King Edward's Witley is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

boarding and day

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

, founded in 1553 by

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

and Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London and Westminster, in The Palace of Bridewell near Fleet St in the City of London. The School is located in the village of Wormley (near

Witley Witley is a village in the civil parish of Witley and Milford in the Waverley (borough), Waverley district in Surrey, England. It is centred south west of the town of Godalming and southwest of Guildford. The land is a mixture of rural (ran ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England, having moved to its present location in 1867. The School became fully co-educational in 1952. As of September 2010, the school has joined the small number of independent schools in the UK which offer the

IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...

in place of

A-Levels 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 ...

in the

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

. The school re-introduced A-levels as part of the curriculum from September 2015.

History

The school was founded in 1553 as Bridewell Hospital, after Nicholas Ridley petitioned

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

to give some of his empty palaces over to the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

(governed by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

) to house homeless women and children. The school's creation was sanctioned by the same

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, but ...

of 1553 (26 June, 7 Edw. VI) as that of

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

and

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

, with the three institutions using the same coat of arms, although slightly modified by the latter. In 1867 the school moved from the City of London to its present location in Surrey, at the same time adopting the current name. In common with other large building located outside of urban areas, the school installed its own gasworks. The school was commandeered by the Royal Navy during the Second World War to test and develop the use of

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

. This is remembered with a plaque in the central area, a junction of corridors known as 'Piccadilly'. The president of Bridewell Royal Hospital (the title was kept after the move of location) is now

Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester (born Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen; 20 June 1946) is a Danish-born member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a grandson of George V, King George V. Early life ...

, appointed from 1 January 2006.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

held the title from 1953 to 2002. The school maintains strong links with the

, and is still supported by it in funding some

bursaries A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...

. As of the academic year 2021/22 Senior School

day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

fees are £20,520 per year, with senior school boarding fees £38,874 per year, though a number of bursaries and

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

s are available. The school was in the news in April 2015 when Edward Moore, a choirmaster, was convicted of inappropriate sexual conduct with a girl student and jailed for nine months, despite Moore having been warned by the school's headteacher, deputy headteacher, and the pupil’s boarding tutor, to end all contact with her. Moore continued to meet her privately despite the warnings, ultimately having sex with the pupil in his office before cutting contact with her. In July 2019, the Department for Education requested an unannounced additional visit by the Independent Schools Inspectorate to check the School's compliance with legal regulations and standards. The School was judged not to be meeting regulations including those relating to safeguarding. In February 2020, the school underwent an unannounced progress monitoring visit in order to check if the School had fully implemented the plans set out following the visit in July 2019. The findings of the inspection were that the school met the required standards for the regulations that were the main focus of the visit. The School met all of the requirements of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulation 2014 "National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools", and no further action was required as a result of the visit.

Houses

There are seven senior Houses in total, four male, two female and one mixed house. The Houses at the School are paired, and, in the case of the senior pupils, conjoined in the centre of the buildings. This central area allows the boys and girls from the paired Houses to meet in the evenings and during spare time. The Lower School pupils board in Queen Mary House (QMH) where there are shared communal areas and separate sleeping quarters. The senior Houses were built in the 1970s, and the plans can be seen in the school museum, housed in the History Department. Boarders moved into these new buildings in fall 1976 and the inauguration was commemorated by a visit from

. The school recently renovated some of the Senior Houses. Ridley relocated next to Grafton. Ridley's relocation left 'Old Ridley' and St Bridget's empty and in 2021 work began on re-purposing these houses into a day-and-boarding, mixed house reserved for Upper Sixth pupils. In October 2022 Jubilee House was officially opened by Alderman Sir Peter Estlin, former Head Boy.

Current houses

Juniors *Queen Mary House - Queen Mary was president of the School from 1940 until 1953. It is known as QMH. Seniors *Wakefield – Named after Charles Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield, president and benefactor from 1916 to 1940. This is a boys' house and is paired with Elizabeth. *Elizabeth – Named After

, president of Bridewell Royal Hospital from 1953 to 2002. She visited the School four times: in 1958, 1965, 1976 and 1991. This is a girls' house and is paired with Wakefield *Edward – Named after

, the founder. This is a boys' house and is paired with Tudor. *Tudor – Named after The

House of Tudor The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of Kingdom of England, England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled ...

, the current royal family at the time of the School's founding. This is a girls' house and paired with Edward. *Grafton – Named after

Richard Grafton Richard Grafton (c. 1506/7 or 1511 – 1573) was King's Printer under Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was a member of the Grocers' Company and MP for Coventry elected 1562/63. Under Henry VIII With Edward Whitchurch, a member of the Haberdash ...

, MP, printer and historian. The first treasurer of Bridewell Royal Hospital. This is a boys' House and was formerly paired with St Bridget's but is now a bachelor House. * Ridley – Named after bishop Nicholas Ridley, who preached to King Edward to request Bridewell Palace be given to the City of London for charitable purposes. This House was unused for a number of years, but re-opened in September 2013, having undergone extensive refurbishment. This is a boys' day house. * Jubilee – Named in connection to the school's historic links with royalty. Jubilee House was set up to provide a bridge between school and the independent living found in university education. This house is a mixed house and is only for students in Upper Sixth.

Previous houses

Seniors * Queens' - After the two queens who have been presidents ( Mary and Elizabeth). This girls' House closed as of September 2019. * St Bridget's – Saint Brigid of Kildare was a 5th-century Irish saint who is associated with a well which gave its name to the church of St. Bride and then to the palace, Bridewell Palace, built by Henry VIII. St Bridget's and 'Old Ridley' were renovated to create Jubilee House which opened in 2022.

School publications

The school alumni magazine, ''KEStrel'', published bi-annually, incorporates recent school events and news.

Notable Old Witleians

Former pupils of King Edward's are referred to as Old Witleians, or Old Wits. * Phil Andrew - Archdeacon of Cheltenham * Sally Bercow - wife of John Bercow, former

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

* Ivor Caplin - Labour Member of Parliament * Edd China - television presenter * Sir Peter Estlin - 691st

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

* Liz Gordon - New Zealand Member of Parliament * Du'aine Ladejo - Olympic silver medallist * Suphanat Minchaiynunt - Thai Member of Parliament * Jemma Mitchell - murderer * James Mullinger - comedian * Mun Sung-hak - racing driver * Toby Roberts - Olympic gold medallist at Paris 2024; the first British male climber to qualify for the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

* Richard Short - actor * Edward Tudor-Pole - musician and actor

Heads

* Joseph Myall ( –1856) * Edward Rudge (1856–1886) * Gerard Mason (1886–1900) * Charles Raynham (1900–1926) * Alfred Bellerby (1926–1951) * Gordon Humphreys * John Hansford (1969–1980) * Richard Wilkinson (1985–) * Rodney Fox (1988–2000) * Kerr Fulton-Peebles (2000–2010) * John Attwater (2010–2019) * Joanna Wright (2019– )

Notable associations

* Christopher Cocksworth - teacher (1981–1984) * Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox – governor *

- patron * John Palmer, 4th Earl of Selborne – treasurer (1972–1983) *

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

– governor in the 17th century * Sir James Sanderson, 1st Baronet – president of Bridewell (1793–98) * Sir John Stuttard - governor

References

External links

King Edward's Witley websiteProfile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...

website {{Waverley 1553 establishments in England Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Educational institutions established in the 1550s Boarding schools in Surrey Private schools in Surrey International Baccalaureate schools in England Godalming Church of England private schools in the Diocese of Guildford Schools with a royal charter King Edward VI Schools