Queen's College, Taunton
Encyclopedia
Queen's College is a co-educational independent school
located in Taunton, the county town
of Somerset
, England. It is a day/boarding school for children aged 2–18. The school incorporates Nursery, Pre-Prep, Junior and Senior schools. The current headmaster of the Senior School (11–18) is Chris Alcock. Tracey Khodabandehloo is the head of the Junior School (8–11)
The college's motto: non scholae sed vitae discimus, "we learn not for scholarship but for life", reflected its ethos of providing more than academic learning to its students.
, hockey, swimming
, athletics
, netball
and tennis. The school also provides other popular disciplines such as rock climbing, kayaking
, mountain biking
, canoe polo
, fencing
, Duke of Edinburgh Award, mountaineering, badminton
and horse riding..
, Brendons
, Blackdowns
and Mendips
.
The Senior School is split into boarding and day houses
for girls and boys. The houses are named after past headmasters or early pupils:
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
located in Taunton, the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. It is a day/boarding school for children aged 2–18. The school incorporates Nursery, Pre-Prep, Junior and Senior schools. The current headmaster of the Senior School (11–18) is Chris Alcock. Tracey Khodabandehloo is the head of the Junior School (8–11)
History
First known as the Wesleyan Collegiate Institute, Queen's College was established by the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1843. The building is a symmetrical Tudor Gothic building and set in approximately 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) of grounds.It was built by Giles and Gane in 1874 and has been designated as a Grade II* listed building.The college's motto: non scholae sed vitae discimus, "we learn not for scholarship but for life", reflected its ethos of providing more than academic learning to its students.
Sports
The school has sports teams in cricket, rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, hockey, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
and tennis. The school also provides other popular disciplines such as rock climbing, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, mountain biking
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
, canoe polo
Canoe polo
Canoe Polo is a competitive ball sport played on water, in a defined "field", between two teams of 5 players, each in a kayak...
, fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, Duke of Edinburgh Award, mountaineering, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
and horse riding..
Arts
Queen's College teaches performing arts, including drama and music, and dance. The Quartz festival, running from the first Wednesday of October each year for ten days, attracts over 6,000 visitors annually.Houses
The Junior 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: QuantocksQuantock Hills
The Quantock Hills is a range of hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. The Quantock Hills were England’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty being designated in 1956 and consists of large amounts of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land.The hills run from...
, Brendons
Brendon Hills
The Brendon Hills are composed of a lofty ridge of hills in the East Lyn Valley area of western Somerset, England. The terrain is broken by a series of deeply incised streams and rivers running roughly southwards to meet the River Haddeo, a tributary of the River Exe.The hills are quite heavily...
, Blackdowns
Blackdown Hills
The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991....
and Mendips
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
.
The Senior School is split into boarding and day houses
House system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
for girls and boys. The houses are named after past headmasters or early pupils:
| Day Houses | Boarding Houses | |
|---|---|---|
| Male | Sibly, Fielding | School House, Channon |
| Female | Laker, Ashurst | Jack Tigg, Southcombe |
Notable alumni
Former students are known as Old Queenians, and include:- Ben AcklandBen AcklandBenjamin James Ackland is an English born Irish cricketer. Ackland is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm off break. He was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire and educated at Queen's College, Taunton....
- Irish cricketer - John Baron- Conservative MP
- Sir Robert BondRobert BondSir Robert Bond was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1900 to 1909. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, as the son of merchant John Bond. Bond grew up in St. John's until 1872 when his father died and left the family a good deal of money...
KCMG - Prime Minister of Newfoundland 1900–1909 - Matthew ClayMatthew Clay (swimmer)Matthew Clay is an English swimmer best known for winning gold in the men's 50 m backstroke at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.-References:...
- 2006 Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist in Swimming - Carrie DavisCarrie DavisCarrie Nicole Prideaux is a current sportsreader on the BBC News Channel, best known for reading the Sport on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1.-Biography:...
- Radio 1 sports analyst - Nick HarveyNick HarveyNicholas Barton "Nick" Harvey is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North Devon and the Minister of State for the Armed Forces.-Early life and education:...
- Liberal Democrat MP - Sir Robert HartSir Robert Hart, 1st BaronetSir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet, GCMG , was a British consular official in China, who served as the second Inspector General of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service from 1863 to 1911.-Early life:...
GCMG - Inspector-General of China's Imperial Maritime Customs Service 1863–1907 - Arthur Henderson PC - Labour politician, Baron Rowley of Rowley Regis, Secretary of State for Air 1947–1951
- Peter HonessPeter HonessPeter Honess is a British 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....
- Oscar-nominated, BAFTA award-winning Hollywood film editor (L. A. ConfidentialL.A. Confidential (film)L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
); Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures... - Peter MitchellPeter D. MitchellPeter Dennis Mitchell, FRS was a British biochemist who was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis.Mitchell was born in Mitcham, Surrey, England....
- 1978 Nobel Prize Winner (Chemistry) - Martin PipeMartin PipeMartin Pipe was a racehorse trainer until his retirement in April 2006.The son of a West-Country bookmaker, Pipe was an amateur jockey before turning his attention to training in 1974 at Nicholashayne, Devon, near Wellington, England....
- racehorse trainer - Dean RyanDean RyanDean Ryan is a former corporal in the Corp of Royal Engineers and England Rugby Union Number 8, and was Head Coach at Guinness Premiership side Gloucester Rugby.-Playing career:During his on-field career Ryan played for Saracens, Wasps, Newcastle and Bristol...
- England International Rugby Union player and Head Coach of Gloucester RFU Club - Leighton SeagerBaron Leighton of St MellonsBaron Leighton of St Mellons, of St Mellons in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1962 for the Welsh shipping magnate Sir Leighton Seager, 1st Baronet. He was the son of Sir William Henry Seager. Seager had already been created a Baronet, of...
- 1st Baron Leighton of St Mellons, shipping magnate - Sir George ShentonGeorge ShentonSir George Shenton was a prominent businessman in colonial Western Australia, the first Mayor of Perth, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for over thirty years.-Early and family life:...
KB - Mayor of Perth, Western AustraliaPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
1880–1884 & 1886–1888 - Harold Arthur WatkinsonHarold Watkinson, 1st Viscount WatkinsonHarold Arthur Watkinson, 1st Viscount Watkinson CH, PC was a British businessman and Conservative politician. He was Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation between 1955 and 1959 and a cabinet member as Minister of Defence between 1959 and 1962, when he was sacked in the Night of the Long Knives...
PC, CH - Conservative politician and businessman, 1st Viscount Watkinson of Woking, Minister of Defence 1959–1962 - John Passmore Widgery- Baron Widgery of South Molton, OBE, TD, QC, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales 1971–1980
- James Howard WilliamsJames Howard WilliamsJames Howard Williams or 'Elephant Bill' was a British soldier and elephant expert in Burma, known for his work with the Fourteenth Army during the Burma Campaign of World War II, and for his 1950 book Elephant Bill...
(Elephant Bill) - British Army officer and author