TWELVE of the highest achieving students have officially become King’s and Queen’s Scholars – King’s Ely’s highest academic award – following a formal installation at Ely Cathedral.

Every year, 12 students are selected to become King’s and Queen’s Scholars on the basis of excellence in their GCSE examinations. They are chosen and installed in the Michaelmas term upon entry into Year 12 and continue until Year 13. As academic leaders of the school, the Scholars receive a multitude of privileges and responsibilities, including the trademark red gowns – the colour traditionally associated with royalty. They are also admitted as members of the Cathedral Foundation and often process at Cathedral services, strengthening the special link between King’s Ely and the Cathedral.

A unique feature of life at King’s Ely, King’s and Queen’s Scholars provide a continuing connection to the foundation of the school by Henry VIII in 1541 and the introduction of co-education in 1971, soon after which our current Queen instigated Queen’s Scholars. Two overseas students are also installed as International Scholars each year and join the King’s and Queen’s Scholars in leading the school academically and during many important formal occasions.

Queen’s Scholar Natasha Loversidge, who joined King’s Ely in September from the Abbey in Ramsey, said: “Being admitted as a Scholar was a great privilege for me, especially as I am new to the school. I hope it gives younger students the incentive to work hard, as it shows all those hours of school work will pay off in the long run.”

The Year 12 King’s and Queen’s Scholars, from left: Jack Spoor, Rory Beetham, Sanjiban Mandal, George Ryan, David Bercow, Robert Seddon-Greve, Ben Love, Natasha Loversidge, Georgia Baynes, Georgia Schneider, Anna-Rose Sliwinski and Laura Day

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