King Edward VI School (also known as King Edward's, or KES) is a selective co-educational

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

founded in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, United Kingdom, in 1553. The school was founded at the request of William Capon, who bequeathed money in his will for a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

for the poor. King

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

signed the necessary

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

in 1553 and the school opened in 1554. King Edward's became an independent school in 1978 and accepted girls into the sixth form in 1983. It became a fully co-educational school in 1994. It is a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the United ...

, and is a registered charity. The school roll is approximately 950 pupils. The current building was designed by the English architect

Ernest Berry Webber Ernest Berry Webber, (29 April 1896 – 19 December 1963)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995'', p. 130. was an English architect, surveyor and town planner best known for his design ...

in the early 1930s.

History

King Edward VI School, Southampton, in 19th century

King Edward's was founded in 1553 when King

signed the necessary

for a school to be built out of the proceeds of the will of William Capon, who had died in 1550 and bequeathed money for a

for the poor. The school opened in 1554; it became an independent school in 1978, and accepted girls into the sixth form in 1983. It became a fully co-educational school in 1994. It is a member of the

. The current building was designed by the English architect

in the early 1930s. Webber was a prolific designer of public buildings, including the civic centres at

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

, and

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

."Well known architect: New resident in Eastbourne", ''The Eastbourne Gazette'', 28 December 1938, p. 17.

Traditions and day-to-day life

The school is divided up into 6

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

all bearing the name of ex pupils or founders: William Capon,

Thomas Lake Sir Thomas Lake PC (1567 – 17 September 1630) was Secretary of State to James I of England. He was a Member of Parliament between 1593 and 1626. Thomas Lake was baptised in Southampton on 11 October 1567, the son of Almeric Lake, a minor cus ...

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at t ...

Edward Reynolds Edward Reynolds (November 1599 – 28 July 1676) was a bishop of Norwich in the Church of England and an author.Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. Prepared by the Rev. John M'Clintock, D.D., and James Strong, S ...

Joshua Sylvester Josuah Sylvester (1563 – 28 September 1618) was an English poet. Biography Sylvester was the son of a Kentish clothier. In his tenth year he was sent to school at King Edward VI School, Southampton, where he gained a knowledge of French ...

and

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include "When I Survey the ...

. Each year the houses compete for points in order to win the Allen Grant Trophy. The school motto is ''Dieu et mon droit'' (French for ''God and my right'', referring to the monarch's divine right to govern) and is generally used as the motto of the British monarch. Originally it was spelled ''Dieut et mon droict'', the Early Modern French spelling, but later the 't' in "Dieut" was dropped in accordance with present French

orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mos ...

. The 'c' in ''droict'' was also dropped. In the 1970s the motto was 'Pax Huic Domui', 'Peace to this House' (traditionally the words a priest says when visiting a sick person). The school hymn is

Our God, Our Help in Ages Past "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past" is a hymn by Isaac Watts in 1708 that paraphrases the 90th Psalm of the Book of Psalms. It originally consisted of nine stanzas; however, in present usage the fourth, sixth, and eighth stanzas are commonly omit ...

, written by a famous former pupil,

. The clock tower at the

Civic Centre, Southampton The Civic Centre is a municipal building located in the Cultural Quarter area within the city of Southampton, England. It comprises offices occupied by Southampton City Council, the SeaCity Museum, the Guildhall, the Southampton City Art Galler ...

plays the same tune at 4, 8, and 12 o'clock, after it has chimed the hour. In 2011, 100% of pupils achieved 5+ A*-C

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

s (or equivalent) including English and maths, with 85% achieving all

English Baccalaureate The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...

subjects. The average fifth year student was entered for 11.2 qualifications. A newsletter, ''KonnEctionS'', is published each term and stresses the highlights and achievements of the school and its members that have occurred in the previous four months. An online bulletin is also sent to parents using the e-portal on a regular basis through each term to ensure that events are publicised. The website also publishes news about achievements and events and is updated weekly. The school publishes two formal reports. The Annual Review provides a detailed summary of the achievements of the school. A copy is given to all parents in September after Speech Day. ''Sotoniensis'' is an annual publication of the school's main social, charitable and arts events. Published in October, it aims to provide a record of all that has taken place in the previous year, and has articles covering trips, expeditions, sports results, theatre productions, etc. ''The Edwardian'' is a biannual publication for and about alumni of King Edward's (known as Edwardians, or OEs). As well as a main playing field, and an area of artificial turf large enough to accommodate 12 tennis courts, King Edward's owns of sports grounds called Wellington on the edge of Southampton, where there is a water based astro pitch, along with netball courts, tennis courts, and a large number of grass pitches.

Old Edwardians

Edward Penley Abraham Sir Edward Penley Abraham, (10 June 1913 – 8 May 1999) was an English biochemist instrumental in the development of the first antibiotics penicillin and cephalosporin. Early life and education Abraham was born on 10 June 1913 at 47 Sout ...

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

Alan F. Alford Alan F. Alford, (1961-14 November 2011) was a British writer and speaker on the subjects of ancient religion, mythology, and Egyptology. His first book ''Gods of the New Millennium'' (1996) drew on the ancient astronaut theory of Zecharia Sitc ...

, author * Thomas George Adames Baker, clergyman *

Iain Brunnschweiler Iain Brunnschweiler (born 10 December 1979) is an English former professional cricketer, and semi-professional footballer. As a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper he played first-class cricket for Hampshire between 2000 and 2003. He played ...

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

* Robert Bulling, Clerk of the Privy Council * William Capon,

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

and master of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

Alec Campbell (footballer) Alastair Keyon "Alec" Campbell (29 May 1890 – 16 June 1943) was a professional cricketer and footballer who played (as a centre-half) nearly 200 games for Southampton in the first quarter of the twentieth century, before briefly becoming ma ...

James Cobban Sir James Macdonald Cobban (14 September 1910 – 19 April 1999) was an English educator and headmaster, as well as a prominent lay leader in the Church of England. He was the headmaster of Abingdon School from 1947 to 1970 and is largely cre ...

, educator * George Bernard Cronshaw, clergyman *

Ian Dunt Ian Dunt (born 4 February 1982) is a British author, political journalist and broadcaster. He currently writes as a columnist for the 'i'. He previously served for many years as the Editor of politics.co.uk. He was also a host on the Remaini ...

, journalist * Justin Edwards, actor *

John Francis (English cricketer) John Francis (born 13 November 1980) is an English cricketer who last played for St Cross Symondians. He is a left-handed batsman and an occasional slow left-arm bowler. Francis was both at Bromley in Kent and educated at King Edward VI Scho ...

* Simon Francis (cricketer) *

Chris Grigg Christopher Montague Grigg (born 6 July 1959) is a British businessman. He was formerly the chief executive of The British Land Company plc, a British property development and investment company. Early life Grigg was educated at King Edward VI ...

, chief executive of

British Land The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...

Stephen Hammond Stephen William Hammond (born 4 February 1962) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wimbledon since 2005. On 4 September 2012, Hammond was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Sta ...

, MP for Wimbledon * Henry Robinson Hartley, philanthropist * John Heath,

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Roger Helmer Roger Helmer (born 25 January 1944) is a British politician and businessman. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands (European Parliament constituency), East Midlands regions of England, region from 1999 to 2017. B ...

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

MEP *

James Henry Hurdis James Henry Hurdis (1800-1857) was an amateur artist and the elder son of James Hurdis, a renowned professor of poetry. He is known for his many portraits of notable Sussex people. The cult of the Sussex Martyrs is said to have been started using ...

, artist *

Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells Arthur Lake (September 1569 – 4 May 1626) was Bishop of Bath and Wells and a translator of the King James Version of The Bible. Arthur Lake was born in Southampton in September 1569 the son of Almeric Lake, a minor customs official. He att ...

, politician *

Michael Langrish Michael Laurence Langrish (born 1 July 1946) is a retired English Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Exeter from 2000 to 2013. Early life and education Langrish was born in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Douglas Frank Langrish and Brenda Flor ...

, bishop *

Michael Lewis (bishop) Michael Augustine Owen Lewis (born 8 June 1953) is an Anglican bishop, born in England, who served in the Middle East. He was until 8 June 2023 the Anglican Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf in the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. ...

* Eric Meadus, painter *

Nick Middleton Nick Middleton (born 1960) is a British physical geographer and supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He specialises in desertification. Middleton was born in London, England. As a geographer, he has travelled to more than 70 countr ...

, geographer *

Basil Mitchell (academic) Basil George Mitchell (9 April 1917 – 23 June 2011) was an English philosopher and at one time Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion at the University of Oxford. Mitchell argued for the place of religious belief in publ ...

* Hugh Mitchell, actor * Rob Moore (field hockey player) *

John Muddiman John Muddiman (1947 – 5 December 2020) was a British academic and Anglican priest. He was the G. B. Caird Fellow in New Testament Theology at Mansfield College, Oxford, from 1990 until his retirement in 2012. Early life and education Muddiman ...

, scholar *

Darren Naish Darren William Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author and science communicator. As a researcher, he is best known for his work describing and reevaluating dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles, including ''Eotyrannus'', ''Xenopos ...

, palaeontologist *

Dennis Nineham Dennis Eric Nineham (27 September 1921 – 9 May 2016) was a British theologian and academic, who served as Warden of Keble College, Oxford, from 1969 to 1979, as well as holding chairs in theology at the universities of London, Cambridge, and ...

, scholar *

George Penny, 1st Viscount Marchwood Frederick George Penny, 1st Viscount Marchwood (10 March 1876 – 1 January 1955), was a British Conservative Party politician. Background and education The second son of Frederick James Penny, of Bitterne, Hampshire, George Penny was educated ...

, politician *

Iain Percy Iain Bryden Percy (born 21 March 1976) is an English sailor and double Olympic champion for Great Britain. Olympics Percy competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he won a gold medal in the Finn class.

, Olympic sailor *

Paul O'Prey Paul Gerard O'Prey is a British academic leader and author. In 2019 he was appointed chair of the Edward James Foundation, which owns a large rural estate in the South Downs and runs West Dean College of Arts and Conservation. Between 2004 an ...

, scholar *

, poet *

, minister and

hymnist A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

Hugh Whitemore Hugh John Whitemore (16 June 1936 – 17 July 2018) was an English playwright and screenwriter. Biography Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he was taught by Peter Barkworth, then on the staff at RADA ...

, playwright/screenwriter * Gilbert Whitley,

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

* Justin Young, musician

References

External links

School Website

Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busin ...

website

ontroversies {{authority control Educational institutions established in the 1550s 1553 establishments in England Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Independent schools in Southampton Schools with a royal charter King Edward VI Schools