Queen Mary's Grammar School (QMGS) is a boys'

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 ...

with academy status located on Sutton Road,

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, England, about a mile from the town centre and one of the oldest schools in the country. The

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

is coeducational.

Admissions

Admittance to the school is by entrance exam taken at the age of 10/11. Since September 2020, 180 pupils enter the school in September each year, increased gradually from 96 in September 2012. The school has grown from 718 in 2011 to 1,305 in 2022, as a consequence of this sustained expansion. There is separate admission into the Sixth Form based on academic performance at GCSE (Where you require a minimum score of 54 points from your GCSEs as well as at least a 7 in your chosen subjects). As of 2019, there are over 400 students on roll in the Sixth Form. At this stage of the school, girls are also admitted.

History

Foundation

It was founded in 1554 by George and Nicolas Hawe, two leading townsmen, with

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

as its royal patron and benefactor. At the time it had about sixty pupils, all boys, and taught

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

almost exclusively.

New sites

The school has grown significantly since its foundation and moved three times. Originally housed in an old town guild-hall near St Matthew’s Church, it moved to Park Street in 1811, into new buildings in Lichfield Street in 1850 (a site now used by

Queen Mary's High School Queen Mary's High School, situated on Upper Forster Street, just outside Walsall town centre, is an all-female grammar school, with entry in Year 7 decided by the 11+ and entry into the Sixth Form decided by GCSE results. It is twinned with Q ...

) and finally to a purpose-built school on the Mayfield site in 1965.

Academic performance

Queen Mary's performs very well in exams across the board, with consistent success in the sixth form. In 2007, the school became a specialist

Language College Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the specialist schools programme (SSP) in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages. Schools that successf ...

. The extra funds from this have, among other things, facilitated the building of a new wing of the school buildings. The school built a new sports hall to support the gym and swimming facilities. The Science Block was also updated, with new Biology labs being built. A new sixth form block has been constructed and it opened late September 2012. The School is rated as 'Outstanding' by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

Traditions

The school's badge is based on the

Heraldic badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

of Queen Mary and reflects her parentage, being formed from half a Tudor rose (a symbol of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

) impaled with a sheaf of arrows (a symbol of

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

). The badge was modified slightly during the 2006/2007 school year. A fully red rose was changed to an accurate red and white Tudor rose, which is usually shown with a red outer rose and a white inner one. However, the school's Tudor rose, based on early school records, has a white outer rose and a red inner one,Anderson, J.S. (2004) "Queen Mary's 1954-2004". Queen Mary's Club which the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

accepts as equally valid. Despite the update, there are still some subtle differences between the current badge and Queen Mary's.

Activities

Extracurricular activities are available for pupils, including plays and drama, sports teams, quiz teams, many subject-related societies, and a

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

contingent, comprising both Army and RAF sections. The school has a close relationship with its sister school,

. Pupils regularly collaborate in plays held at the boys' school, and yearly musical concerts at Walsall Town Hall. QMGS also hosted the national finals of Junior Schools' Challenge quiz on 24 June 2007, with a team from the school winning the Plate Final. In 2008, the school hosted and reached the national final, losing in the final Queen Mary's Grammar School is the only school in England to have won the

UKMT The United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) is a Charitable organization, charity founded in 1996 to help with the education of children in mathematics within the United Kingdom, UK. History The national mathematics competitions had existed ...

Junior Maths Team Competition twice, doing so in successive years. The school has a plaque in St George's Church, Ypres, to honour the ex-pupils of the school who died in the Ypres Salient and the Somme during World War One. The plaque was paid for by the QM Club and was formally unveiled during a Year 9 Battlefields trip. Every year, Year 7 students and the senior prefects visit

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to commemorate their founder on the Friday closest to 6 July. On this day, the youngest Year 7 pupil jointly lays a wreath with the Captain of School senior prefect.

Project Horizon

Project Horizon is the school's

near space Near space is the upper region of the Earth's atmosphere between airspace and outer space. It is sometimes referred to as the " edge of space". There is no legal definition for this extent, but typically this is the altitude range from . Rang ...

programme, founded in 2012, which runs annual missions. A small

payload Payload is the object or the entity that is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of t ...

carrying cameras and tracking hardware is lifted by a

high-altitude balloon High-altitude balloons or stratostats are usually uncrewed balloons typically filled with helium or hydrogen and released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between above sea level. In 2013, a balloon named BS 13-08 reached a record alti ...

filled with helium gas into the

stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is composed of stratified temperature zones, with the warmer layers of air located higher ...

until the balloon bursts, allowing the payload to descend back to the ground. Film footage and still images of the payload's journey are recorded throughout the entire flight, capturing views of Earth from the stratosphere. The project has received national media attention, including appearances on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and ITV.

Notable former pupils

* David J. Brown (cricketer) *

Colin Charvis Colin Charvis (born 27 December 1972) is a former professional rugby union player. A back row forward, Charvis was equally adept as a flanker or at number 8. Born in Sutton Coldfield, England, he captained the Wales national team from 2002 t ...

, Rugby Union player - British and Irish Lions and Captain of Wales * Vernon Coleman, Conspiracy theorist, author and AIDS denialist * Anthony Culverwell, DJ and turntablist * David Ennals, Baron Ennals, Labour MP from 1974-83 for

Norwich North Norwich North is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament represented by Alice Macdonald, member of the Labour Party, after winning the seat in the 2024 general election. The constituency includes parts of two local governm ...

, and from 1964-70 for

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

* Prof.

Martin Ennals Martin Ennals (27 July 19275 October 1991) was a British human rights activist. Ennals served as the secretary-general of Amnesty International from 1968 to 1980. He went on to help found the British human rights organisation ARTICLE 19 in 19 ...

, Ariel F. Sallows Professor of Human Rights in 1991 at the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

, Secretary-General from 1968-80 of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

* David Etherington QC, Chancellor of the Diocese of London * Michael Fitzgerald, Roman Catholic Cardinal archbishop and expert on Christian–Muslim relations * Martin Fowler, software developer and author * Prof. F. J. C. Hearnshaw, Professor of Mediaeval History from 1912–34 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 ...

* Sir

Gary Hickinbottom Sir Gary Robert Hickinbottom (born 22 December 1955) is a British judge who currently serves as President of Welsh Tribunals and as Knight Principal of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor. In 2008, he became the fourth solicitor to be appoi ...

, High Court judge * Prof Sir

Harry Hinsley Sir Francis Harry Hinsley, (26 November 1918 – 16 February 1998) was an English intelligence officer and historian. He worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War and wrote widely on the history of international relations and Briti ...

, historian and cryptanalyst * Jeffrey Holland, actor *

David Howarth David Ross Howarth (born 10 November 1958) is a British academic and politician who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2005 to 2010. He served as an Electoral Commissioner between 2010 and 2018. He is Professor o ...

, academic and Liberal Democrat MP from 2005-10 for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

* Rupert Moon, Rugby Union international for Wales * Sir

Henry Newbolt Sir Henry John Newbolt, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps ...

, poet, novelist and historian * Sir

Harmar Nicholls Harmar Harmar-Nicholls, Baron Harmar-Nicholls (1 November 1912 – 15 September 2000), known as Sir Harmar Nicholls, 1st Baronet, from 1960 to 1975, was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life and career Harmar Nicholls was born i ...

, 1st Baronet, Conservative MP from 1950-74 for

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

Andrew Peach Andrew Peach is a radio presenter and event host in the United Kingdom. He presents programmes on BBC Radio 4 such as '' Pick of the Week (radio)'' ''Business Matters'' and the ''Six O'Clock News''. On BBC World Service he hosts news program ...

, radio presenter * Terry Pitt, political researcher and adviser, Labour MP from 1984-6 for Midlands West * Sir

Edwin Thomas Smith Sir Edwin Thomas Smith (6 April 1830 – 25 December 1919) was an English-born South Australian brewer, businessman, councillor, mayor, politician and philanthropist. Early years Smith was born on 6 April 1830 at Walsall, Staffordshire, ...

, Australian brewer, businessman, councillor, mayor, politician and philanthropist *

John Somers, 1st Baron Somers John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, (4 March 1651 – 26 April 1716) was an English jurist, Whig statesman and peer. Somers first came to national attention in the trial of the Seven Bishops where he was on their defence counsel. He published trac ...

, Lord Chancellor of England, 1697–1700, member of the committee which drafted the Bill of Rights * Bryan Stanley, trade union leader * Maurice Wiggin (1912–1986), journalist and memoirist *

Frank Windsor Frank Windsor Higgins (12 July 1928 – 30 September 2020), known professionally as Frank Windsor, was an English actor, primarily known for his roles on television, especially policeman John Watt in ''Z-Cars'' and its spin-offs. Early life Wi ...

, actor

References

External links

{{authority control 1554 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1550s Grammar schools in Walsall Academies in Walsall