The History of Queen's College

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The History of Queen's College

by Clarence Trotz

After the Fire

Queen’s College was founded in August 1844 by the then Bishop of British Guiana, the Most Rev. William Percy Austin. It was conceived as a Grammar School for boys of the Colony and its curriculum was patterned after that of English Public Schools of that period.

All its students would doubtless have had a classical education right up to the turn of the century, with a strong emphasis on Latin, Greek and Mathematics. It would seem that the school was, for a period at least, a Boarding school, since mention can be found of the term ‘day-boarders’ in an earlier historical account of the school’s early days. The sites used for housing the College in chronological order were: first somewhere in the compound of the High Court (then called the Victoria Law Courts), then at the corner of Main and Murray (now Quamina) Streets, then at Carmichael and Murray Streets (where the Bishops’ High School now stands, followed by the Old Orphanage at the eastern end of Brickdam (where the Ministry of Health is now situated) together with the Girl Guides Pavilion directly opposite (1918 – 1951) and then, finally, where it now stands - in what was then known as Longden Park in Thomas Lands - where it occupied spanking new premises with six spacious science laboratories and a large well ventilated auditorium and stage. The school started with an enrolment of only 15 boys, but, by the time it had moved to Upper Brickdam in 1918, the roll had risen to some 500. It is more than likely that the vast majority of current alumni will only know of the Thomas Lands site. Unfortunately, as is well known, a fire in 1997 completely destroyed the middle section and ‘heart’ of the school which comprised auditorium, staff room, General Office, Principal’s Study, dining-hall and cycle shed with ‘basement’. A new concrete structure erected on the burnt-out site has, however, replaced only some of the facilities that were lost. Although the new staff room is very much more spacious than the one it replaced, and the Deputy Principal now has much more elbow room that was the case before, the new auditorium is somewhat small, much less user-friendly than its predecessor and stage facilities are inadequate. It was a happy event that the east and west wings of the building were left largely intact.

For almost one hundred and twenty years after its foundation the College was a fee-paying institution. And it was for this reason that, at the time of its founding, there was strong opposition to its existence from certain quarters who saw it as an elitist institution, since it was accessible only to those boys who could pay the fees charged. Sensing this criticism, one of its early Principals, Mr William Exley Percival (1877 – 1893), instituted a Percival Exhibition which brought free College education to a few able boys who had been paying students and, some time later, there were the Mitchell scholarships, paid for from the will of a local benefactor. The Government County Scholarships, in which each of the three counties was given a quota of free places at the College based on the results of a national examination, made Queen’s College accessible to many talented boys from primary schools who would not otherwise have had the means to attend the college.. The Government Junior and Government Senior Scholarships, based on the then Junior Cambridge and Senior Cambridge Local examinations, opened a way for boys from private secondary schools (of which there were many at the time) to enter Queen’s College. With all of this, Queen’s College was still mainly a fee-paying school. This came to an end, however, when, in 1963, the Common Entrance Examination was introduced and fee-paying was once and for all abolished. In September 1975, which was declared the ‘Year of Education’, girls were enrolled at Queen’s College for the first time. Some of these girls were Common Entrance free place winners (who entered at the level of Form 1) and others from the Bishops’ High School who came in as third formers or Lower Sixth entrants. Three years later the entire school had become a mixed institution with girls forming a substantial proportion of the school population.

Over the years, between the 1940’s and the present, the school uniform has undergone important and significant changes. Up to the 1940’s there was no particular uniform, although every boy, including prefects, was required to wear a cork hat (called by QC boys a ‘bug house’) with a house flash on the left side. Most boys wore khaki trousers and every one wore a QC tie, that for the preparatory form (called Prep. Form) being knitted and the others made of silk.or later wool. In the late forties, however, during a short stint as acting Principal, Mr Hilary Beckles decided that all boys would wear white shirts with khaki trousers, shorts for those up to form five (oh yes!) and longs only in the sixth. Shortly after, however, some time in the early fifties, longs were allowed in the fourth form and above, and during the principalship of Mr Dood Hetram, in the middle sixties, khaki gave way to ‘tetrex’ for boys’ trousers. Ties continued to be worn up to the early seventies when, because of the difficulty experienced in purchasing ties from overseas, embroidered school crests carrying the house colour replaced the tie. This crest was worn on the left pocket. Whereas prefects wore only the prefect’s tie for identification up to the early sixties, they were distinguished after that time by black trousers and they continued to wear their house crest. These days, with the reintroduction of the house tie, one finds students wearing both the house tie or the prefect’s tie together with the house crest, a practice which, in my opinion, is unjustified since, with the tie so distinctive and now available, there is little need for a crest – it has become superfluous. The cork hat and school cap had long since been dispensed with in the early sixties. It should be pointed out that baseball caps and floppy hats have never been part of the QC uniform.

Shortly after Mr Vyvyan Sanger-Davies assumed the headship in 1953 the preparatory form (which had been under the complete charge of the late Miss Lynette Dolphin) was abolished. Thereafter there were changes in form structure and nomenclature, with Mr Sanger favouring the Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth terminology rather that IVB and IVA which had been used under Capt. Nobbs, his predecessor. Up to this time, students were placed in forms designated A, B or C according to ability as indicated by County Scholarship marks. This was the beginning of ‘streaming’ and ‘setting’ of students, streaming pertaining to the academic ‘bent’ the student displayed, ‘classical’ or ‘modern’, as he described them or ‘general’ if a student showed neither. With setting, students of about the same ability were placed into one group for mathematics only. It was under the Sanger-Davies headship, too, that opportunity was first given to students both outside Queen’s and within to pursue science courses with a view to embarking upon a science career, having had what might be described as a purely arts training up to then. He created the Fifth Remove (later called ‘Fifth Science’) in which the student, having already passed at GCE (ordinary Level) in English, mathematics and at least three other subjects, would do in one school year an intensive Physics, Chemistry and either Biology or Technical Drawing course leading to the GCE Ordinary Level) . Upon passing well, he (there were no girls then!) more often than not entered the Sixth form to prepare for the Advanced Level which would lead to a University course in the scientific field of his choice. Many a present day medico’s, engineer’s and science – related professional’s ambition would have been frustrated but for the introduction of this God-send in the early sixties.

Up to this time, the lowest form in the school had been Form II. With the assumption as Principal of first, Mr Hetram, and then Mr Clement Yhap, however, the classical and modern concept was abandoned and, beginning at the fourth form level, one saw ‘setting’ introduced more widely in which, by suitably grouping students, it was possible to offer them a pretty wide range of subjects for their fifth year examination which, by this time, had become the General Certificate of Education (Ordinary Level). The Oxford and Cambridge School Certificate had been discontinued in 1966. This method of setting students according to their subject choices has, apparently now fallen into abeyance and streaming is once more being followed, where a student must choose from a fixed grouping of subjects which, of course, severely limits subject choice. It is worth mentioning that, with the advent of girls in the school in September 1975, the curriculum of the school was greatly widened. Apart from the traditional so-called academic subjects, one saw the introduction of ‘practical’ subjects like home economics, shorthand, typewriting, industrial arts and agricultural science. The physical facilities and equipment needed for these new subjects had been requested and supplied in anticipation of the advent of girls into the school. The school was much more ‘multilateral’ now that it had ever been before and boys and girls had an equal opportunity to choose freely from these newly-introduced subjects. Now, thirty years later, computer education seems to be holding sway and a lot of time and money is being invested in the promotion of the computer ‘cause’. One must be careful, however, not to go overboard with this new ‘fad’ at the expense of the old, established and traditional subjects which have long since proved their worth in gold. We must carefully weigh the time-table allocation being given to this subject against its utilitarian value after school and in higher education. One gets the impression that rather scant attention is being given to some traditional subjects, the result being that these subjects are losing their appeal and their significance. There are already signs of this.

It is well known that the standard of education and the training of character offered at Queen’s have always been of the highest quality. This was recognized not only in this land, but in the rest of the Caribbean and beyond. Not only was its quality of instruction second to none, but its Staff has always nurtured discernable talent shown by its students whether it was academic, merely literary, or of a sporting nature. To this end there have been, up to the recent past, a number of societies and inter-House sporting competitions all year round. This has resulted in Queen’s College winning the vast majority of Guyana Scholarships and (when they were in effect) as well as literary and sporting competitions among schools. Indeed, a few of our sportsmen have played at the national level on occasions. The Queen’s College Cadet Corps, inaugurated in 1889, although aborted shortly after, was restored in 1932 and grew stronger and stronger until ,sadly, it was summarily abolished in 1975. As many here will know this corps formed the nucleus of the Guyana Defence Force command when it was formed after independence in 1966. Little wonder, then, that many of the individuals of Guyanese birth who have distinguished themselves in the fields of education, law, politics, diplomacy and entrepreneurship in Guyana and abroad have been alumni and alumnae of Queen’s College. To cite examples would not only be invidious, but also unnecessary, since the list is legion. Sad to say, however, the craving that there once was at Queen’s for sport and extracurricular activity among houses and forms has waned, if not died completely. It seems that that surge of interest and frenetic activity in matters cultural, like music, art, and the performing arts, so characteristic of the sixties and the seventies, has all but disappeared from Queen’s College. One must therefore presume that students, boys and girls, either have no interest in matters of this kind, or, if they do, they cannot find the time to pursue them, since this is taken up by other pursuits of greater and more immediate importance. The Houses, still numbering ten, seem now to have little significance except when athletic sports are approaching. There seems to be a crying need for the house spirit to be revived. Is there anything that we, old students, can do to help to revive it?

No school of the standing or reputation of Queen’s College can fail to have traditions and practices peculiar to itself. Who among us can forget the ‘bumping’ and ‘head-tapping’ of the period right up to the early seventies when the school became co-educational? And which of us can forget the active banter between students and the generally mild, but sometimes quite severe and effective, reprimands of well-meaning masters and mistresses or, for that matter, the canings administered for misdemeanours and indiscretions committed? These might well be regarded as the ‘glory days’ of Queen’s College. The level of intellect displayed then was high, humour was often subtle, but telling, and discipline, although not rigid, was constant and strict .The ethos of Queen’s College was alive then and must continue to live on. All Queen’s College alumni must live up to their school motto ‘Fideles ubique utiles’ – ‘Loyal and useful everywhere’ and it is the duty of those who now hold the reins of control to strive their utmost to uphold these time-honoured traditions and maintain old standards in the face of the multitude of constraints which they now face.