King Edward VI School, Morpeth is a
voluntary controlled
A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...
academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
high school in
Morpeth
Morpeth may refer to:
*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales
* Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
* Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK
** Morpeth (UK ...
,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was established by a royal charter as Morpeth Grammar School and later as King Edward VI Grammar School.
The school became a comprehensive school in the 1970s and an academy in December 2011.
It is locally known as "KEVI" or simply "King Edward's". In 2011, the school became part of The Three Rivers Learning Trust.
History
The school was originally founded as a
chantry
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or
# a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...
school in the early 14th century and was located in the
Morpeth Chantry.
The school was refounded in 1552 as the Free Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth, being commonly referred to as the Morpeth Grammar School by locals. The reopening of the school is frequently associated with
William Turner (c. 1508–1568), a
nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
divine.
He is known as the "Father of English Botany", was a native of Morpeth, and is believed to have attended the
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 ...
before attending
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
and later to have returned to be its headmaster.
Morpeth Grammar School was the plaintiff in a lawsuit of the longest duration in English legal history. The case started in 1710 and concerned the recovery of lands granted to the school by Edward VI and later leased to the Thornton family. The case was reopened in 1833, advanced in 1847, and determined in 1870. By the 1940s the school was known as King Edward VI Grammar School.
The school lost its status as a grammar school in the educational reforms of the 1970s and became a
comprehensive. A new school building was opened in 1967 to accommodate the boys' and girls' grammar schools, although they remained segregated until the new educational reforms took effect.
Present day
The King Edward VI School was awarded
Beacon School status in 2003, and Leading Edge status in 2004. The school officially gained academy status on 1 December 2011.
The current building was constructed in 1967. The school was one of the first few schools to have two specialisms.
Management
The headteacher is Clare Savage.
The Chair of the Board of Directors is Paul Carvin.
Ofsted
As of 2020, the school's most recent
Ofsted report was in 2014, when the school was judged as outstanding in all five categories.
Exam results
In 2016, Year 11 students achieved excellent
GCSE results, the best in Northumberland. Eighty per cent of students achieved five or more passes at Grades A*–C, with 80 per cent gaining five or more including
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Maths
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, which was the highest percentage in Northumberland. Over 250 students from Year 11 have now moved into the
6th Form at King Edwards.
In the same year,
A Level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...
students at the King Edward VI School produced excellent results. There was an increase in the percentage of A*–B grades to 53 per cent, an improvement of 5 per cent over the previous year. The overall A*–E pass rate increased to 99 per cent. The average points score per student came out at 838.9, which was the highest of any school in Northumberland.
Observatory
In 2014, students from the school's space club, KEVISA (KEVI Space Agency), designed and built an
astronomical observatory on the school's former dry ski slope, securing funding from several sources. Housing an 11-inch telescope, the observatory is used for enrichment activities involving students, and events throughout the year where members of the public can learn about astronomy.
Music department
The school music department hosts many music clubs, including three choirs, a jazz band,
steel band,
ceilidh band and full community orchestra formed of students, parents and other local musicians.
The department also produces biennial school musicals. The department has a number of practice rooms, an
Apple Mac
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
computer classroom, recording studio and rehearsal room.
Year 9 commemoration service
The school stands at the top of Cottingwood Lane and, in a long-standing tradition,
all Year 9 students take part in a commemoration service in St James's Church which sits at the bottom of the lane. It is intended to give students a short history of the school and introduce them to the school's values and ideals. The service consists of a number of short readings from staff and students, accompanied by songs from the school choir.
School arms
The school
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
are: Argent masoned
gules, a tower triple-turreted within a
bordure
In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself. It is sometimes reckoned as an ordinary and sometimes as a subordinary.
A bordure encl ...
of the second charged with eight martlets of the first.
Notable former pupils
*
John Smith Purdy
Dr John Smith Purdy FRSE DSO MID (1872–1936) was an early 20th-century Scots-born physician and military physician who came to fame in Tasmania and Australia.
Life
He was born on 31 January 1872 in Glasgow, the son of George Purdy a market ...
(1872–1936), soldier and physician
*
Alan Raitt (1930–2006), Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford
*
Sid Waddell
Sid Waddell (10 August 1940 – 11 August 2012) was an English sports commentator and television personality. He was nicknamed the 'Voice of Darts' due to his fame as a darts commentator, and worked for Granada, Yorkshire, BBC and Sky Sports. D ...
(1940–2012), darts commentator
*
Alex Banfield
Alex Banfield (born 1990) is a British opera and concert tenor.
Early life and education
Banfield grew up in Morpeth, Northumberland, and performed in local choral and operatic productions in Northern England in his early twenties, while obtain ...
(1990- ), concert and operatic tenor
*
Jack Clark (1994- ), cricketer
References
Sources
The King Edward VI School websiteDES website: The King Edward VI School, MorpethSchoolsfinder Direct (UK Government) website: school profile 2006BBC: Secondary schools league tables: The King Edward VI School, Morpeth(includes historical detail on the buildings and the school)
Morpeth Bagpipe Museum: Chantry buildingKEVI Steel Pans Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Edward VI School, Morpeth
1552 establishments in England
Academies in Northumberland
Educational institutions established in the 1550s
Upper schools in Northumberland
Schools with a royal charter
Morpeth, Northumberland
King Edward VI Schools