Queen's College is a co-educational

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

located in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, the

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, England. It is a day/boarding school for children 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 Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

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 or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The college's motto is '' non scholae sed vitae discimus'' ("We educate not just for school but for life’")

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 the 12th August 2021. The school is part of the Methodist 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 The Quantock Hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1956. Natural England have de ...

, Brendons, Blackdowns and

Mendips The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

. 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 Benjamin James Ackland (born 26 October 1989) is an English-born Irish cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm off break. He was born in Nuneaton in Warwickshire, and educated at Queen's College, Taunton. Ackland made his d ...

- Irish cricketer * John Baron - Conservative MP * Sir

Robert Bond Sir Robert Bond (25 February 1857 – 16 March 1927) 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 1907 Imperial Conference conferred ...

— 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 and wheat rust. Academic career Born in Moseley, Birmingham, England, he was educated at Queen's C ...

- mycologist and President of the Royal Society of Canada *

Matthew Clay Matthew Clay (March 25, 1754May 27, 1815) was a Virginia lawyer, planter, Continental Army officer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives and the Virginia House of Delegates representing Pittsylvania County. E ...

- 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 politician. He was the first Labour cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniquely, served three separate terms as Leader of t ...

— 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 Colle ...

- Oscar-nominated, BAFTA 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 with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

* Peter Mitchell - 1978 Nobel Prize Winner (chemistry) * James Owen - Theoretical Astrophysicist *

Martin Pipe Martin Charles Pipe (born 29 May 1945), is an English former racehorse trainer credited with professionalising the British racehorse training industry, and as of 2021 the most successful trainer in British jump racing. The son of a West-Coun ...

- racehorse trainer * 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 Sir George Shenton (4 March 1842 – 29 June 1909) 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 ...

— Mayor of

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

1880–1884 & 1886–1888 * Harold Arthur Watkinson — Conservative politician and businessman, 1st Viscount Watkinson of Woking, Minister of Defence 1959–1962 * John Passmore Widgery- Baron Widgery of South Molton, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales 1971–1980 *

James Howard Williams James Howard Williams, also known as Elephant Bill (15 November 1897 – 30 July 1958), 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 19 ...

(Elephant Bill) - British Army officer and author *

Ed Weeks Edward Charles Egerton Weeks (born 25 October 1980) is an English actor, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known for starring as Dr. Jeremy Reed in the Fox/Hulu comedy series ''The Mindy Project'' (2012–2017). He also starred as Coli ...

- actor *

Jake Lintott Jacob Benedict Lintott (born 22 April 1993) is an English cricketer. Lintott attended Queen's College, Taunton, where he captained the First XI in 2010 and 2011 and set new run-scoring and wicket-taking records for the school, with 2,723 runs a ...

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, princi ...

Tom Austen Thomas Michael Carter (born 15 September 1987), known professionally as Tom Austen, is an English actor, known for his television appearances portraying Jasper Frost on '' The Royals'' and Guy Hopkins on ''Grantchester''. Early life Born in t ...

- English actor, known for his television appearances portraying Jasper Frost on The Royals and Guy Hopkins on Grantchester

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 ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and cont ...

'' {{authority control Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Independent schools in Somerset Boarding schools in Somerset Methodist schools in England Schools in Taunton Educational institutions established in 1843 1843 establishments in England