| Elizabeth College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
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The Grange , GY1 2PY Guernsey | |
| Coordinates | 49°27′24″N 2°32′25″W / 49.456630°N 2.540273°W |
| Information | |
| Other names |
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| Former name | Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (1563–1826)[note 1] |
| Type | Public school Independent school |
| Motto | Latin: Semper eadem[1] (Always the same) |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
| Established | 1563 |
| Founder | Elizabeth I |
| Principal | Jenny Palmer |
| Chaplain | Peter Graysmith |
| Staff | 110 approx. |
| Gender | Boys (1563–2021) Co-educational (2021–) |
| Age range | 11–18 |
| Enrolment | 570 approx. |
| Houses |
|
| Colour(s) | Navy blue and gold |
| Song | Carmen Eliabethanum[3] |
| Rival | Victoria College, Jersey[4] |
| Publication | The Elizabethan |
| School fees | £5,216 per term (2024/2025)[5] |
| Affiliation | HMC (The Heads' Conference) |
| Alumni | Old Elizabethans |
| Visitor | Bishop of Winchester |
| Website | elizabethcollege |
| Charity Commission for England and Wales. Elizabeth College, registered charity no. 1120954 Guernsey Charities Registry. Elizabeth College, registered charity no. CH91. | |
The Royal College of Elizabeth, better known as Elizabeth College, is a co-educational independent school in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. A member of the HMC (The Heads' Conference), it is a public school in the British sense of the term. Founded on 25 May 1563 by royal charter from Elizabeth I, it is one of the oldest schools in the British Isles and the oldest public school in the Channel Islands.
The school endured a turbulent two and a half centuries after its foundation, with several principals being dismissed or resigning following disputes with the local authorities. In 1824, it was re-chartered with new staff and an improved curriculum to attract fee-paying pupils from England. During the German occupation of the Channel Islands, the school was evacuated to Great Hucklow, Derbyshire. Having been a boarding school since its foundation, the decline in the number of pupils admitted as boarders following the world war period meant the school became a day school in 1996. The school became co-educational in 2021.
The school teaches around 570 pupils aged 11 to 18. As a selective school, prospective pupils must pass an entrance exam to be offered a place, although the school accepts pupils from a wide ability range. The school charges £5,216 per term, with three terms per academic year, (or £15,648 per annum) as of 2024/2025. There is an associated junior school for ages 2½ to 11 on adjoining sites at the nearby Acorn House (pre-school), in King's Road, and Beechwood (primary school), in Queen's Road.
Alumni of the school are known as Old Elizabethans. Since 1824, pupils have been allocated a unique, sequential school number. Among these alumni are multiple Olympians, several Bailiffs of Guernsey and other notable persons. Noted in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries for producing students who later joined military colleges in the UK, the school's alumni includes four Victoria Cross recipients.
- ^ Kernot, C. F. (2012). British Public Schools War Memorials. Andrews UK Limited. p. 246. ISBN 1781504873.
- ^ Parker 2011, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Collenette 1963, p. 58.
- ^ Parker 2011, p. 97.
- ^ "Fees - Elizabeth College". elizabethcollege.gg. Elizabeth College. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
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