An introduction

Founded in 1573

Queen Elizabeth's is a state-funded grammar school, with 450 years' experience of producing confident, able and responsible young men. We provide a totally meritocratic environment, in which our boys reach their very considerable potential both in their academic and extra-curricular pursuits.

Headmaster's Welcome

For over 450 years, successive generations of boys have benefited from an education at Queen Elizabeth's School.

QE offers a meticulous and richly faceted holistic approach to the education of the boys in our charge. It is this approach, combined with our excellent facilities and a proud history dating back to 1573, that make the QE experience truly a state school experience like no other.

Our history

The School was founded in 1573 when Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter for the establishment of "the Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth in Barnet, for the education, bringing up and instruction of boys”. This rich heritage continues to play an important role in the modern life of the School.

Our mission

The School's mission has always been to produce young men that are confident, able and responsible. There is also focus on helping boys to develop the resilience and independence of thought that will help them thrive in their adult lives beyond QE and to become the leaders of their generation in their chosen fields.

Our curriculum

At QE we support boys to investigate their subjects well beyond the scope of the syllabus, developing a free-thinking scholarship which enables them to think critically and to produce new insights and solutions. Our extensive programme of enrichment further enhances the academic experience.

Our results

QE is consistently among the very highest performing schools in the UK, across both the state and independent sectors, for exam results and the progress our boys make. In 2023 58.1% of A-levels were awarded A* and the School also enjoyed its strongest ever GCSE results. Boys progress to the best universities in the world.

Our alumni

QE has a strong and active network of alumni who are engaged in supporting the School and the current boys, offering careers advice, interview practice, work experience placements and great inspiration. Old Elizabethans are members of our unique community for life and are forever welcome back at the School.

Our staff

Our highly qualified and dedicated staff create a unique environment in which each boy is challenged and stretched, but also fully supported - with bespoke tutoring and tailored interventions being the norm across the School. Our senior leadership team works tirelessly to drive further advancements to QE's offer.

Our friends

The staff and boys are supported in their endeavours by the Friends of Queen Elizabeth's - a charitable foundation that fund raises to help deliver new facilities and opportunities, whilst also providing a social network for new parents. The Friends organise the Founder's Day fete, which is a major annual celebration.

Our facilities

As a result of the generous donations of the School community, we have been able to transform our site over recent years by delivering new state of the art facilities. Our Giving to QE campaign has greatly enhanced the opportunities available to our boys and helped inspire further participation and achievement.

Leading by example

The 2019 School Captain, Bhiramah Rammanohar, achieved a clean sweep of A* grades in his Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics A-levels, securing a place to read Medicine at Jesus College, Cambridge.

Bhiramah excelled across many areas of School life and is an accomplished musician: he has been involved in a number of ensembles, including Symphonic Winds, Symphony Orchestra and the Barbershop singing group. “I am so grateful for the experiences I have managed to have at QE. Without QE, I don’t think I would be as interested in Music or would have been able to lead in the way I did. I was not particularly good at sport, but even then, there were so many different sports you could try out, and the teachers were so supportive.”

Through School friends, he has been active as a volunteer with the charity youthconnectionlondon, focusing on helping the homeless in the capital.

While Bhiramah would enjoy the physical interaction between doctor and patient and is interested in going into oncology as a clinical field, he is also drawn by medical research, having scored top marks in his Extended Project Qualification looking at biochemical indicators for autism.

In recognition of service

Barrie Martin, former Chairman of both the Governing Body and of the Friends of Queen Elizabeth's, was awarded the honour of an MBE in the 2014 New Year's Honours List. The citation for 'services to education' recognised his long years of devotion to the School – an association which began when his elder son, Piers, came to QE in 1987. Barrie joined the Governing Body the following year.

He became Chairman of Governors and also Chairman of FQE in 1999. He thus presided over the Governing Body during a time in which QE became one of the top-performing schools in the country. In the same period, FQE has successfully raised millions of pounds to enable a succession of new facilities to be opened, largely through parental giving and all without recourse to the taxpayer. Having retired as Chairman of Governors in 2023, he continues to serve as a Director of FQE and a Member of the academy trust.