Queen's College is a co-educational private school located in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England. It is a day/boarding school for pupils aged 0–18. The school incorporates nursery, pre-prep, prep, and senior schools. The current Head of College is Julian Noad. Henry Matthews is headmaster of Queen's College Prep School.
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History
First known as the Wesleyan Collegiate Institute, Queen's College was established by the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1843. Originally located in the Norman Castle in the town centre, the school opened with 34 pupils on 12 July 1843.
Under the headship of Thomas Sibly (1813-1892) the school outgrew the old school classrooms and so a new building was commissioned in 1845 in the Trull area. Due to the increasing popularity of the school, they were forced to vacate the castle premises in 1847 and move into the new building before it was finished. The current school building is a symmetrical Tudor Gothic building built by Giles and Gane in 1845 and has been designated as a Grade II* listed building. The original school site consisted of the main school building and upper playing fields. Since then the buildings have expanded, with the bridge and library (now known as the Wyvern Hall) being added to the school in the 1920s. This addition was built in commemoration, along with the obelisk on the front lawn, for those who served in the First World War.
Present day
The school sits in approximately 35 acres (140,000 m2) of grounds.
Since the 1970s the school has been co-educational with both female and male boarding houses being present on the school grounds. In 2016 the school appointed their first female head teacher, Lorraine Earps. Earps was replaced by Julian Noad on 12 August 2021.
The school is part of the Methodist Independent Schools Trust.
Notable former pupils
Former pupils are known as Old Queenians, and include:
Ben Ackland, Irish cricketer
Augustus Molade Akiwumi, former Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana and justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana
Tom Austen, English actor, known for his television appearances portraying Jasper Frost on The Royals and Guy Hopkins on Grantchester
John Baron, Conservative Party MP
Sir Robert Bond, prime minister of Newfoundland 1900–1909
Richard Browning, inventor of a "jet suit"; founder and chief test pilot of 'Gravity Industries'
Arthur Henry Reginald Buller, mycologist and President of the Royal Society of Canada
Matthew Clay, 2006 Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist in Swimming
Carrie Davis, Radio 1 sports analyst
Sir Nicholas Barton "Nick" Harvey, Liberal Democrat MP
Sir Robert Hart — Inspector-General of China's Imperial Maritime Customs Service 1863–1907
Arthur Henderson, British Labour politician, Baron Rowley of Rowley Regis, Secretary of State for Air 1947–1951
Peter Honess, Oscar-nominated, BAFTA award-winning Hollywood film editor (L. A. Confidential); member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Headteachers
Lorraine Earps then became the first female head teacher of Queen's College. On 12 August 2021 Julian Noad took over from Earps as Head of College. The current head of the prep school is Henry Matthews.
A former headmaster at the school was found guilty by a professional conduct panel of "unacceptable professional conduct" over a series of allegations.