King Edward VI Handsworth School

King Edward VI Handsworth School is a grammar school for girls aged 11–18 and is located in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI. The school was founded in 1883 as King Edwards Aston on the site where its brother school, King Edward VI Aston School, remains to this day. In 2014 there were 801 girls on roll.

The school has been noted for being the top school in Birmingham as well as one of the top schools of the United Kingdom In 2013, the school was placed as the 3rd best school in the country by the school's guide, beating all the other schools in the West Midlands and the other schools who are part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI.

History

The school was originally three separate schools: Aston (Girls section), Summer Hill, and Bath Row in the King Edward VI Foundation. On the 14 September 1911 the three were merged and the Head Mistress of Aston - Miss Nimmo - became the new Head. When the school first opened, and for many years afterwards, girls were not permitted to eat in the street and had to wear gloves on the journey to and from school.^[1] In the beginning, the sixth form was very small with as few as 6 pupils in a year. Transfer to King Edward VI High School for Girls for sixth form studies was not unusual.^[1]

The new school at Handsworth cost £50,000 to build.^[1] The architect, P. B. Chatwin^[1] designed a very modern building with a number of specialist areas which included the library and the "playroom" (a whole school common-room).^[1] As it was built on a slope, there are two ground floors, and originally the gymnasium was located in the room on the lower ground floor later used as a Music room. Since the renovation of the church (bought by the school) into a music centre, this room is now used as an ICT suite.

To celebrate the centenary of the school in 1983 a new block was built to house a meeting room and the changing rooms for the sports field.^[1] In 1997 a new Sixth Form block was built with the help of the King Edward VI Foundation fund.^[1] In 2005, the new sports hall was built, using sponsorship money from companies such as O2, and a church organ was bought by the school to be renovated and used for music studies. The school also gained specialist performing arts status. 2011 saw the building of a new library by the field; a modern building with a slanting roof and colourful window panes. This includes an mezzanine area upstairs with computers.

Latin was also removed from the curriculum in 2004 and replaced with drama, which had previously been on the curriculum in the late 20th century.

Houses

School Houses were introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, with each House having its own name and colour. Nightingale house was mauve, Kingsley house was green, Fry was pale blue and Browning was brown. By the 1930s there were awards given for winning competitions against other houses in sports. In the beginning there were House notices in the Playroom and a strict House conduct system.

In 1939 four more Houses were added and they were renamed after the different royal Houses (Windsor, Stuart, Tudor, Hanover, Plantagenet, Lancaster, York, Normandy).

In the 1970s the houses were rearranged again and given names of precious stones (Amethyst, Coral, Garnet and Topaz) because of the school's proximity to the Jewellery Quarter.

At the end of the 1990s they were renamed once more after famous women - Bronte, Pankhurst, Franklin and Nightingale) - and when an extra form group was introduced in 2003 (then un-introduced in 2005) the new house of Curie was created. In September 2009 the houses were renamed, once again after famous women, this time being Parks (yellow), Keller (blue), Astor (green) and Cavell (red)). In 2011 the ties, a compulsory element of winter uniform, were redesigned, featured a coloured stripe to reflect the wearer's assigned house.

The Beacon

An annual magazine written by the lower sixth is released every year, called The Beacon, and this magazine can trace back to the originals from maybe 100 years ago or so.

Uniform

The school has a strict code of conduct. Girls must adhere to the rules obediently.

In KS3, girls are to wear a navy blue blazer with the school logo on the chest pocket, a navy blue jumper with the school crest(optional), a blue blouse (in the summer term: worn without a tie), or a winter shirt alongside a house tie - girls are notified of their houses before beginning the school), navy blue tights (preferably 60 dernier to avoid laddering) and black shoes. No boots, trainers or any other kind are permitted.

In KS4, girls are to wear a navy blue cardigan, a navy blue jumper with the school crest(optional), a blue blouse (in the summer term: worn without a tie), or a winter shirt alongside a house tie - girls are notified of their houses before beginning the school), navy blue tights (preferably 60 dernier to avoid laddering) and black shoes. No boots, trainers or any other kind are permitted.In KS4, girls are permitted to wear a single ring.

No jewellery is allowed apart from one pair of stud earrings of a silver or gold colour and a watch. Make up is not permitted.

Notable former pupils

• Emma B, radio presenter
• Felicity Jones, actress
• Abigail Kelly, soprano opera and concert singer^[2]
• Elizabeth Locke, The Apprentice, series six
• Sarah Manners, actress^[3]

A society for alumni, the Handsworth Old Edwardians' Society (HOES), has been running since the turn of the 20th century. The society holds meetings for former pupils of all ages three times a year at the school.^[4]

References

King Edward Grammar School for Girls, Handsworth 1883-1983, Alison Thorne, 1986

External links

• King Edward VI Handsworth School