KING EDWARD'S SCHOOL, BIRMINGHAM

'King Edward's School' ''(KES)'' () is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country according to various league tables. It was ranked 10th for A-Level results^[1] and 40th for GCSE results^[2] out of all schools in England in 2004.
It is a boys' school, although it occupies the same site as, and is twinned with,
King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS), also one of the most academically successful schools in the UK. Whilst lessons and sports are taught separately, dramatic arts and music are often shared.

Contents

History

School buildings

The Chapel

Appearances

School structure

Extracurricular activities

The house system

Sport

Music

Drama

Combined Cadet Force (CCF)

Living History

Fees

School songs

Notable Old Edwardians

Politics

Academics

Sport

Entertainment

Other

Notes

References

External links

History

The Foundation was created on 2 January 1552 by Royal Charter of King Edward VI together with £20 per annum returned by The Crown for educational purposes. Five years earlier in 1547 the Act of Suppression, part of the wider Dissolution of the Monasteries, provided for the confiscation of all assets of religious guilds except an amount of land with an annual income of £21 (two thirds of the original lands) if the guild supported a school. The Guild of the Holy Cross in Birmingham had no school, but persuaded the Earl of Northumberland (also the lord of the manor of Birmingham) to release the land for the creation of a school. The charter of the ''free Grammer Schole'' of king Edward VI was issued on 2 January, 1552, and the school came into being in the former guild building on New Street. By the 1680s there were ''neer 200'' boys in the school and a Petty School (a feeder school) had been established by the foundation. ^[3]
The affairs of the school in the early part of the 18th Century were dominated by a quarrel between a governor and the headmaster, but this not withstanding, a new Georgian inspired building was built on the New Street site between 1731 and 1734. In the latter part of the 18th Century four separate elementary schools and a girls school were setup by the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI. The school remained relatively stagnant after this until a new headmaster was appointed in 1834. He erected a new building, still on the same site, in the Gothic Style of architecture which was designed by Charles Barry (who subesquently designed the Palace of Westminster). From within this new landmark building came several changes to the structure of the school. Sports became an important feature in the school through games afternoons and the dominance of Classics was removed by the introduction of Mathematics and science lessons.^[4]

By 1941 though, the old building on New Street had become a fire risk and plans were made by the then headmaster E.T. England to move to a new site in Edgbaston along with the girls school Yet, ironically the temporary buildings erected on the new site in 1936, burnt down. The school was forced to move, if only for a short period, to the University of Birmingham's Great Hall and surrounding buildings for a short period until new temporary buildings could be erected. The move was complicated by the outbreak of the Second World War and the subsequent evacuation of the pupils to Repton School for a short period. By 1940 though, enough of the new buildings designed by Holland W. Hobbiss had been built for the school to begin lessons. In 1945 the schools became Direct Grant schools which meant that the Governors had to relinquish some control over the running of the school.^[5] The schools were finally completed around 1948 although the 1950s saw a period of expansion under the headmaster R.G. Lunt including the construction of a swimming pool and the construction of a Chapel from the remains of the Upper Corridor of the New Street building.^[6] In 1976 the two schools became, once again, independent schools due to the termination of the Direct Grant scheme by the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson.^[7] The school remains independent and is still situated on the Edgbaston site as of 2007.^[8]

School buildings

The Chapel

The chapel, a Grade II
★ listed building, was originally the upper corridor of the 1838 Barry New Street school. It was moved to Edgbaston, rebuilt and renovated (1938-1940) by Holland W Hobbis.
The Chapel is used for services every Wednesday morning led by the school chaplain Reverend D. Raynor.

Appearances

The school buildings have been used in several film and television productions. They were used in the 1986 movie ''Clockwise'' starring John Cleese, supposedly as the University Of East Anglia. The school featured briefly in the 2006 Ray Winstone Channel 4 TV movie ''All in the Game.'' The school has also been used in several episodes of the BBC medical drama ''Doctors''. The school grounds were also used to film a feature on the best British sports car on Top Gear, against a background of young school members playing rugby on a rainy day

School structure

Unlike most secondary schools, King Edward's does not use the modern year group names, e.g. Year 11, Year 12, etc.
The table below attempts to clarify the names used for the different classes:

Class Name	Year
Shells	7
Removes ''(Rems)''	8
Upper Middles ''(UMs)''	9
Fourths ''(IVs)''	10	First year of GCSE study
Fifths ''(Vths)''	11	Second year of GCSE study
Divisions ''(Divs)''	12	First year of A-level study
Sixths	13	Final year of A-level study

Extracurricular activities

'House'	'Colour'	'Headmaster'
Cary Gilson	Light Blue	''Robert Cary Gilson''
Evans	Green	''Charles Evans''
Gifford	Purple	''Edward Hamilton Gifford''
Heath	Yellow	''C.H. Heath''
Jeune	Red	''Francis Jeune''
Levett	White	''Rawdon Levett''
Prince Lee	Pink	''James Prince Lee''
Vardy	Dark Blue	''Albert Vardy''

The house system

King Edward's has a house system, instigated in 1902 by the Chief Master, Robert Cary Gilson. Initially there were four houses: Red, Blue, Green and Yellow. In 1951 the number of Houses was extended to eight and it was decided that they should have permanent names. Six were named after former Chief Masters and two after assistant masters (Rawdon Levett and C. H. Heath). The Houses compete against one another every year to win the ''Cock House Trophy''.
There are many events that boys take part in and get points for. These points are totalled up at the end of the year, and the House with the most points is declared the Cock House Champion. Each house has a distinctive set of 'colours' which are awarded to students for merit and commitment in representing the house in house matches. Each house also possesses its own 'house tie'. This tie's pattern consists of stripes of the house colour on a black background. Some houses award it for subjective merit, while others use a points system to award the tie. Only boys in the Fourths and above may wear a house tie.
The most successful house on record, is Gifford, with 10 Cock house trophy wins in 31 years, their most recent being in 2007.

Sport

The annual rugby match against KES's main rivals Bromsgrove is the highlight of the rugby season and is the longest running annual rugby fixture in the world. In 2002 the school won the English schools U19 water polo competition.
The House system does much to encourage participation in sport outside the weekly sports lessons. With Autumn and Winter competitions in Rugby, Hockey, Tennis and the like, pupils have the opportunity to participate in team competitions wherever they may otherwise not have the skill to do so on an inter-school basis. In the Summer, House activities such as the school's Athletics competition, Cross Country races and House Swimming allow further sporting pursuit.
The School is able to carry out so much sport through its extensive sporting facilities which include a Swimming Pool, Astroturf pitches (shared with KEHS), Tennis Courts, numerous Rugby and Cricket pitches (including additional training areas), an Athletics track and Eton Fives courts. There are numerous sports in which pupils are able to participate, including: rugby, cricket, athletics, water polo and Eton Fives. The school also competes in national competitions of a more intellectual nature including chess and debating.

Music

There is a separate building on site housing the Music Department with facilities including a recital/rehearsal auditorium and a computer lab equipped with keyboard input. In addition, the school supports two full orchestras (in association with King Edward's High School for Girls), conducted by Peter Bridle, MBE; the more advanced of which has performed such advanced works as Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World", Borodin's Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor and Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Scheherazade''. There are also two wind/brass ensembles also in association with KEHS, and the senior members of both schools can join the Choral Society, a choir of 80-100 people which has sung such works as Carl Orff's ''Carmina Burana'', Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, and performed Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms in March 2006. KES also has its own Choir, which sings at the Founder's Day prizegiving, the Christmas Carol service held in St. Philip's Cathedral in the centre of Birmingham, and at the Christmas and Summer concerts.
The school holds four concerts every year; there are the popular Christmas Concerts, held over two days in mid-December at the Adrian Boult Hall, the Choral and Orchestral concert in mid-March (which features a large choral work by the Choral Society in the first half, and the Symphony Orchestra in the second half, with a solo provided by one of the schools' top musicians) which is also at the Adrian Boult Hall, and the Summer Concert in late April/early May, featuring all the ensembles from the school come together for the Summer Concert held at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Drama

Drama at KES has enjoyed a musical every year since the 1980s. 2006 saw a very successful production of ''Little Shop of Horrors'' by the senior part of the school, and Vanity Fair by the junior part of the school. This was a break from the more traditional musicals such as ''Sweeney Todd'', ''Les Miserables'', ''West Side Story'', ''Guys and Dolls'' etc.

Combined Cadet Force (CCF)

King Edward's School has had a Combined Cadet Force since 1906 and it is currently a voluntary organisation. The CCF consists of three sections; The RAF, The Royal Navy section and the Army section. The CCF conduct their training on Friday afternoons and expeditions take place throughout the year.
The contingent is part of 143 West Midlands Brigade and the contingent are represented at the Brigade competitions by members of all three sections. In 2006 the contingent won all the matches at the CCF Skill at Arms competition, the Military Skills competition and various first aid titles. The CCF is closely linked with the The Duke of Edinburgh's Award within the school.
In 2006 KES CCF celebrated its centenary Review. The Inspecting Officer for the centenary review was the then Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Adrian Johns.

Living History

The Living History department practise the arts of medieval archery and swordfighting among others. The group attracts a small number of dedicated members, from both King Edwards itself and the neighbouring King Edward VI High School for Girls. The group also travel to historical sites to give demonstrations to the public. Among others, the group has given demonstrations at Warwick Castle, Tilbury Fort, and the Mary Rose museum in Portsmouth.

Fees

As an independent selective school, tuition fees are payable for students, unlike the other King Edward VI grammar schools in Birmingham. Fees for pupils during the 2006/2007 academic year are £8,160.50 per annum. Scholarships and Bursaries are awarded.

School songs

There are two school songs:

★ 'King Edward's School Song'

★
★ Written by Alfred Hayes, O.E. (1857-1936), composed by A. Somervell.

★
★ A rousing, if somewhat clichéd, song, sung mainly at the end of term, usually with high-spirited boys placing particular emphasis on the line "some to failure, SOME TO FAME!".

★
★ A fourth verse was dropped from the song when the School moved from its City location to Edgbaston.

★ 'The Quatercentenary Song'

★
★ Written in Latin by Roger Dunt (1900-63), composed by Dr. Willis Grant (1907-81).

★
★ Sung at ''Founder's Day'', the annual commemoration in October of King Edward's birthday, and at the school's ''Speech Day''. It is also sung at various other award ceremonies. An extra verse was written for the visit of HM Queen Elizabeth II on November 3, 1955.

Notable Old Edwardians

Politics

★ Sir Alan Haselhurst MP, Deputy Speaker

★ John Hemming MP

★ Sir Alfred Hickman MP

★ Enoch Powell MP, Conservative and later Ulster Unionist, known for the Rivers of Blood speech

★ David Willetts, MP

Academics

★ Hugh Alexander, chess player and codebreaker

★ Harry Boot, physicist, co-developer of the cavity magnetron

★ Richard Ewen Borcherds, (Mathematician; winner of the 1998 Fields Medal for the proof of the Monstrous moonshine conjecture)

★ Henry Cary (Translator of Dante)

★ Alfred Hazel Principal of Jesus College, Oxford

★ Tony Miles, First British born chess Grandmaster

★ Alfred Radcliffe-Brown - British social anthropologist

★ John D. Y. Peel, Anthropologist, Sociologist, Historian of West Africa

★ Sir John Vane, (1982 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine)

★ Maurice Wilkins, (1962 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine)

Sport

★ Vikram Banerjee, First Class Cricket, (Cambridge University, Gloucestershire)

★ Anurag Singh, First Class Cricket, Cambridge University Captain (1997 and 1998), Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire

★ Alan Smith, England Test Cricket player (England, Warwickshire and Oxford University), first CEO of the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) now known as the ECB.

★ Mark Wagh, First Class Cricket - Oxford University Captain (1997), Warwickshire

★ Ossie Wheatley, First Class Cricket (Cambridge University, Warwickshire and Glamorgan), Former Test Selecter and Chairman of the TCCB.

★ Niels de Vos, Chief executive of UK Athletics and Chairman of Sale Sharks RFC

Entertainment

★ J. R. R. Tolkien, Author

★ Jonathan Coe, (novelist - one of his best known works, ''The Rotters' Club'', based on his time at KES, has recently been televised on the BBC)

★ John Carey, Lord of the Dance, 5 time World Irish Dance Champion

★ Dave Haslam, (Hacienda DJ during the 'Madchester' years)

★ Bill Oddie, OBE Television birdwatcher, former Goodie

★ Max Carlish, BAFTA Winner, Documentalist

★ James Miles, BBC Correspondent in China

★ Tim Franks, BBC Middle East Correspondent[1]

★ Mark Steyn, theatre and movie critic, current affairs writer)

★ Kenneth Tynan, theatre critic

★ Ben Hudson, Record Producer, and lead singer of Mr Hudson & The Library

Other

★ Charles Freer Andrews priest, missionary, confidant of Mohandas K Gandhi and supporter of the Indian independence movement

★ Ernest William Barnes British Mathematician; Fellow of the Royal Society, Former Bishop of Birmingham

★ Sir Edward Burne-Jones

★ Herbert Tudor Buckland, Arts and Crafts architect, b.1869, d.1951

★ J. A. Chatwin, architect of many churches and buildings in Birmingham

★ Sir Colin Figures, former Head of MI6

★ David Munrow (early music pioneer)

★ Percival Perry, 1st Baron Perry first chairman of Ford of Britain

★ Ian Plenderleith - Former Deputy Govenor of the South African Federal Reserve, Ex member of Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.

★ Sir Peter Singer, High Court judge

★ William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, World War II Field Marshal, Commander of the successful Burma Campaign against the Japanese

★ Brooke Foss Westcott, theologian, Bishop of Durham

Notes

1. A-Level results league table
2. GCSE results league table
3. Trott, pictoral history of school, ''A brief history (chapter 1)
4. No Place for Fop or Idler p.79-91
5. No Place... Chap 8, p.92-103
6. No Place... p.109-114
7. No Place... p.121
8. KES website

References

★ Images of England: King Edward's School Birmingham, , Tony, Trott, Tempus Publishing Ltd, ,

★ King Edward High School Birmingham 1883-1983, , Rachel, Waterhouse, , ,

★ No Place for Fop or Idler; The story of King Edward's School, Birmingham, , Anthony, Trott, James and James (publishing) Ltd, ,

External links

★ King Edward's School, Birmingham

★ King Edward's School, Modern Languages Department

★ The Foundation of King Edward the Sixth in Birmingham

★