A School Inspection 

Schools have been inspected by Ofsted since 1992. It would be wrong to think that they were not inspected before that date. Indeed, Queen's College has been inspected, if infrequently, since it was founded as the West of England Wesleyan Propreitary Grammar School in July 1843 based in Castle Hous. The Committee responsible for the school considered it their duty to present some statement on what had been achieved at the end of the first year. 

In the opening paragraph the authors of the report, published in June 1844 (see the images attached), state that the number of pupils in the school when it was opened was 34, increasing to 47 during the first term. The pupil roll then rose to 77 by the end of the academic year, of whom nearly 70 were boarders. This expansion illustrates the demand for the education provided at the school. 

Two men led the inspection. Mr Griffith, Headmaster of Kingswood, Bath, was charged with assessing the teaching and learning of the Classics and English. He reported, 'without exception the classes appeared interested in their work and to have been trained to a steady and close application'. Mr Exley considered the quality of instruction in arithmetic, algebra, fractions trigonometry, practical geometry and surveying. He concluded that 'performances far exceeded my anticipations'. Both men were impressed by the 'general behaviour of the Youths' which they attributed to the discipline used. 

The report includes the names of all the pupils in each of the six classes, their subjects of study and the attainment of each individual. 
Members of the committee responsible for the school were so pleased with the report that three of them decided to give two guineas a year as prizes for the best essay in Latin and English and the most advanced in Mathematics. Another three members agreed to give one guinea to the pupils who were ranked second in merit in these three subjects.