Queen's College is a

co-educational 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 ...

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

located in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. It is a day/boarding school for pupils aged 0–18. The school incorporates nursery, pre-prep, prep, and senior schools. The current Head of College is Julian Noad. Henry Matthews is headmaster of Queen's College Prep School.

History

First known as the Wesleyan Collegiate Institute, Queen's College was established by the Wesleyan

Methodist 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 ...

Church in 1843. Originally located in the Norman Castle in the town centre, the school opened with 34 pupils on 12 July 1843. Under the headship of Thomas Sibley the school outgrew the old school classrooms and so a new building was commissioned in 1845 in the Trull area. Due to the increasing popularity of the school, they were forced to vacate the castle premises in 1847 and move into the new building before it was finished. The current school building is a symmetrical Tudor Gothic building built by Giles and Gane in 1845 and has been designated as a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The original school site consisted of the main school building and upper playing fields. Since then the buildings have expanded, with the bridge and library (now known as the Old Music Room) being added to the school in the 1920s. This addition was built in commemoration, along with the obelisk on the front lawn, for those who served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Present day

The school sits in approximately of grounds. Since the 1970s the school has been co-educational with both female and male boarding houses being present on the school grounds. In 2016 the school appointed their first female head teacher, Lorraine Earps. Earps was replaced by Julian Noad on 12 August 2021. The school is part of the Methodist Independent Schools Trust.

Pastoral system

The prep school is split into four day houses and one boarding house, each accepting both boys and girls. The houses are named after local hill ranges: Quantocks, Brendons, Blackdowns and Mendips. The senior school operates a 'horizontal' pastoral system with students in year groups, each with a designated year lead.

Notable former pupils

Former pupils are known as Old Queenians, and include: * Ben Ackland, Irish cricketer * Augustus Molade Akiwumi, former

Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana The Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Ghana. The current speaker, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, was sworn-in for a second term as Speaker of the Ninth Parliament of Ghana after his reelection on ...

and justice of the

Supreme Court of Ghana The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Constitution of Ghana, Ghana's 1992 constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary of Ghana, Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive (governm ...

* Tom Austen, English actor, known for his television appearances portraying Jasper Frost on The Royals and Guy Hopkins on

Grantchester Grantchester () is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta (river), Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge. Name The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Granteset ...

* John Baron, Conservative Party MP * Sir

Robert Bond Sir Robert Bond (25 February 1857 – 16 March 1927) was a Newfoundlander politician who was the last Premier of Newfoundland Colony from 1900 to 1907 and the first prime minister of the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1907 to 1909 after the ...

, prime minister of Newfoundland 1900–1909 * Richard Browning, inventor of a "jet suit"; founder and chief test pilot of 'Gravity Industries' *

Arthur Henry Reginald Buller Arthur Henry Reginald Buller, (19 August 1874 – 3 July 1944) was a British-Canadian mycologist. He is mainly known as a researcher of fungi, especially wheat rust. Academic career Born in Moseley, Birmingham, England, he was educated at ...

, mycologist and President of the Royal Society of Canada * Matthew Clay, 2006 Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist in Swimming * Carrie Davis, Radio 1 sports analyst * Sir Nicholas Barton "Nick" Harvey, Liberal Democrat MP * Sir Robert Hart — Inspector-General of China's Imperial Maritime Customs Service 1863–1907 *

Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour Party (UK), Labour politician. He was the first Labour Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniqu ...

, British Labour politician, Baron Rowley of Rowley Regis, Secretary of State for Air 1947–1951 *

Peter Honess Peter Honess (born 1946) is an English film editor with more than thirty film credits dating from 1973. Honess received the 1997 BAFTA Award for Best Editing for his work on '' L.A. Confidential''. Biography Honess was educated at Queen's Co ...

, Oscar-nominated,

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award-winning Hollywood film editor ('' L. A. Confidential''); member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

* Jake Lintott,

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Hamp ...

* Peter Mitchell, 1978 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry * James Owen, theoretical astrophysicist * Martin Pipe, racehorse trainer, credited with professionalising the British racehorse training industry * Dean Ryan, England international rugby union player and head coach of Gloucester RFU Club * Leighton Seager, 1st Baron Leighton of St Mellons, shipping magnate * Sir George Shenton, mayor of

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

1880–1884 & 1886–1888 * Harold Arthur Watkinson, Conservative Party politician and businessman, 1st Viscount Watkinson of Woking, Minister of Defence 1959–1962 * Ed Weeks, actor, comedian, and script writer * John Passmore Widgery, Baron Widgery of South Molton, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales 1971–1980 * James Howard Williams (Elephant Bill), British Army officer and author * Becky Wilde, Great Britain rower, and Olympian. Bronze medal Paris Olympics 2024

Headteachers

Lorraine Earps then became the first female head teacher of Queen's College. On 12 August 2021 Julian Noad took over from Earps as Head of College. The current head of the prep school is Henry Matthews. A former headmaster at the school was found guilty by a professional conduct panel of "unacceptable professional conduct" over a series of allegations.

References

External links

School Website

Profile
on the ISC website
Profile
on the '' Good Schools Guide'' {{authority control Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Private schools in Somerset Boarding schools in Somerset Methodist schools in England Schools in Taunton Educational institutions established in 1843 1843 establishments in England