Queen Elizabeth College, Mauritius


Queen Elizabeth College is the top-ranked and only leading girls secondary school in Mauritius. It accommodates girls of 11 to 18 years based on their outstanding and excellent academic performance at the Certificate of Primary Education examinations. The school prepares its students for the National Assessment at Form III, awarding the Form III Certificate; O Level examinations, awarding the School Certificate; and the A Level examinations, awarding the Higher School Certificate.
The school is known for its students' outstanding and astonishing performances in the named examinations and for its usual excellent yearly harvest of laureates, recipients of scholarships through the government scholarship scheme. The school is well known for having produced many female leaders at the national evel as well as at the international level. The graduates have become female scholars, professionals, scientists, leaders and politicians amongst others.

History

Founded in 1950, the QEC was under the rectorship of Maya Balgobin. She renamed classes to be named after precious stones and gems instead of the traditional 'A, B, C, D', namely, Beryl, Garnet, Jade, and Onyx. She also changed the school badge to a metal material with a crown representation on it with the permission of Buckingham Palace.
The school was named after Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in 1952 and hosted a visit from Her Majesty in the 1970s. In 2002, QEC celebrated its 50th anniversary. The four sports houses of the QEC have been named after female personalities in history, namely Pankhurst, Nightingale, Curie and Fry. QEC has been Mauritius's leading girls school since its launch despite fierce competition from other secondary schools.
It also boasts the greatest number of students with aggregate 6 in the whole island each year.