| Queen Mary's Grammar School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
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Sutton Road ,, WS1 2PG | |
| Coordinates | 52°34′39″N1°57′59″W / 52.5775°N 1.9665°W /52.5775; -1.9665 |
| Information | |
| Type | Grammar school withacademy status |
| Motto | Quas dederis solas semper habebis opes (What thou hast given alone shall be eternal riches unto thee(Epigrams of Martial, XLII)) |
| Established | 1554; 471 years ago (1554) |
| Local authority | Walsall Borough Council |
| Department for Education URN | 136773Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Headmaster | R.J. Langton |
| Gender | Boys (mixed sixth form) |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Houses | Aragon Darby Gryphon Petypher |
| Colours | Red Blue Yellow Green |
| Publication | The QM Observer |
| Website | www |
Queen Mary's Grammar School (QMGS) is a boys'grammar school withacademy status located on Sutton Road,Walsall, England, about a mile from the town centre and one of the oldest schools in the country.[1] Thesixth form is coeducational.
Admittance to the school is by entrance exam taken at the age of 10/11. Since September 2020, 180 pupils enter the school in September each year, increased gradually from 96 in September 2012. The school has grown from 718 in 2011 to 1,305 in 2022.[citation needed]
There is separate admission into the Sixth Form based on academic performance at GCSE, requiring a minimum score of 54 points in GCSEs and least a 7 in the applicant's chosen subjects. As of 2019, there are over 400 students on roll in the Sixth Form. At this stage of the school, girls are also admitted.
The school was founded in 1554 by George and Nicolas Hawe, two leading townsmen, withQueen Mary I as itsroyal patron and benefactor.[2] At the time it had about sixty pupils, all boys, and taughtClassics almost exclusively.
The school has grown significantly since its foundation and moved three times. Originally housed in an old town guild-hall near St Matthew’s Church, it moved to Park Street in 1811, into new buildings in Lichfield Street in 1850 (a site now used byQueen Mary's High School) and finally to a purpose-built school on theMayfield site in 1965.[3]
Queen Mary's performs very well in exams across the board, with consistent success in the sixth form.[4] In 2007, the school became a specialistLanguage College. The extra funds from this have, among other things, facilitated the building of a new wing of the school buildings.[citation needed] The school built a new sports hall to support the gym and swimming facilities. The Science Block was also updated, with new Biology labs being built. A new sixth form block has been constructed and it opened late September 2012. As of 2025[update], the school's most recentOfsted inspection resulted in a judgement of Outstanding.[4]
The school's badge is based on theHeraldic badge of Queen Mary and reflects her parentage, being formed from half aTudor rose (a symbol ofHenry VIII)impaled with a sheaf of arrows (a symbol ofCatherine of Aragon). The badge was modified slightly during the 2006/2007 school year. A fully red rose was changed to an accurate red and white Tudor rose, which is usually shown with a red outer rose and a white inner one. However, the school's Tudor rose, based on early school records, has a white outer rose and a red inner one,[2] which theCollege of Arms accepts as equally valid. Despite the update, there are still some subtle differences between the current badge and Queen Mary's.[5][failed verification]
Extracurricular activities at Queen Mary’s Grammar School include drama, sport, music, and aCombined Cadet Force contingent comprising both Army and RAF sections.[6]
The school has a plaque inSaint George's Memorial Church, Ypres, to honour the ex-pupils who died in the Ypres Salient and on the Somme during World War One.[citation needed] The plaque was paid for by the QM Club and was unveiled during a Year 9 Battlefields trip.
Every year, Year 7 students and senior prefects travel toWestminster Abbey to commemorate the school’s founder on the Friday closest to 6 July. All of Year 7, along with prefects and staff, lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Mary. The tradition is that the wreath is jointly laid by the youngest member of Year 7 and the senior prefect.[7][8]
Project Horizon is the school'snear space programme, started in 2012, which runs annual missions. A smallpayload carrying cameras and tracking hardware is lifted by ahigh-altitude balloon filled with helium gas into thestratosphere until the balloon bursts and the payload descends. Film footage and still images of the payload's journey are recorded during the flight, capturing views of Earth from the stratosphere.[9][10][11]
 | This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this articleand are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
