Queen Victoria School

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Queen Victoria School
Queen Victoria School logo.svg
School logo
Queen Victoria School from the B8033 - geograph.org.uk - 3807426.jpg
Queen Victoria School from the B8033
Address
Queen Victoria School
Bruce Brae

, ,
FK15 0JY

Scotland
Information
Type Ministry of Defence boarding school
Motto In Defens
Religious affiliation(s) Church of Scotland
Established1908
HeadDonald Shaw
GenderCo-educational
Age5to 18
Enrolment260~
Website www.qvs.school

Queen Victoria School (QVS) is a non-selective, co-educational, boarding school predominantly for children of Scottish servicemen and women aged 10/11 to 18. It occupies a Scottish Baronial-style building on a rural campus just outside Dunblane, a short distance away from the city of Stirling, Scotland.

Contents

It is the only school in the United Kingdom managed and funded by the Ministry of Defence (Duke of York's Royal Military School in Kent is now managed by the DfE). [1] The school is an agency of the MOD. [2] Education Scotland categorises QVS as an independent school. [3]

History

The idea of the school was originally proposed to Queen Victoria as a memorial to the Scottish dead of the Boer Wars, and after her death it was thought fit to name it in her memory. With the support of former politician Robert Cranston, money was raised from Scottish servicemen and the people of Scotland to complete the project. Queen Victoria School was opened on 28 September 1908 by King Edward VII. The chapel was completed in 1910 and is Scotland's memorial to Queen Victoria. Girls were admitted in the 1996–97 academic year into all years and the first female senior monitor, Victoria Harris, was chosen in 1999. [4]

Overview

Admissions

Originally only sons (and subsequently daughters) of Scottish service personnel were eligible to apply for entry to QVS. Today the school is not only open to applications from children of regular UK Armed Forces personnel who are Scottish but also to those who have served in Scotland or are/have been part of a Scottish regiment. Individuals without a formal Scottish link may also apply. [5]

Curriculum

QVS uses the Scottish curriculum for excellence and pupils are prepared for National Qualifications (Nat 4–5), Highers and Advanced Highers. [6]

Traditions

Queen Victoria School at the 2008 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Queen Victoria School, Dunblane at the 2008 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.jpg
Queen Victoria School at the 2008 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Traditionally the school provided an austere but continuous education for Scottish war orphans, with a good deal of military training and sports. Since the Second World War, the school has provided an education to children whose parents or guardians have been travelling the world in the Armed Forces.

A strong military ethos is still maintained by a competing pipe band and Combined Cadet Force (CCF) section. [7] The school has its own "colours" which are paraded nearly every Sunday during term times in the school chapel, its own cap badge, and pupils wear the Clan Stewart hunting tartan. The school pipe band used to play at every rugby home international at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh.

Houses

The house system is based on the boarding programme as all pupils are boarders. Boarding is available to pupils aged 10 (Primary 7) and above. There are four houses: [8]

HouseGenderYears
Cunningham BoysS1–S6
Haig BoysS1–S6
Wavell GirlsS2–S6
Trenchard Co-edP7–S1

Combined Cadet Force

The school has strong military links with attendance at the Combined Cadet Force timetabled weekly. The pupils elect to join one of the three sections, they are Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force.

Commanding officers:

NameRankYears
Tom Shannon RDCommander2015–2020
David Acheson MBECaptain2020–2023
Russell NewhamLieutenantCurrent

Notable alumni

Former students of Queen Victoria School are referred to as Old Victorians. See also Category:People educated at Queen Victoria School, Dunblane.

References

  1. House of Commons Defence Committee (2006). Educating Service Children: Eleventh Report of Session 2005–06; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence. The Stationery Office. p. 34. ISBN   9780215030627.
  2. "Memorandum from the Ministry of Defence (ESC 40)". Parliament of the United Kingdom . Retrieved 27 October 2024. Queen Victoria School is unique in Scotland as a Ministry of Defence Government Agency.
  3. "Summarised inspection findings Queen Victoria School Independent 9 May 2023" (PDF). Education Scotland . Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  4. History & Ethos Archived 25 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Admissions Information". Queen Victoria School. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  6. "Curriculum". Queen Victoria School. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  7. "Combined Cadet Force". Queen Victoria School. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  8. Boarding Life