History

The Chester School for Girls was founded in 1878, serving young women from Chester and the surrounding area.

The School would change its name within four years when Queen Victoria issued a royal decree commanding that the School should "henceforth be known as The Queen's School". It is a source of great pride that The Queen's School remains the only school in the UK to be granted the privilege of bearing this name. 

The Senior School today stands on the site of the Chester City Gaol and House of Correction. The school buildings were erected with the financial assistance of several leading Chester families, on land provided by the Duke of Westminster.

The school's pupils achieved considerable distinction from the outset. Of the sixteen girls who joined The Queen's School on its opening day in 1878, two would go on to win places at Cambridge - the first of many in a long and honourable tradition. 

Queen’s would subsequently provide Chester with its first female solicitor, its first lady mayor, the first woman to receive the Freedom of the City, the first woman president of the Freemen and Guilds in over 800 years, and the first female cathedral provost in Church of England history. 

The Queen's School today occupies a place as one of the country's top independent girls' schools. Its founders can feel well satisfied that their original vision has more than exceeded its promise.