The exceptional calibre of the education offered by Queen Elizabeth’s School is demonstrated in the awards and commendations bestowed on the School by national education organisations, leading journalists and other respected groups and individuals.
Ofsted: QE was confirmed as being ‘Outstanding’ in all five of Ofsted’s judgement areas by an inspection conducted in May 2022. This was the sixth consecutive top-rated inspection.
Academic league tables: We regularly top league tables based on A-level and GCSE results. QE was, for example, named the country’s leading state school for three consecutive years from 2013–2015 in the influential Sunday Times Parent Power listings. In 2016, we were Parent Power’s top boys’ state school and in the same year, the School was in first place in the A-level league tables in both The Times and the Daily Telegraph. The School was again placed as the top boys’ state school, and second overall, in the Parent Power listings for 2017. QE retook top spot as the country’s best performing state school in the 2018 Parent Power rankings. The Times ranked QE as the top state secondary school for A-level results nationally, and the best secondary in London across the state and independent sectors, in August 2019. The School subsequently retained its first place in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 Parent Power rankings.
University destinations: A new School record of 47 Oxbridge offers were received in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 40 Oxbridge places secured in 2020. In 2021, 39 places were secured and a further 34 in 2022. Together with two other schools, QE had the joint-highest number of pupils in the world going to Cambridge University in 2016; of the three, we had the highest success rate in securing offers, with 52% of applicants offered places. Some 25-35 QE leavers typically gain Oxbridge places annually. Research by the Sutton Trust, the social mobility foundation, named Queen Elizabeth’s as the top state school for admission to Russell Group universities – a status confirmed by Department for Education figures released in 2019 looking at leavers’ destinations over the previous three years.
Awards: QE has been named as The Sunday Times State Secondary School of the Year for 2022, the third time the School has been recognised with this award. QE was presented with the Evening Standard’s School of the Year Award for Academic Excellence by the Secretary of State for Education for the third time in 2013. In the same year, the then-Mayor of London announced QE’s place as an inaugural member of the London Schools Gold Club. QE was ranked as the top State School by the Financial Times in their Top 1000 Schools, which measures performance in the more difficult ‘core’ academic subjects.
Prince’s Teaching Institute: QE is heavily involved with the Schools Leadership Programme of the Prince’s Teaching Institute, an educational charity established by The Prince of Wales which promotes exceptional teaching. In addition, eight academic departments at QE belong to the PTI; with the School having been awarded the PTI Mark in a host of subjects, ranging from English and History to Music and Science.
National extra-curricular success: QE performs very strongly in popular and prestigious national and international extra-curricular competitions and activities. In addition to the boys’ many individual successes, the School itself has been recognised on several occasions. In 2016, the School won first prize in the national STEM competition The Bright Ideas Challenge at its first attempt; in 2017, QE’s tally of 20 gold medals led to it being named the UK’s top school in the British Biology Olympiad; in 2018, QE became the first UK school ever to win the VEX IQ Robotics World Championships in the USA; and, since becoming the first school in London to be awarded Music Specialist School status back in 2004, QE has built upon its record for excellence in the performing arts.
Reviews and citations: The widely read Good Schools Guide‘s report on QE praised it as “one of the most inspirational learning environments we’ve ever come across” offering “an exceptional and rounded education that even private schools struggle to compete with”. In researching her report, GSG writer Kate Hilpern interviewed the Headmaster and spoke to both boys and parents. She visited the School in October 2020, finding that the School had “flexed quickly and well” to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2016, Society magazine Tatler named QE in its guide to the best state schools; being one of just 21 schools from across the country to feature in its selection.