Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is an independent, public school 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.[1]

For other uses, see Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (disambiguation).

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School
Location
Wakefield
,
West Yorkshire
,
WF1 3QX

England
Coordinates53.68844°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 (1591)
FounderThomas Savile and others
Department for Education URN108306 Tables
Chairman of the GovernorsSimon Chamberlain
Acting HeadmasterMartin Shevill
GenderBoys
Age4 to 18
Enrolment≈680
Colour(s)Black & Gold   
Former pupilsOld Savilians
School SongFloreas, Wakefieldia
Websitehttp://www.wgsf.org.uk/

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 January 2021, the current Acting Headmaster of the school is Martin Shevill.[2]

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

Some notable former pupils include the 17th century English physician, John Radcliffe, Joseph Moxon, mathematician and hydrographer to King Charles II, Richard Henry Lee, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, US Senator and President of the Continental Congress, Sir Francis Molyneux, 7th Baronet, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, Mike Harrison, former captain England national rugby union team, Mike Tindall, England Rugby Union player, member of the World Cup winning team in 2003, John Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury and the Rt Revd and Rt Hon the Lord Hope of Thornes, former archbishop of York.

History

Founding

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.

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.[3]

Coat of arms

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”.[3]

School song

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
The current buildings on Northgate

In 1854 QEGS moved to its present site in Northgate, Wakefield, into premises designed by the architect Richard Lane[4] and formerly occupied by the West Riding Proprietary School.[5][6] 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
War memorial at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield

The school is often noted for its sporting ability,[7] 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.

  • 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

Headmasters of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield from 1591 to the present time.[8]

Notable Old Savilians

Academia

Arts

Art

Literature

Music

Miscellaneous

Politics

Religion

Science and medicine

Sport

References
  1. History of Wakefield Cathedral 16th Century
  2. "QEGS Independent Senior School for boys aged 11 to 18 in Wakefield, Yorkshire". Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  3. QEGS History
  4. Historic England. "Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (1258481)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  5. The Annals of Yorkshire from the Earliest Period to the Present Time By Henry Schroder, page 172. Published by George Crosby, 1852. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
  6. 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. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  7. "RugbyWorld - QEGS Wakefield School of Month".
  8. Peacock, M. H., (1892) 'History of the Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth at Wakefield', Wakefield, p.114
  9. "PULLAN (or PULLEYNE), Benjamin", in John Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part II 1752–1900, Vol. V Pace – Spyers (1953), p. 214
  10. Lapidge, M., (2002) 'Interpreters of Early Modern History', Oxford, p.197
  11. ""Crossbow cannibal" appears in court – Wakefield Express". Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  12. "QEGS Rugby" (PDF). Wakefield Grammar School Foundation. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
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