Queen Mary's College, Basingstoke
Queen Mary's College (QMC) is a sixth form college in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The college's name is from the former grammar school Queen Mary's School located in the northern part of Basingstoke and the college is located in the former school buildings of the Shrubbery All Girls secondary modern, which dates back to the early 1950s. As of October 2019, the college is now managed and run as an academy by the single academy trust North Hampshire Education Trust. The Principal is Mark Henderson who took over from a retiring Ali Foss  in September 2021. College. The college was formed in 1972. The majority of the college's classrooms are housed in a single, two-storey, wide spread main building with a few smaller buildings and four temporary buildings providing most of the rest of the teaching space. However, three departments are predominantly housed away from the main college building. Physical Education (and related subjects) are able to make use of the QM Sports Centre while ICT & Art (and related subjects) are now housed in a recently completed (2005) £6m 3-storey teaching block. Science has recently been moved to  a new multimillion-pound teaching block, which was completed during the later part of 2009, with the first lessons taking place at the beginning of January 2010. The building was officially opened by quantum physicist Jim Al-Khalili OCE on Friday 23 April 2010. Drama and Music are located in the Central Studio, which plays host to a number of shows and performances all year round. QM Sports Centre. QM Sports Centre is located on the main college campus and, although open to the general public, is widely used by the college both as a sports centre and for educational  reasons. The centre's main facilities are a hall and a swimming pool. The centre itself also incorporates a fitness centre and viewing gallery and also makes use of the college's various football, rugby and artificial turfed pitches. Central Studio. Central Studio is a professional theatre located on the college campus. While the college's various departments use the facilities of Central Studio, including the bar, theatre, dance studio and recording facilities the building itself is often used to host various professional productions and concerts. In 2009, Central Studio put on a production of 'The Laramie Project', a play  about an American youth who was killed for his sexuality. Westboro Church planned to picket outside the college in protest, but were banned from the UK as a precaution against inciting hatred. In 1978 Peter Cushing was present at the official opening of Central studio where students presented a number of theatrical and musical performances. Curriculum. Queen Mary's College offers AS and A-level courses in 40 different subjects, as well as several vocational courses and BTEC national diplomas. The college has approximately 2400 students (the majority aged between 16 and 19) enrolled on full-time courses. It also  offers a range of Adult Education opportunities, and has over 1000 students enrolled on part-time courses. The majority of students come from the Basingstoke and Deane & Hart areas.