King Edward VI School, Stratford upon Avon

History

There has been an educational facility at the current site of the school since at least the early thirteenth century. A schoolroom, schoolhouse and payment of £20 per annum for a master was one of the provisions of King Edward VI's charter which established Stratford-upon-Avon as a borough in June, 1553. The school was re-founded as one of King Edward's schools nine days before the young king died of tuberculosis and is believed to be the last of the King Edward VI Schools. A history of the early years of the school has been published by the former chairman of the governors Levi Fox

It is likely that the playwright and poet William Shakespeare attended the school between the ages of seven and fourteen. His father, John Shakespeare, a glover and wool dealer in the town, held the office of bailiff of the borough in 1568. As a child, William would have been entitled to a free place at the school, and it was the only school for miles around, however there is no conclusive evidence that he was schooled there. Classmates may have included William Smith, Richard Field, John Sadler, Arthur Cawdrey, John Lane, Robert Dibdale and Thomas Green.

Following a tradition established in 1893, each year pupils and masters lead a procession through the town from the school in Church Street to Holy Trinity Church, where they lay flowers at Shakespeare's grave. In 1982 the five-hundredth anniversary of the endowment of the school by the priest Thomas Jolyffe was celebrated and in 2003 celebrations were held for the 450th anniversary of the school's re-foundation.

Administration

The school is currently led by the Headmaster, Mr. Bennet Carr MA FRGS, and the Chair of Governors, Dr David Derbyshire. The Head Boy is elected by the students of the Lower Sixth and teachers. It is a former voluntary aided school and became an academy on 17 August 2011.

Admissions

KES is a completely selective school: to enter the school, all students must pass a selective exam, primarily the 11-plus, which is taken in Year 6 (ages 10 and 11) across Warwickshire. KES is a 'brother school' to Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls.

Houses

In 1921, the headmaster, the Revd. A. Cecil Knight, established six houses to promote healthy competition amongst the boys. This number was reduced to four houses in 1924: Shakespeare, Flower (after Charles Flower, a benefactor of the school in the 1890s), Warneford, and De La Warr (Earl Delawarr was High Steward of Stratford in the 1850s). The house system was altered in 1973 and just two houses established – King’s (blue) and Guild (gold) – in recognition of the historic benefactors of the school.

In 2000 the number of boys at the school meant that more houses were needed to make true competition possible, and so four houses were re-introduced. These were named after men associated with the twentieth-century school who had made significant contributions in their respective fields. The houses are: Dyson (Red colours),Fitzmaurice (Blue), Spender (Purple) and Warneford (Green). Denis Dyson was a physics and astronomy master who came to the school in 1926, initially for six-months, and then he stayed until his retirement at the age of 71 in 1975. He continued to assist the school well into his nineties. Richard Spender was an old boy and poet who was killed assaulting German machine-gun positions in 1943. Reginald Warneford was an old boy who was the first naval airman to receive the Victoria Cross. He was killed in a flying accident in 1915.

School Council and Sixth Form Committee

There is a School Council, consisting of elected members from each year group, which provides a voice for the students in many different aspects of the school. The Sixth Form Committee organises charity events (such as cake sales and Macmillan coffee mornings), as well as providing a formal route for Year 12 and 13 students to voice concerns about Sixth Form-related matters.

Buildings

Given the age of the school it is not surprising to find a wide variety of architectural styles on the site ranging from the fifteenth-century Guildhall to the Denis Dyson science building opened in 2008. The majority of the historic parts of the school are still used. The ground-floor of the Guildhall, where the town council of Shakespeare's time met and where travelling players performed - the holes for the rods to hold the temporary stage are still visible - was used as a library until February 2013. Having undergone restoration work, it is now open to the general public from 11am onwards each day. From 9am-11am each day it is used by the school for teaching.

On the first floor, known since Victorian times as "Big School", is the room in which William Shakespeare is believed to have been taught. The building known as Pedagogue's House across the courtyard currently houses the school office, the offices of the Headmaster and the two deputy headmasters. Pedagogue's House, first built in 1427 and believed to be the oldest half-timbered schoolroom in England, is attached to the Old Vicarage where the Headmaster lives. Adjacent to the school site is the Guild Chapel, founded by the medieval Guild of the Holy Cross and now owned by the Stratford-upon-Avon Town Trust. Today it is used by the school for morning service and various other school events, such as the annual carol service.

The other school buildings predominately date from the 1930s. Many have been extended during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and the most recent part of the school, built in 2008, is the Denis Dyson Building, a science block which has two chemistry, two biology and three information technology (ICT) rooms. The Levi Fox Hall, also built recently and named after a Chairman of the Governors, is primarily used for sport, assemblies, school plays, concerts and examinations. The Royal Shakespeare Company has used the space for a production of Julius Caesar.

Student life

Students take part in a variety of sporting and other competitions and events. The school has sporting, music and drama departments in addition to interests such as the Warwickshire Mock Magistrates and Mock Bar court trials, Young Enterprise, Bank of England Target Two Point Zero Challenge.

Sport

The school's rugby team has had success in the Daily Mail Cup (Winners 1991, Semi Finalists in 1996, Quarter Finalists on two occasions and in 2008/09 Vase Semi Finalists) and goes on annual international tours, most recently to Australia in 2014. Students take part in fencing, athletics, rowing, hockey, basketball, badminton, table tennis and volleyball. Fencing has recently re-emerged as a sport at the school, with wins from pupils at several major fencing tournaments, and at least six current members of the school having experienced international fencing competitions for Great Britain.

Music and theatre

The music department holds termly concerts and the King Eddie's Revival Big Band are frequently featured. The band has played at the 100 Club, Oxford Street, London. The school puts on an annual play; in 2005 the production was Unman, Wittering and Zigo, in 2006 Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, in 2007 an adaption of Simon Armitage's The Odyssey, and in 2008 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.

Edward's Boys

Established and run by deputy head Perry Mills, this theatre group developed out of the school’s involvement with Michael Wood’s documentary series In Search of Shakespeare. In 2014 they were awarded an inaugural Owle Schreame Award for their production of his Gallathea, and have since performed twice in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London, as well as Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Christ Church College, Oxford, and the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. The company recently toured to Montpellier, France, where they performed at L'Assomption School, the 'Maison des Choeurs', and 'SortieOuest'.

Born before 1900

Born after 1900