Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
Encyclopedia
I go to this school and when I joined it was not a very good school and the more popular school was the nearby Rawlett but now it has turned into an academy it has a higher standard of education and better behaviour. So I am really pleased. So keep going Qems. We can do it!
Landau Forte QEMS (Formerly "Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School", until 1st September 2011) is an 11-16 Academy to the north of Tamworth
, a small market town in Staffordshire
in the Midlands
near Birmingham
. It is also known as Queen Elizabeth's Mercian or QEMS .
Since 1st September 2011, the school has been owned and operated by the Landau Forte Charitable Trust, after being transferred from the Staffordshire's LA control.
status as a Music College
. It is situated in Perry Crofts, on the eastern side of the A513, at the junction with the B5493 (former A453
), around a half-mile north of Tamworth town centre.
.
which moved from Hospital Street in 1960. The school has taken its name from the former school and the fact that Tamworth was the headquarters of the Anglo-Saxon province of Mercia
.
In April 2008, two teachers and seven pupils were injured by a bottle of silicon tetrachloride
.
. The headmaster was Gordon Owers. Six fire engines were in attendance, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service
, with fifty firemen. Six classrooms and an assembly hall were destroyed.
Landau Forte QEMS (Formerly "Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School", until 1st September 2011) is an 11-16 Academy to the north of Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
, a small market town in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
near Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. It is also known as Queen Elizabeth's Mercian or QEMS .
Since 1st September 2011, the school has been owned and operated by the Landau Forte Charitable Trust, after being transferred from the Staffordshire's LA control.
Admissions
As a state school, The school was awarded specialistSpecialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
status as a Music College
Music College
Music Colleges were introduced in 2004 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in England. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, music. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Music Colleges will receive extra...
. It is situated in Perry Crofts, on the eastern side of the A513, at the junction with the B5493 (former A453
A453 road
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 or unclassified roads following the construction of the parallel M42-A42 link around...
), around a half-mile north of Tamworth town centre.
Specialist status
QEMS gained status as a Specialist Music College, under the UK Government's Specialist Schools scheme, in 2005. This specialist status also gives funding to other departments, most notably ICT.Grammar school
It was the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School on Ashby Road, a co-educational grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
.
Comprehensive
It became a comprehensive in 1979, merging with Mercian Boys' School, a secondary modern schoolSecondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
which moved from Hospital Street in 1960. The school has taken its name from the former school and the fact that Tamworth was the headquarters of the Anglo-Saxon province of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
.
In April 2008, two teachers and seven pupils were injured by a bottle of silicon tetrachloride
Silicon tetrachloride
Silicon tetrachloride is the inorganic compound with the formula SiCl4. It is a colourless volatile liquid that fumes in air. It is used to produce high purity silicon and silica for commercial applications.-Preparation:...
.
Arson
In November 2004, a 16 year boy was convicted of arson and sentenced for four years at Stafford Crown Court. 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. Insurance cover for both was provided by Zurich MunicipalZurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services AG is a major financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland.-History:The Company was founded in 1872 as subsidiary of the Schweiz Marine Insurance Company under the name Versicherung Verein...
. The headmaster was Gordon Owers. Six fire engines were in attendance, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
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 area of Stoke on Trent....
and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service serving the county of Warwickshire in the West Midlands region of England....
, with fifty firemen. Six classrooms and an assembly hall were destroyed.
Former teachers
- Prof Geoffrey Bullough, Professor of English Language and Literature from 1946-68 at King's College LondonKing's College LondonKing's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
(taught English from 1924-6)
Campus
QEMS is based in several buildings across the school. overall, there are seven buildings (Main Block (Lower School), DT, RE, Middle Block, Elizabeth Block, Boys' Gym, 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 1st September 2011, as part of a bid to receive investment from the Government to replace the lost BSF money.Academic results
It gets GCSE results under the England average. Tamworth borough gets the lowest results, as an average, in Staffordshire.The Queen Elizabeth Grammar School
- Dr Reginald Brain, dermatologistDermatologyDermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....
- Sir John FloyerJohn FloyerSir John Floyer , English physician and author, was the third child and second son of Elizabeth Babington and Richard Floyer, of Hints Hall, a since demolished country house. Hints is a quiet village lying a short distance from Lichfield in Staffordshire...
, physician who introduced the practice of measuring a pulsePulseIn medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
rate - The Most Reverend Alan HarperAlan Harper (archbishop)Alan Edwin Thomas Harper, OBE is the Church of Ireland's Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. He assumed office on 2 February 2007 and was ceremonially enthroned on 16 March 2007. He is the first English-born Irish primate since the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869...
, Archbishop of ArmaghArchbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland)The Anglican Archbishop of Armagh is the ecclesiastical head of the Church of Ireland, the metropolitan of the Province of Armagh and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Armagh....
(Head of the Church of IrelandChurch of IrelandThe Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
) since 2007 - Sir Robert Telford CBE, Managing Director from 1965-81 and Chairman from 1981-4 of the Marconi CompanyMarconi CompanyThe Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
, and President from 1963-4 of the Electronic Engineering Association - Prof Sir Ernest William TittertonErnest William TittertonSir Ernest William Titterton Ph. D. was a nuclear physicist and professor.-Early years:...
CMG, Professor of Nuclear Physics from 1950-81 at the Australian National UniversityAustralian National UniversityThe Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, involved in the Manhattan ProjectManhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army... - Patience Wheatcroft, Baroness Wheatcroft, journalist
- William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...