Queen's College, Nassau
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Queen's College (QC) is a coeducational institution located in
Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...
, operating under the auspices of the Bahamas Conference of the
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
. Founded in 1890, Queen's College is the oldest private school in the Bahamas.


History

Queen's College was the successor to the Bahamas Wesleyan Propriety Institution, which had opened in 1871. Queen's College opened on 6 January 1890 after a committee had been formed to establish the school and Victoria Hall was built to house the new school. Mr. Wilson was recruited from
Harrogate College Harrogate College, formerly known as Harrogate College of Further Education and later Harrogate College of Arts and Technology, is a further education college in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It offers several levels of qualifications, ...
, England, to be the school's principal, with his wife to head up the girls' department of the school. The school operated under the auspices of the Methodist Missionary Society. In its first year, the school started with 67 students. By 1947–48, the school's enrolment had increased to 335 pupils. By the late 1960s, the school's population had grown to more than 2,000 students.


Principals

From 1890 to 1925, the school continued under the guidance of S. B. Wilson and his successors, including Rev. W. J. P. White (c 1902) and Rev. Leonard Edge (1903–1908). In 1925, Rev Richard P. Dyer took up the appointment as headmaster, a position he which held until 1959. Dyer was succeeded by Geoffrey Litherland (1959–64), Neville Stewart (1964–71), and Hayden Middleton (1971–79). The first Bahamian administrator of Queen's College, Yvonne Noronha, was appointed vice principal of the college and headmistress of the primary school in 1978. This was followed by the appointment of Charles Sweeting in 1979. Sweeting served as principal until 1993. Vice Principal Philip Cash was appointed principal in 1993 and served until he died in June 1997. In November 1997, Andrea Gibson became the first woman principal and served until 2019. Virginia Minnis was appointed head of the early learning centre in September 1999 and was the first Bahamian to serve in this post. The school's current principal is Rev Henry Knowles, who has held the position since 2019.


Current structure

Queen's College consists of three sections: the early learning centre, a primary school and a high school. The school offers
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...
courses, A+ certification, Advanced Subsidiary courses,
SAT II SAT Subject Tests were a set of multiple-choice standardized tests given by The College Board on individual topics, typically taken to improve a student's credentials for college admissions in the United States. For most of their existence, from ...
course, and MOUS (Microsoft Office User Specialist Certification) certificates.


Sports

The Comets, the school sporting team, has won awards in
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
,
track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...
, and
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
. For years, Queen's College has placed second in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Track and Field Championship. In 2015, the Comets secured their first victory over the St. Augustine's College (SAC) Big Red Machines, who were on a 20+ year winning streak.


Administration

As of 2023: *Principal: Rev. Henry Knowles *Vice Principal, Head of High School: Shawn Turnquest *Deputy Head High School (Curriculum): Maria Tsavoussis *Deputy Head High School (Administration): Clint Higgs *Head of Primary Years: Sylvia Beneby *Head of Foundation Years: Joiclyn Taylor


House system

Queen's College has four
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
: Dyer, Heath, King, and Rogers. This system is used primarily for student classification in sporting events and as a merit system up to the high school level. It is then used to place students into home room classes, where students remain until graduation. It is also used to decide which students go to BAISS.


Extra-curricular activities

Clubs and societies include but is not limited to: * The SPARC (Students Pursuing Advanced Rigorous Courses) Programme * The Student Christian Movement * The Student Representative Council * The Anchor Club * The
Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. Key Club International is the high school branch of the Kiwanis International family, classified as a Service Leadership Program ...
* The Junior Cooperative Credit Union * The
Interact Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and pe ...
* The Debating Society (encompassing The
Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...
debate) * The
People to People International People to People International (PTPI) was a program established on September 11, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as part of the United States Information Agency. After President Eisenhower left the office of President in 1961, he arranged ...
Student Chapter * The Teacher Cadets Club * The
Modern Languages A modern language is any human language that is currently in use as a native language. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead clas ...
Club * The
Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
's Youth Awards * The Queen in Me Club * The Drama Club * The Chess Club * The Guitar Club * Feeding the 5000 * Cheerleading * Band * French Praise Team * School Choir * Junkanoo Squad Through Queen's College's extra-curricular involvement, students have become involved with organizations such as Resources and Education for Autism and Related Challenges (REACH), the
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
Foundation of the Bahamas, and the
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...
Committee of the Bahamas. Students of the college have volunteered in improving the living conditions and recognition of hurricane victims.


Notable alumni

*
Durward Knowles Sir Durward Randolph Knowles (2 November 1917 – 24 February 2018) was a sailor and Olympic champion from The Bahamas. He won the gold medal in the Star class at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, together with Cecil Cooke.
,
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...
* Sir Leonard Knowles, first Chief Justice of The Bahamas * Keva Eldon Bethel, educator *
Mychal Thompson Mychal George Thompson (born January 30, 1955) is a Bahamian sports commentator and former professional basketball player. The top overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, Thompson played the center position for the University of Minnesota and cen ...
,
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
basketball player * Jackie Edwards,
long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
er * Allison Martlew, musician *
Culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
,
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
/musician * Hon. Obie Wilchcombe, Member of Parliament, West End & Bimini * Hon. Glenys Hanna Martin, Member of Parliament, Englerston & Chairwoman,
Progressive Liberal Party The Progressive Liberal Party (abbreviated PLP) is a populist and social liberal party in the Bahamas. Philip Davis is the leader of the party. History The PLP was founded in 1953 by William Cartwright, Cyril Stevenson, and Henry Milton ...
*Sen. Hon. Henry Alexander L. Storr,
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
, & Deputy chairman, Progressive Liberal Party


References


External links

*
QC Alumni & Friends website

QC PTA website
{{coord, 25.0666, -77.3149, type:edu_region:BS, display=title Schools in the Bahamas Methodist schools in the Caribbean Educational institutions established in 1890 Nassau, Bahamas 1890 establishments in the British Empire