| Type | Community School |
|---|---|
| Specialism | Technology Humanities (secondary) |
| Location | Western Road Crediton Devon EX17 3LU England |
| Local authority | Devon |
| DfE URN | 113498 |
| Students | 1600 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website | www.queenelizabeths.devon.sch.uk |
Queen Elizabeth's Community College is a comprehensive school in Crediton, Devon. It is Devon's only state boarding school, and serves over 1600 students, of whom around one in forty are boarders.[1][2] It was formed as a comprehensive school in the early 1970s by a merger of The Shelley Secondary Modern with the Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School.
The grammar school was founded in 1547 and started teaching in 1572 with 10 pupils. The grammar school moved to new buildings in 1861, merged with the girls high school in 1966.
The college now serves over 1600 school students, as well as offering education and facilities to the wider public.
Along with being a secondary school of good standing, QECC also has a sixth form, for students wishing to extend their education past year 11. In the most recent Ofsted review of the school, said sixth form received an "Outstanding" - the best title Ofsted hands out.
Despite technically being a Technology College, QECC is known for its excellence in the fields of performing arts such as music and drama. Each year a play or musical is held by the drama and music departments, with the set decorated by members of the art department staff, and have regularly achieved good feedback.
The college has 13 "feeder" primary school, of which it is usual that the pupils from said schools continue their education at QECC past the age of 11.
The college's coat of arms shows prominently the figure of Saint Boniface, the patron saint of the town and the most famous person to have ever been born and raised there.
For years the college management has been wishing to amalgamate the two parts of the school- QECC Lower, (Years 7 and 8) and QECC Upper, (Years 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13) into a single-site college building. However, despite it being high on the to-do list, it seems unlikely that such a development will occur in the near future, mainly due to funding. The current buildings are in a somewhat dilapidated state, though it hasn't affected the school's performance records. A new humanities block composed primarily of permanent classroom "blocks" (lowered onto each other by crane) has recently been erected in place of the old Quad courts, and are yet to be opened as of 29/01/2010. Of which opened in May 2010. The block holds humanities lessons to all Upper School children. At the moment the upper school tech block is being refurbished. On February 31, 2011, the school requested to become an academy. The decision is still pending, although it is assumed that academy status will be granted.