Queen's Park High School or QPHS is a co-educationalsecondary school and sixth form located in Queens Park, Chester, England.[1] The school symbol is the heraldic lion, and the school uniform consists of a blue blazer with a small white lion on the left hand side, and black or blue trousers.
History
Queen's Park High School although only coming under its current name in 1971 is the oldest non-public school in Chester.
Boys' School
Chester City Grammar School for Boys developed out of a technical day school, which opened at the Grosvenor Museum in 1892. Following the Education Act, 1902, it was decided to adapt the day technical school to meet the requirements of the Act, and its name was changed to City and County School for Boys in June 1907. It was transferred to Chester Corporation in August 1908, but remained at the Grosvenor Museum, with its own Board of Governors (some of them being appointed by Chester Corporation), until 1912. The school then moved to new buildings in Queen's Park. In 1938 its name was changed to Chester City Grammar School for Boys, and in 1941 new premises were opened in Queen's Park. As the 1970s dawned the school came under the scheme for the reorganisation of schools in Chester, and Chester City Grammar School for Boys combined with Chester City High School for Girls, with the name of Queen's Park High School. The Headmaster of the combined school was appointed in 1970, and complete amalgamation of the boys' and girls' schools took effect from September 1971.
Girls' School
Chester City High School for Girls was established following the Education Act, 1902, which made provision for secondary education. It began in temporary premises, the Race Stands on the Roodee, on 23 January 1905. On 25 March 1912 new premises were opened in Queen's Park. Originally known as the City and County School for Girls, because the County Education Authority maintained a certain number of the places available to students, the name of the school was changed in 1938 to Chester City High School for Girls. Under the scheme for the reorganisation of schools in Chester, prepared by the City Education Officer in 1968, the City High School for Girls and City Grammar School for Boys combined to form a mixed High School. The headmaster of the combined school was appointed in 1970, but the headmistress of the City High School remained as associate headmistress until July 1971. From that date the City High School for Girls ceased to exist as a separate school.
Extracurriculars
Musicals and theatrical productions
QPHS has a long history of annual school performances which usually run for a week in the spring term.
Other musical events
Each year QPHS stages a Summer Concert and Candle Lit Christmas Evening. There is an active school orchestra. In February the school has an X Factor like event called The V Factor showcasing the talents of the school's pupils. There is an annual Battle of the Bands contest open to students from all local secondary schools.
School magazine
The Inkwell - from 1923 to 1959
Cestria - from 1959 to 1970
Queen's Park High School Magazine - Special issue in 1970
Newsletter - from 1971 to present
Headmasters
1893 to 1911, J.A. MacMichael
1912 to 1937, J.K. Wilkins
1938 to 1942, Eric Ayres
1942 to 1948, R.P. Challacombe
1949 to 1970, C. Race
1971 to 1989, Ken.D. Munden
1989 to 2009, A.D. Firman
2009 to 2015, S.J. Casey
2015 to 2021, L Watterson
2021 to present T Kearns
Notable Former pupils
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(June 2011)