Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
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Landau Forte Academy QEMS (Formerly "Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School", until 1 September 2011) is an 11–16
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 ...
with academy status located to the north of Tamworth, a market town in
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
in the
Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
north of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. It is often known simply as QEMS (pronounced "quems"). Since 1 September 2011, the school has been owned and operated by the Landau Forte Charitable Trust, after being transferred from the Staffordshire LA control. It is situated in Perrycrofts, on the eastern side of the A513, at the junction with the B5493 (former
A453 The A453 road was formerly the main trunk road connecting the English cities of Nottingham and Birmingham. However, the middle section of this mainly single-carriageway road has largely been downgraded to B roads in Great Britain, B roads or U ...
), around a half-mile north of Tamworth town centre.


Specialist status

As a state school, it was awarded
specialist A specialist is someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. Specialist may also refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist officer, military rank in ...
status to teach as a
Music College A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
. QEMS gained status as a Specialist Music College, under the UK Government's
Specialist Schools Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...
scheme, in 2005. This specialist status also gives funding to other departments, most notably ICT.


History


Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School

A school may have existed in Tamworth since the refounding of the Church of St Editha by the Saxon King Edgar around the year 960 thus perhaps making QEGS (QEMS) one of the eight oldest schools in England. Tamworth's Grammar School is documented as being in existence in 1384 and Queen Elizabeth the First refounded the school in the second charter that she granted to the town in 1588, the school was to be known as the Free Grammar School of Elizabeth Queen of England in Tamworth. The official name of the school became The Grammar School of Elizabeth, Queen of England in Tamworth and was known to its pupils and staff as QEGS before its amalgamation and name change in 1979. In the mid 20th century QEGS developed a notable reputation for academic excellence and achievement under its then headmaster Mr B Baker MA. It was the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School on ''Ashby Road'', it became a co-educational
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
when it amalgamated with Tamworth Girls High School in 1960.


Comprehensive

It became a comprehensive in 1979, merging with Mercian Boys' School, a
secondary modern school A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...
which moved from ''Hospital Street'' in 1960, and The Perrycrofts Girls School. The school was renamed Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School (QEMS), a combination of the two schools' names. The "Mercian" in the school name recalls that in the ninth century Tamworth was the capital of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
. In April 2008, two teachers and seven pupils were injured by a bottle of
silicon tetrachloride Silicon tetrachloride or tetrachlorosilane is the inorganic compound with the formula SiCl4. It is a colorless volatile liquid that fumes in air. It is used to produce high purity silicon and silica for commercial applications. It is a part of the ...
.


Arson

In November 2004, a 16-year boy was convicted of arson and sentenced for four years at
Stafford Crown Court The Stafford Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Victoria Square, Stafford, England. History Until the early 1990s, criminal court hea ...
. He started a fire at the school on Sunday 13 April 2003, causing £1.73 million in damage. Petrol had been poured through a window of room 353 to start the fire. Chase Terrace Technology College had been burnt down the year before, costing £8 million. Six fire engines were in attendance, from
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service responsible for fire protection, prevention, intervention and emergency rescue in the county of Staffordshire and unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent. The county h ...
and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, with fifty firemen. Six classrooms and an assembly hall were destroyed.


Former teachers

* Prof Geoffrey Bullough, Professor of English Language and Literature from 1946–1968 at
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
(taught English from 1924–1926) * Graham Parsons studied composition under Karlheinz
Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
in Cologne, Germany (taught Music 1970–1975).


Campus

QEMS is based in several buildings across the school. Overall, there are six buildings (Main Block, DT, RE, Middle Block, Elizabeth Block, Girls' Gym) and mostly each department is based in one of the buildings.


Building Schools for the Future (BSF)

Along with all of the other secondary schools in Tamworth, QEMS was due to be rebuilt under the Government's BSF scheme. The addition of a Sixth-Form Academy meant that the size of the QEMS site would have been reduced, and centralised. The first stage of building work was due to begin by March 2010, but was scrapped in July 2010. Nonetheless, the school was transferred to the Landau Forte Charitable Trust's control, effective 1 September 2011, as part of a bid to receive investment from the Government to replace the lost BSF money.


Alumni

*
Donald Ross Skinner Donald Skinner is a guitarist, songwriter and producer primarily known for his work with Julian Cope. Skinner is commonly known by the name Donald Ross Skinner with the addition of the middle name of ''Ross'' attributed to him by Cope after Gle ...
, songwriter *
Joe Newell Joseph Peter Newell (born 15 March 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Hibernian as a midfielder, where he is captain and current longest-serving player, having signed for the club in 2019. Newell has previously pl ...
, professional footballer


The Queen Elizabeth Grammar School

*
Thomas Guy Thomas Guy (1644 – 27 December 1724) was an English merchant and politician who is best known for founding Guy's Hospital in London. Early life Thomas Guy was born in Horselydown in Southwark, in south London, the eldest child of a lighterm ...
, Bookseller and founder of Guy's Hospital, London. * Phil Bennion, Lib Dem MEP from 2012–14 and 2019-20 for the West Midlands * Dr Reginald Brain,
dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medi ...
* Sir John Floyer, physician who introduced the practice of measuring a
pulse In medicine, the pulse refers to the rhythmic pulsations (expansion and contraction) of an artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The pulse may be felt ( palpated) in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surfac ...
rate * The Most Reverend Alan Harper,
Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...
(Head of the
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) from 2007–12 * Colonel Brian Musson Lees LVO
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, Soldier, diplomat,
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. British military attache to Saudi Arabia and Oman. Head of British
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. * Si
Robert Telford
CBE, Managing Director from 1965–81 and Chairman from 1981-84 of the
Marconi Company The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 which was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming on ...
, and President from 1963-64 of the Electronic Engineering Association * Prof Sir
Ernest Titterton Sir Ernest William Titterton (4 March 1916 – 8 February 1990) was a British nuclear physicist. A graduate of the University of Birmingham, Titterton worked in a research position under Mark Oliphant, who recruited him to work on radar ...
CMG FRS, Professor of Nuclear Physics from 1950-81 at the
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, involved in the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
* Prof
Terry Wyatt Terence Richard Wyatt (born 29 June 1957) is a Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester, UK. Education Wyatt was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Tamworth, Imperial College London (Bachelor ...
FRS, Particle Physicist *
Patience Wheatcroft, Baroness Wheatcroft Patience Jane Wheatcroft, Baroness Wheatcroft (born 28 September 1951) is a British journalist and life peeress, who was editor-in-chief of '' The Wall Street Journal Europe.'' She left this role upon becoming a peer. She previously served as ...
, journalist * Prof Paul Wyatt, Head of the Dept of Drug Development,
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.


References


External links


EduBase


News items


Sixth form centre in March 2009

Closure plan in January 2009

Silicon tetrachloride in April 2008

Arsonists in April 2003

Arson in April 2003


{{authority control 1588 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1580s Secondary schools in Staffordshire Academies in Staffordshire School buildings in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson Schools in Tamworth, Staffordshire Specialist music colleges in England