Queen's Scholar
Encyclopedia
The longest-established Queen's Scholarships are the forty scholarships (8 per year) at Westminster School
, (re)founded in 1560 by Queen Elizabeth I. These scholars take part in the coronation in Westminster Abbey
, acclaiming the new monarch by shouting "Vivat". They also have the right to observe parliament. They have the abbreviation QS on school lists; their house is "College".
12- and 13-year-old boys annually compete for them in a competitive entrance examination known as The Challenge, which approaches the normal GCSE to A level standard for 16-year olds. For 400 years the best of the Queen's Scholars were elected to Closed Scholarships at Christ Church, Oxford
and Trinity College, Cambridge
; since the 1970s, Westminster schoolboys must win open Oxbridge
scholarships by public examination, but the Queen's Scholars still frequently do so.
During the reign of a King, the Queen's Scholars become King's Scholars, in contrast to the earlier King's Scholar
ships at Eton College
who retain that title in honour of their royal founder even when the current monarch is a Queen.
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, (re)founded in 1560 by Queen Elizabeth I. These scholars take part in the coronation in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, acclaiming the new monarch by shouting "Vivat". They also have the right to observe parliament. They have the abbreviation QS on school lists; their house is "College".
12- and 13-year-old boys annually compete for them in a competitive entrance examination known as The Challenge, which approaches the normal GCSE to A level standard for 16-year olds. For 400 years the best of the Queen's Scholars were elected to Closed Scholarships at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
; since the 1970s, Westminster schoolboys must win open Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
scholarships by public examination, but the Queen's Scholars still frequently do so.
During the reign of a King, the Queen's Scholars become King's Scholars, in contrast to the earlier King's Scholar
King's Scholar
A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar of one of certain public schools...
ships at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
who retain that title in honour of their royal founder even when the current monarch is a Queen.
Notable Queen's Scholars
- Ben JonsonBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
- Richard HakluytRichard HakluytRichard Hakluyt was an English writer. He is principally remembered for his efforts in promoting and supporting the settlement of North America by the English through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America and The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and...
- William Cartwright (dramatist)
- Abraham CowleyAbraham CowleyAbraham Cowley was an English poet born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his Works published between 1668 and 1721.-Early life and career:...
- George HerbertGeorge HerbertGeorge Herbert was a Welsh born English poet, orator and Anglican priest.Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education that led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert excelled in...
- John DrydenJohn DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
- John LockeJohn LockeJohn Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
- Robert SouthRobert SouthRobert South was an English churchman, known for his combative preaching.-Early life:He was the son of Robert South, a London merchant, and Elizabeth Berry...
- Robert HookeRobert HookeRobert Hooke FRS was an English natural philosopher, architect and polymath.His adult life comprised three distinct periods: as a scientific inquirer lacking money; achieving great wealth and standing through his reputation for hard work and scrupulous honesty following the great fire of 1666, but...
- Warren HastingsWarren HastingsWarren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
- A. A. MilneA. A. MilneAlan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
- Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron AdrianEdgar Adrian, 1st Baron AdrianEdgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian OM PRS was a British electrophysiologist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize for Physiology, won jointly with Sir Charles Sherrington for work on the function of neurons....
- Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
- Ian BostridgeIan BostridgeIan Bostridge CBE is an English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera singer and as a song recitalist.-Early life and education:...