The school’s community has paid tribute to the Queen’s dedication to public service after it was announced she has died at the age of 96.
The school’s community has paid tribute to the Queen’s dedication to public service after it was announced she has died at the age of 96. The monarch had a long-established relationship with the education sector, spending a significant amount of time during her 70-year reign visiting schools, universities, and meeting young people from all walks of life.
Over the past two years, her public outings have been hindered both by Covid and her own ill health, with the Queen having to pull out of many key events due to ongoing issues.
One of her last visits to the sector was to King’s Bruton School in Somerset, where she opened a music centre and spoke to students in 2019.
The Queen was the patron of many schools and universities in the UK and within the Commonwealth countries including: Royal Russell School, Gordon's School, Ipswich School, Princess Helena College, Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, Berkhamsted School, Royal Alexandra and Albert School, Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, King's College London, Queen Mary University, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and many others.
Every member of the Royal Family receives hundreds of requests each year from organizations asking for their support. Royal patronages add status to an organization, and visits and involvement from a Royal Patron can often bring much needed publicity.
For this reason, members of the Royal Family tend to limit their patronages to a manageable number to ensure that they can give each organization a significant amount of their time. The exceptions to this are The Queen and Prince Philipp who hold over a thousand Patronages between them, many of which were inherited from previous Monarchs.
Prince Philip has also left an unmeasurable legacy in the education sector establishing The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE). The scheme was founded by Prince Philip in 1956 to encourage those from all walks of life to gain life skills, volunteering experience and take on a physically challenging expedition.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award expanded to 144 counties, offered by nearly every senior school in the UK and is taken by half a million young people annually.
The Royal Family has always played an important role in the educational sector in England and the passing of our matriarch, Elizabeth II and her former husband, Prince Philip, will be an irreparable loss.
We join the nation in mourning the loss of a remarkable leader and extend our condolences to the Royal Family and all those affected by her passing. Her state funeral is on Monday 19th September.
