Queens' School
Encyclopedia
Queens' School, near Watford
, Hertfordshire
, is a state funded secondary school.
It is currently designated a Specialist Sports and Science College.
Watford Central School was founded in 1912 in buildings in Derby Road vacated by Watford Grammar School for Boys when it moved to its present site in West Watford.
In 1950, the central school became a new grammar school on the northwest side of Aldenham Road, Bushey
, called Bushey Grammar School.
The buildings vacated in Derby road were then occupied by the Central Primary School
.
Alexandra School was founded in 1901 in Judge Street, North Watford.
(These buildings later became an annexe to the Watford School of Art.)
In January 1966 the school moved to the southeast side of Aldenham road, opposite Bushey Grammar School.
The pedestrian underpass under Aldenham Road was built at this time, but the two schools had little interaction.
Alexandra School had only three headmasters in its 68-year history.
In September 1969, the two schools were amalgamated to form Queens' School, a comprehensive school
spanning a 52 acres (21 ha) site on both sides of Aldenham Road.
At the time of the merger, Bushey Grammar had 800 pupils, while Alexandra School had 500 students.
A crucial early decision was to extend the pastoral system of Bushey Grammar to the new school, with four houses spanning all year groups, two based on each side of Aldenham Road.
This structure has served the school well, and persists to this day.
Grange Park School closed in September 1988, and its pupils transferred to Queens'. The former Grange Park campus became home to Bushey Hall School (now the Bushey Academy).
Queens' was awarded grant-maintained
status in April 1993 and became a foundation school in September 1999. In September 2003, the school was designated a Specialist Sports College, and in April 2008 also became a Science College.
In July 2011, Queens' converted to Academy status.
on the outskirts of Watford
in south Hertfordshire
. As an amalgamation of two schools, Queens' has two sites named North and South, linked by an underpass. The north side (the former Bushey Grammar site) borders the Bushey Grove Leisure Centre and the Purcell School of Music
(formerly the Royal Caledonian School), whereas the south side (the former Alexandra School site) borders the Metropolitan Police
sports grounds.
, selecting 35% of its intake on academic ability, 5% on aptitude for music and 5% on aptitude for sport.
The remaining places are allocated to siblings of current pupils and to applicants living nearest to the school.
The catchment area for selective places extends approximately 7 miles (11 km) from the school: in addition to southwest Hertfordshire, it includes some northern parts of the London Borough of Harrow
.
However 95% of children admitted live within 3 miles (5 km) of the school.
The school is the largest in Hertfordshire.
, Drake and Newton based on the north side and Auden and Sutherland based in the south. Students are allocated a house on entry. Each house is typically further subdivided into two or three forms for each year group. Each house has associated colours, which are displayed on ties and school crests as part of the school uniform.
There is a strong identity among students with their house. This was created through inter-house competitions on sports day, a yearly music competition and various other sports related competition throughout the academic year. Furthermore, each house has both a Head of House and Deputy Head of House, who assist with students pastoral care and help get to the root of discipline problems rather than simply giving a student a detention. Additionally sixth formers are very active in school and will help year 7's in their house through the Paired Reading Scheme, the Buddy Scheme and running the inter-house music competition. Also there is a friendly rivalry between houses, which adds to the atmosphere of the school.
The House system was praised by the last Ofsted report in September 2006.
The house system is a large part of the reason why this large school does very well, because it makes the school feel like 4 small schools rather than one large one.
In recent years the school has had some notable successes:
The school has an increasingly good reputation in the performing arts with many recent excellent productions including Fame and Bugsy Malone.
The school recently received national recognition by winning the 2009 Sports Colleges Award for Innovation for development of the Virtual Learning Environment. (VLE)
At A-level the results are also well above average.
Bushey Grammar School
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, is a state funded secondary school.
It is currently designated a Specialist Sports and Science College.
History
The story of Queens' begins with two schools in Watford in the early 20th century.Watford Central School was founded in 1912 in buildings in Derby Road vacated by Watford Grammar School for Boys when it moved to its present site in West Watford.
In 1950, the central school became a new grammar school on the northwest side of Aldenham Road, Bushey
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
, called Bushey Grammar School.
The buildings vacated in Derby road were then occupied by the Central Primary School
Primary schools in Watford
This article provides brief details of primary schools in the borough of Watford in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom.Some Watford children attend schools in the neighbouring boroughs of Three Rivers and Hertsmere....
.
Alexandra School was founded in 1901 in Judge Street, North Watford.
(These buildings later became an annexe to the Watford School of Art.)
In January 1966 the school moved to the southeast side of Aldenham road, opposite Bushey Grammar School.
The pedestrian underpass under Aldenham Road was built at this time, but the two schools had little interaction.
Alexandra School had only three headmasters in its 68-year history.
In September 1969, the two schools were amalgamated to form Queens' School, a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
spanning a 52 acres (21 ha) site on both sides of Aldenham Road.
At the time of the merger, Bushey Grammar had 800 pupils, while Alexandra School had 500 students.
A crucial early decision was to extend the pastoral system of Bushey Grammar to the new school, with four houses spanning all year groups, two based on each side of Aldenham Road.
This structure has served the school well, and persists to this day.
Grange Park School closed in September 1988, and its pupils transferred to Queens'. The former Grange Park campus became home to Bushey Hall School (now the Bushey Academy).
Queens' was awarded grant-maintained
Grant-maintained school
Grant-maintained schools were state schools in England and Wales between 1988 and 1998 that had opted out of local government control, being funded directly by a grant from central government...
status in April 1993 and became a foundation school in September 1999. In September 2003, the school was designated a Specialist Sports College, and in April 2008 also became a Science College.
In July 2011, Queens' converted to Academy status.
Location
The school occupies a relatively isolated suburban campus on both sides of Aldenham Road, in BusheyBushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
on the outskirts of Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
in south Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. As an amalgamation of two schools, Queens' has two sites named North and South, linked by an underpass. The north side (the former Bushey Grammar site) borders the Bushey Grove Leisure Centre and the Purcell School of Music
Purcell School
The Purcell School is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal in 2003, which was received on behalf of the school by Prince Charles, who...
(formerly the Royal Caledonian School), whereas the south side (the former Alexandra School site) borders the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
sports grounds.
Admissions
Queens' is a partially selective schoolPartially selective school (England)
In England, a partially selective school is one of a few dozen state-funded secondary schools that select a proportion of their intake by ability or aptitude, permitted as a continuation of arrangements that existed prior to 1997....
, selecting 35% of its intake on academic ability, 5% on aptitude for music and 5% on aptitude for sport.
The remaining places are allocated to siblings of current pupils and to applicants living nearest to the school.
The catchment area for selective places extends approximately 7 miles (11 km) from the school: in addition to southwest Hertfordshire, it includes some northern parts of the London Borough of Harrow
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
.
However 95% of children admitted live within 3 miles (5 km) of the school.
The school is the largest in Hertfordshire.
Uniform
The school uniform consists of black blazer with a logo/badge of your house colour, white shirt, black skirt or trousers, a kilt has been introduced for the new 2012 students- this isn't a must for the rest of the female girls in year 8+,house tie and optional black jumper. All students are required to wear black shoes. Outdoor coats must be in dark colours i.e. black, dark blue, grey. In the summer, blazers can be taken off but must be worn in all other seasons. Years 12 and 13 are not required to wear uniform, but have a dress code. In September 2011 the school introduced a grey tartan kilt for girls and also introduced a new blazer badge.Houses
The school is split into four housesHouse 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...
, Drake and Newton based on the north side and Auden and Sutherland based in the south. Students are allocated a house on entry. Each house is typically further subdivided into two or three forms for each year group. Each house has associated colours, which are displayed on ties and school crests as part of the school uniform.
There is a strong identity among students with their house. This was created through inter-house competitions on sports day, a yearly music competition and various other sports related competition throughout the academic year. Furthermore, each house has both a Head of House and Deputy Head of House, who assist with students pastoral care and help get to the root of discipline problems rather than simply giving a student a detention. Additionally sixth formers are very active in school and will help year 7's in their house through the Paired Reading Scheme, the Buddy Scheme and running the inter-house music competition. Also there is a friendly rivalry between houses, which adds to the atmosphere of the school.
The House system was praised by the last Ofsted report in September 2006.
The house system is a large part of the reason why this large school does very well, because it makes the school feel like 4 small schools rather than one large one.
Recent achievements
As a Sports College the school has seen an added impetus to the physical well being of students with GCSE PE now a compulsory subject, and has also had a significant financial input due to this designation. The school has performed extremely well at GCSE and A level exams within the last few years. It also runs the BTEC National courses in all its guises with an excellent pass rate within the last two years. The school has now finished the new Sports hall towards the back of the school.In recent years the school has had some notable successes:
- National Debating champions in 2005 and 2007
- English National Golf Champions 2007
- English Schools FA (ESFA) U19 Football Champions 2008
- English Schools FA (ESFA) U13 Football Runners up 2008
- English Schools FA (ESFA) U14 Football Runners up 2009
- Reached 3 English Schools FA (ESFA) Finals 2011
The school has an increasingly good reputation in the performing arts with many recent excellent productions including Fame and Bugsy Malone.
The school recently received national recognition by winning the 2009 Sports Colleges Award for Innovation for development of the Virtual Learning Environment. (VLE)
Academic performance
GCSE exam results are regularly far above the national average, with outstanding value added figures and the last OFSTED report was very positive about the school.At A-level the results are also well above average.
Alumni
- Mark OatenMark OatenMark Oaten is a former British Liberal Democrat politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Winchester from 1997 to 2010, and was his party's Home Affairs spokesperson from 2003 to 2006...
, politician, Lib Dem MP from 1997-2010 for Winchester - Kenny JackettKenny JackettKenny Jackett is a former Wales international football player, who has since moved into management. He is the current manager of Millwall, the longest serving manager in the Football League Championship and eleventh longest serving manager in England.A skilful player, equally at home in defence or...
, footballer/manager
Bushey Grammar School
- Prof Malcolm Airs, Professor of Conservation and the Historic Environment from 2002-6 at the University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
- Ann CoffeyAnn CoffeyAnn Coffey is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Stockport since 1992.-Early life:...
, Labour MP since 1992 for StockportStockport (UK Parliament constituency)Stockport is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:... - Terry JohnsonTerry Johnson (dramatist)Terry Johnson is a British dramatist and director working for stage, television and film. He is a Literary Associate at the Royal Court Theatre. At The Court he directed Dumb Show by Joe Penhall and opened his play Piano/Forte...
, playwright, theatre producer/director