Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
| Motto | Achieving potential, Striving for greatness |
|---|---|
| Established | 1588 (as Queen Elizabeth's Boys' Grammar School) |
| Type | Academy |
| Principal | Mitchell |
| Location |
Ashby Road Tamworth Staffordshire B79 8AJ England  52°38′29″N 1°41′34″W / 52.64132°N 1.69266°WCoordinates: 52°38′29″N 1°41′34″W / 52.64132°N 1.69266°W |
| DfE URN | 137146 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 855 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Houses |
Freville Guy Offa Peel |
| Colours | Blue and Red |
| Website | Official School Website |
Landau Forte Academy QEMS (Formerly "Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School", until 1 September 2011) is an 11-16 secondary school with academy status located to the north of Tamworth, a small market town in Staffordshire in the Midlands near Birmingham. It is often known simply as QEMS (pronounced "quems"). Since 1 September 2011, the school has been owned and operated by the Landau Forte Charitable Trust, after being transferred from the Staffordshire's LA control.
It is situated in Perry Crofts, on the eastern side of the A513, at the junction with the B5493 (former A453), around a half-mile north of Tamworth town centre.
As a state school, it was awarded specialist status to teach as a Music College. QEMS gained status as a Specialist Music College, under the UK Government's Specialist Schools scheme, in 2005. This specialist status also gives funding to other departments, most notably ICT.
It was the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School on Ashby Road, a co-educational grammar school.
It became a comprehensive in 1979, merging with Mercian Boys' School, a secondary modern school which moved from Hospital Street in 1960. The school was renamed Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School, a combination of the two schools' names. The "Mercian" in the school name refers to the fact that Tamworth was the headquarters of the Anglo-Saxon province of Mercia.
In April 2008, two teachers and seven pupils were injured by a bottle of silicon tetrachloride.
In November 2004, a 16-year boy was convicted of arson and sentenced for four years at Stafford Crown Court. He started a fire at the school on Sunday 13 April 2003, causing £1.73 million in damage. Petrol had been poured through a window of room 353 to start the fire. Chase Terrace Technology College had been burnt down the year before, costing £8 million. Insurance cover for both was provided by Zurich Municipal. The headmaster was Gordon Owers. Six fire engines were in attendance, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, with fifty firemen. Six classrooms and an assembly hall were destroyed.
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