King Edward's School, Bath

King Edward's School, Bath

Motto	Dieu et mon droit (God and my right)
Established	1552
Type	Independent School
Headmaster	Martin Boden
Chairman of the Governors	Alan Morsley
Founder	King Edward VI
Location	Bath Somerset BA2 6HU England
DfE URN	109374
Staff	70–90
Students	950
Gender	Co-educational
Ages	3–18
Colours	Maroon and navy blue
Former pupils	Old Edwardians
Website	www.kesbath.com

Coordinates: 51°23′11″N 2°20′37″W / 51.3863°N 2.3436°W / 51.3863; -2.3436

King Edward's School (KES), Bath, Somerset, England is an independent school providing education for 950 pupils aged 3 to 18.^[1] The school is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

The school was established in the 16th century in a city centre site. In the 1960s it moved to the outskirts onto a multi building site. In addition to the academic curriculum the schools includes drama, music, sport and an army cadet force.

History

The school was founded in 1552 under laws set out in the Charities Act of 1545, which had been passed by Henry VIII to use funds from the dissolution of the monasteries to replace monastic grammar schools such as that run by Bath Abbey. The Mayor of Bath and one of the members of parliament for Bath, Edward Ludwell, petitioned Edward VI for land, previously owned by the priory, to establish the school, initially in Frog Lane, and support ten poor people, which also prevented the crown from selling off the land previously held by the priory. In 1583 the school moved to a disused church building by the north gate of the city. The city corporation misappropriated the considerable funds form the land granted under Letters Patent, failing to maintain or improve the school until it was exposed in the Court of Chancery in 1734. Around 1750 a new building was erected for the school in Broad Street.^[2]

The secondary school relocated from its site at Broad Street in central Bath in the 1960s to a 14-acre (57,000 m²) site at North Road in the northeastern edge of the city. The junior school (7 to 11 year olds) remained on the Broad Street site until the summer of 1990 when it transferred to a new building in the North Road school grounds. The old Broad Street site, which was built in 1754 by Thomas Jelly and is a Grade II* Listed building,^[3] remains empty. In 1997 an application to turn the building into a public house was refused. A scheme for use as a hotel has also been withdrawn. The building remains on the Buildings at Risk Register but work to repair the roof has reduced the risk to the property.^[4]

In the 1990s, while Peter Winter was Headmaster the school took the steps towards full co-education. In 2005 there were plans to move the 'pre-preparatory' school, located in Weston, Bath, on to the North Road site. However for a range of reasons it never materialised. In 2008 the school achieved the best examination results of Bath schools for A level and GCSE examination results.^[5]

Site

The school is made up of several buildings. The main block is the primary building used for English, Maths, Music, Physics and Chemistry. The main block also incorporates the Wroughton Theatre. Nethersole House, which was built in the 19th century, now houses the Religious and Philosophical Studies department, History, Business Studies and Economics as well as the Headmaster's Study and Reception. The Holbeche Centre is home to the Sixth Form centre, as well as Theatre Studies, Art and Design & Technology classrooms. The Porter Library is next door. The sports hall at the bottom of the site is used for assemblies, as well as sports. The senior school opened a new building in September 2008 which accommodates many departments including Biology, Geography, Modern Languages and ICT.

Drama and music

The school includes both drama and music departments. The drama department puts on a school play each year and recent performances have included Edward Scissorhands and A Midsummer Night's Dream as well as new plays such as Drumming in the Deep and Revenge. There is also a lower school play which is aimed for pupils in years 7 to 9 and regularly has casts of up to 80 pupils.

Every year the music department organises the KES Musical Festival which includes concerts throughout Bath as well as numerous performances and concerts in the school itself. The Senior Orchestra was also the overall winner for orchestral music in the Mid Somerset Festival in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.^[6]

Sport

Sports pavilion and field

The school has playing fields in Bathampton which are used mainly for playing rugby. Former England Rugby Coach Andy Robinson used to teach rugby, physical education and mathematics at the school while he was playing (amateur rugby) for Bath Rugby Club.^[7]

In recent years the school has developed strong Netball squads over a range of school years. In particular the under 19 squad came third at the national finals in both 2009 and 2010.^[8][9]

Combined Cadet Force

The school also has a Combined Cadet Force (CCF) which was formerly affiliated with the Light Infantry is now affiliated to the King's Royal Hussars (Royal Armoured Corps). Having been founded in 1900, King Edward's CCF is one of the oldest CCF contingents in the country. In recent years the CCF has also included cadets from Beechen Cliff School. Pupils, both girls and boys, may join the CCF from year 9 onwards and enjoy a range of activities each week developing skills which can be put into practice at regular camps throughout the year.

International links

King Edward's School and Wagwer School in Kenya are global development partnership schools, part of the Department for International Development (DFID) initiative, which seeks to encourage an understanding and knowledge of the world though exchange visits and joint curricular work. Under the scheme which is sponsored by the British Government teachers from Kenya are able to visit KES and teachers from KES are able to visit Wagwer.^[10]

The school also runs exchange programmes with schools in Aix-en-Provence (France), Braunschweig (Germany) and Pamplona (Spain).

Controversy

In 2001, the school made national headlines after 26 pupils were taught the wrong Shakespeare play (Hamlet) in preparation for an A-level examination. The mistake was only realised after the pupils had entered the examination hall. The OCR exam board decided to award their marks according to previous papers and coursework.^[11] In 2002, a 14 year old girl had to be taken to hospital with alcohol poisoning during a trip to France.^[12]

Notable alumni

See also Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Bath

Former pupils of the school are called Old Edwardians and include:

• Bill Bailey - Stand-up comedian, musician and actor
• Sebastian Cox - Military Historian
• General Sir Jack Deverell - Former Commander-in-Chief Northern Europe
• Adrian Flook - former Conservative MP for Taunton
• John Glen - Conservative MP for Salisbury
• Jonathan Green - Fantasy Fiction Author
• Toby Longworth - Actor
• Ross Lowis Mangles - Recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Sir William Edward Parry - Rear-admiral and Arctic explorer
• Tom Payne - Actor
• Sir Ian Prosser - Deputy Chairman of British Petroleum
• Thomas de Quincey - Author and intellectual
• Chris Rapley - Director of the Science Museum
• Andy Robinson - International rugby player and manager
• Thomas Rosewell - Reverend accused of high treason
• John Tilley of the band Kubb.
• Andrew Wakefield - Former surgeon and medical researcher famous for the MMR vaccine controversy^[13]

References

1. ^ "Establishment: King Edward's School". EduBase. Department for Education. http://www.edubase.gov.uk/establishment/summary.xhtml?urn=109374. Retrieved 17 February 2011. 
2. ^ Wroughton, John (2006). Tudor Bath: Life and strife in the little city, 1485-1603. Bath: Lansdown Press. pp. 58–60. ISBN 0952024969. 
3. ^ "King Edward's School". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442379. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 
4. ^ "King Edwards School, Broad Street, Bath,". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. http://risk.english-heritage.org.uk/default.aspx?id=355&rt=0&pn=1&st=a&ua=Bath+and+North+East+Somerset+(UA)&ctype=all&crit=King. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 
5. ^ "Secondary schools in Bath and NE Somerset". BBC. 15 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/08/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/800.stm. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 
6. ^ "Festival Results". Mid Somerset Festival. http://www.midsomersetfestival.org.uk/festival-results.html. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
7. ^ "Andy Robinson". Hall of Fame. Bath Rugby. http://www.bathrugby.com/638.php. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
8. ^ http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/competition/National_Schools_Championships/
9. ^ http://cms.englandnetball.co.uk/modules/core/assets/assetAccess.php?VmtkMFUxSnJNWEpOVkU1UlZrUkJPUT09
10. ^ http://kesbath.dreamhosters.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?action=search&keywordSearchFields=num&keyword=3049&categoryNum=185&template=articleLists/catindex.html
11. ^ Ezard, John (7 June 2001). "Outrageous fortune strikes A-level class". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jun/07/alevels2001.books. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 
12. ^ Lightfoot, Liz (8 April 2004). "Dangers of tours for teachers and pupils". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1458769/Dangers-of-tours-for-teachers-and-pupils.html. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 
13. ^ "Verdict on MMR doctor". Bath Chronicle. http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/news/Verdict-MMR-doctor/article-1772564-detail/article.html. Retrieved 7 January 2011.