Queen Mary's School for Boys, Basingstoke
| Motto | Spiritum Nolite Extinguere |
|---|---|
| Established | 1556 |
| Closed | 1970 |
| Type | Grammar school |
| Location |
Vyne Road Basingstoke Hampshire RG21 5PB England  Coordinates: 51°16′26″N 1°05′20″W / 51.274°N 1.089°W |
| Local authority | Hampshire |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Fate | Became The Vyne Community School |
Queen Mary's School for Boys (QMSB) was a maintained (state funded) grammar school in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England for boys aged 11–18. The school existed between 1556 and 1970 and was latterly funded by the Hampshire County Council Education Authority.
Queen Mary's School for Boys, Basingstoke, owed its origin to Queen Mary in 1556, when the pre-existing Chantry Chapel of the Holy Ghost, Basingstoke, was reopened as the Holy Ghost School, with the priest able to teach ten boys of the town. The Chapel had previously been closed during the reign of King Edward VI. The Holy Ghost School survived the death of Queen Mary in 1558, remaining at the Chapel until a purpose-built structure was erected on Worting Road, Basingstoke, in 1870. The first Schoolmaster was endowed in 1559 (at 12 pounds a year), to be quickly replaced by numerous others. In 1592, after Queen Elizabeth I visited the Chapel, the school was more in the hands of these masters than of the priest, but the Chapel became Crown property.
In 1938, the school moved to Vyne Road, Basingstoke, in a newly constructed building in the functional, modernist style of brick architecture of the period. A "Junior School" block, in a subsequent style was opened in 1965. In imitation of the independent schools, Queen Mary's School for Boys had Houses; pupils were assigned to Chapel, Sandys, White or Vyne, with Inter-House sports fixtures. House colours were as follows: Chapel – maroon with light blue, Sandys – scarlet with white, White – green with white, and Vyne – amber with black. Chapel house was named after the Holy Ghost Chapel where the school had originated. Sandys house was named after the Sandys local noble family. White house was named after Gilbert White, a noted local naturalist and writer and Vyne House drew its name from a nearby eponymous Elizabethan country estate.
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