 1934 – 13 December 1994) was a Guyana, Guyanese actor long resident in the United Kingdom. He became best known for his role as Desmond Ambrose in the Channel Four television comedy series ''Desmond's''. The wr ...

, actor * E. R. Braithwaite, novelist *

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister of Guyana, Premier of British Guia ...

, former president * John Carter, politician, lawyer and diplomat *

Martin Carter Martin Wylde Carter (7 June 1927 – 13 December 1997) was a Guyanese poet and political activist. Widely regarded as the greatest Guyanese poet, and one of the most important poets of the Caribbean region, Carter is best known for his p ...

, poet * Guy E. L. de Weever, author of ''The Children's Story of Guyana'' * Phil Edwards, athlete, physician *

Tommy Eytle Thomas Daniel Hicks Eytle (16 July 1926 – 19 June 2007)Wilmer, Val"Tommy Eytle" (obituary) ''The Guardian'', 27 July 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2017. was a Guyanese calypso musician and actor. Although born in Guyana, Eytle's career was based in ...

, actor and calypso musician *

Rhona Fox Rhona Fox is an American businesswoman of Indo-Guyanese descent who founded the soca music record label Fox Fuse. Fox was born in Essequibo, Guyana, raised in Nassau, Bahamas, and is based in New York City. Biography Born in Essequibo, Guya ...

, actress * David Granger, former president *

Roger Harper Roger Andrew Harper (born 17 March 1963) is a Guyanese former cricketer turned coach, who played both Test and One Day International cricket for the West Indies cricket team. His international career lasted 13 years, from 1983 to 1996, and he ...

, former West indies cricketer *

Wilson Harris Sir Theodore Wilson Harris (24 March 1921 – 8 March 2018) was a Guyana, Guyanese writer. He initially wrote poetry, but subsequently became a novelist and essayist. His writing style is often said to be abstract and densely metaphorical, and ...

, novelist * Samuel Hinds, Prime Minister * Dr. Cheddi Jagan, former president *

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

, athlete * Sir Lionel Luckhoo, lawyer *

Trevor Phillips Sir Mark Trevor Phillips (born 31 December 1953) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. He presented ''Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Trevor Phillips ...

, British politician *

Robert Cyril Gladstone Potter Robert Cyril Gladstone Potter (1899–1981) was an educator and composer from Guyana and the namesake of the Cyril Potter College of Education. He also composed the national anthem of Guyana, '' Green Land of Guyana''. Potter was born at Graham's ...

, educator and composer of ''

Dear Land of Guyana, of Rivers and Plains "Green Land of Guyana", also known by its Incipit, opening line "Dear Land of Guyana", is the national anthem of Guyana. Cyril Potter, Robert Cyril Gladstone Potter composed the music, while the lyrics were authored by Archibald Leonard Luker. Tw ...

'' *

Walter Rodney Walter Anthony Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a Guyanese historian, political activist and academic. His notable works include '' How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', first published in 1972. He was assassinated in Georgetown, ...

, historian, politician * Arthur J. Seymour, literary critic, poet, biographer

References

External links