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Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield

Coordinates: 53°41′18″N 1°30′05″W / 53.68844°N 1.50135°W / 53.68844; -1.50135
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Queen Elizabeth Grammar School
Location
Map
, ,
WF1 3QX

England
Coordinates53°41′18″N 1°30′05″W / 53.68844°N 1.50135°W / 53.68844; -1.50135
Information
TypePublic school
MottoTurpe Nescire
(Latin: "It is a disgrace to be ignorant")
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
Established1591; 433 years ago (1591)
FounderThomas Savile and others
Department for Education URN108306 Tables
Chairman of the GovernorsMartin Shevill[1]
HeadmasterRichard Brookes
GenderBoys
Age4 to 18
Enrolment≈680
Colour(s)Black & gold   
Former pupilsOld Savilians
School song"Floreas, Wakefieldia"
Websitewgsf.org.uk

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is a public school (day school, no boarding) for boys in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1591 at the request of leading citizens in Wakefield (headed by Thomas Savile and his two sons) 75 in total and some of whom formed the first governing body.[2]

The school is part of a foundation, with both QEGS Senior and Junior schools joined together, along with the nearby Wakefield Girls' High School and its Junior School, and Mulberry House, which is a nursery and pre-prep department.

As of September 2021, the headmaster of the school is Dr Richard Brookes,[3] who was previously senior deputy head at City of London School.

QEGS is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

History

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Founding

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Queen Elizabeth Grammar School dates back to 19 November 1591 when a charter was granted to fourteen men to act as governors of the new school. In 1598, it moved into a purpose-built building, now the Elizabethan Gallery.

The charter read:

Of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we do, will grant and ordain for us, our heirs and successors, that hereafter there be and shall be one Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth at Wakefield, for the teaching, instructing and bringing up of children and youth in grammar, and other good learning, to continue to that use forever.

The original Elizabethan school building on Brook Street

Five of the fourteen men designated to be governors bore the name Saville. Generations of the Saville family have played important roles in the school's history and hence the reason why the Old Boys' Association is called the Old Savilians' Club.[4]

Coat of arms

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Coat of arms of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
Notes
The arms have been in use since 1591, but it is unknown if or when they were granted.[5]
Crest
On a wreath Argent and Azure, an owl Argent.
Escutcheon
Per fess, in the upper half parted per pale, Gules a lion statant guardant Or, and Sable an owl Argent, the lower half Azure a Bible Argent with clasps Or.
Motto
'Turpe Nescire'

The school arms came into existence soon after the school was founded and features a lion, an owl and a Bible. The golden lion on a red field refers to the royal foundation; the silver owl on black is taken from the arms of the Savile family (one of the founding families) and the Bible indicates the religious side of education. The school motto, "Turpe Nescire", means "It is a disgrace to be ignorant".[4]

School song

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Around 1900, H. G. Abel, then the senior classics master, composed "Floreas, Wakefieldia" and Matthew Peacock, headmaster and honorary choirmaster at the cathedral, set the words to music. It was seen as fitting that the song should be written in Latin, thereby evoking echoes of traditional scholasticism. The song is still sung today – at Founders' Day, Speech Day and at all Old Savilian Club dinners.

Facilities

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The current buildings on Northgate

In 1854 QEGS moved to its present site in Northgate, Wakefield, into premises designed by the architect Richard Lane[6] and formerly occupied by the West Riding Proprietary School.[7][8] The attached Junior school for boys aged 7 to 11 was founded in 1910.

A new building (Savile Building) was opened in 2005 by Ted Wragg, the famous educationalist, who taught at the school in the early 1960s. The new building provides a new 6th form centre, English department, state-of-the-art theatre and Learning Resources Centre for the pupils of QEGS.

Sport

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War memorial at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield

The school is often noted for its sporting ability,[9] having achieved frequent success in a number of sports. Over 83% of the school's boys represent QEGS in one sporting event or another. The most popular sport is rugby union, followed by hockey, cricket, athletics, and basketball. Hockey in particular has experienced substantial growth in the school throughout the last decade, and is now close to matching rugby union's dominance internally. In 2006, 2013, 2014 and 2015 the under-15s Rugby side reached the Daily Mail Cup final, winning the 2015 competition in a tight 15–6 win over three time final rivals Warwick. In 2009 every age group won the hockey 'Yorkshire Cup' for the first time in the school's history with the under 16s going on to reach the national semi-finals, only to lose to Whitgift School. As well as plenty of sporting opportunities, the school also gives pupils the opportunity to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.

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  • David Storey's Booker Prize winning novel Saville (1976) includes an account of the experiences of a working class boy at a Yorkshire grammar school in the 1940s. Storey, like the protagonist of Saville a miner's son, is an old boy of QEGS.
  • The school is mentioned in the novel Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace.

Headmasters

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Headmasters of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield from 1591 to the present time.[10]

Notable Old Savilians

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Academia

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Arts

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Art

Literature

Music

Murderers

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Miscellaneous

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Politics

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Religion

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Science and medicine

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Sport

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Governing Body". Wakefield Grammar School Foundation. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  2. ^ "History of Wakefield Cathedral 16th Century". Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  3. ^ "QEGS Appoints New Head". Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Our History". Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Queen Elizabeth Grammar School". Heraldry of the World. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  6. ^ Historic England. "Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (1258481)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  7. ^ The Annals of Yorkshire from the Earliest Period to the Present Time By Henry Schroder, page 172. Published by George Crosby, 1852. 1852. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
  8. ^ Loudon's Architectural Magazine, And Journal of Improvement in Architecture (edited by John Claudius Loudon), page 142. Published by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown Green & Longman; and Weale Architectural Library, 1834. 1834. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  9. ^ "RugbyWorld – QEGS Wakefield School of Month". 8 March 2011.
  10. ^ Peacock, M. H., (1892) 'History of the Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth at Wakefield', Wakefield, p.114
  11. ^ "PULLAN (or PULLEYNE), Benjamin", in John Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part II 1752–1900, Vol. V Pace – Spyers (1953), p. 214
  12. ^ Lapidge, M., (2002) 'Interpreters of Early Modern History', Oxford, p.197
  13. ^ ""Crossbow cannibal" appears in court – Wakefield Express". Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  14. ^ "QEGS Rugby" (PDF). Wakefield Grammar School Foundation. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
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