Queensmead School is a comprehensive

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...

 co-educational day school located on Queens Walk, South Ruislip

South Ruislip

South Ruislip is a suburban area in the London Borough of Hillingdon.The population, according to the 2001 UK census, was 10,823. By 2008, this had reached 11,116.-Education:...

 in Hillingdon

London Borough of Hillingdon

The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

History

Queensmead School opened in 1952. It was originally designed for 450 students, but the school has developed by adding buildings, completely refurbishing a science block, and investing heavily in computer infrastructure and equipment. The school is designated as a Foundation School

Foundation school

In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....

 and a specialist Technology College

Specialist 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...

. There are approximately 1,400 pupils

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

 in attendance, with 220 in the Sixth Form. Examination results have steadily improved and GCSE results are now well beyond local and national averages.

Academic standards

The school had an Ofsted inspection in March 2008 and was assessed as outstanding, Grade 1 on a four point scale.

In 2008 the school was awarded High Performing Specialist School Status in recognition of the outstanding results achieved by the students. The focus of this status will be on leadership, an acknowledged strength of the staff (OFSTED)

In 2008, 66% of students gained 5 A*-C grades at GCSE The contextualised value added score achieved in the summer 2008 examinations was 1024, (which indicates the amount of progress that students make from Year 7 to their GCSEs) placing Queensmead in the top 8% of schools nationally.

The arts

Music and drama are well catered for within the Performing Arts department, an annual school production (most frequently a large cast musical) and peripatetic teaching for those wishing to take up an instrument. The department also runs examination classes in Music, Performing Arts, Drama, Dance, Photography and Music Technology.

Sport

The school runs sports teams in Football, Rugby, Cricket, Netball, Athletics, at all ages and competes in local and regional competitions. Other sports are also represented including basketball, badminton, tennis and some alternative sports such as archery. The PE department run termly year group competitions in a range of sports and all students are expected to contribute in some way.

Notable alumni

• Lee McQueen - winner of 2008 The Apprentice
  The Apprentice (UK Series Four)
  Series Four of The Apprentice was a British reality television series, which was won by Lee McQueen. The series began on BBC One on 26 March 2008, and ran for twelve weekly episodes. Auditions and interviews are reported to have taken place during the first two weeks of July 2007 in London,...
  
  
• Scouting for Girls
  Scouting for Girls
  Scouting for Girls are a Brit and Ivor Novello nominated band from London, formed in 2005 by Roy Stride, Greg Churchouse and Peter Ellard. Stride and Ellard met in the Cub Scouts and Churchouse met Stride on their first day at school. They have sold over 1.2 million albums and over 1.5 million...
  
  - band