Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI
Encyclopedia
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
s, five voluntary aided
Voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
selective state schools in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and one academy.
Registered under the name The Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham as a charity in November 1963, in 2006–7 it had a gross income of approximately £16.4 million, much of which is derived from extensive land holdings in the centre of Birmingham. The beneficiary schools are as follows:
Independent:
- King Edward's School, BirminghamKing Edward's School, BirminghamKing Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
(boys) - King Edward VI High School for GirlsKing Edward VI High School for GirlsKing Edward VI High School for Girls is an independent secondary school in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham and occupies the same site as, and is twinned with, King Edward's School...
Voluntary Aided:
- King Edward VI AstonKing Edward VI AstonKing Edward VI Aston School is a selective, all-boys' grammar school and specialist Sports College. The school, designed by Birmingham architect J.A. Chatwin, opened in 1883 and is still located on its original site, in the Aston area of Birmingham, England....
(boys) - King Edward VI Camp Hill School for BoysKing Edward VI Camp HillKing Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys is a grammar school in Kings Heath, Birmingham for ages of 11 to 18 . One of the seven establishments of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, it is a voluntary aided school, with admission by selective exam...
- King Edward VI Camp Hill School for GirlsKing Edward VI Camp HillKing Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys is a grammar school in Kings Heath, Birmingham for ages of 11 to 18 . One of the seven establishments of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, it is a voluntary aided school, with admission by selective exam...
- King Edward VI Five WaysKing Edward VI Five WaysKing Edward VI Five Ways is a selective, humanities specialist grammar school located in the Bartley Green area of south Birmingham, England. As of April 2008, the school has a second specialism, a specialist Science College.-Background:...
(mixed) - King Edward VI HandsworthKing Edward VI HandsworthKing Edward VI Handsworth School is a voluntary aided 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. In 2001 there were 932 girls on roll,...
(girls) - King Edward VI Sheldon Heath Academy
History
On 28 October 1382, a chantryChantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
to say masses for the dead was established in New Street
New Street, Birmingham
New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England . It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.-History:New Street is...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. As part of the religious settlement of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
laws were enacted suppressing all monasteries and chantries. In the case of chantries, little had occurred since the 1545 Act and when King Edward VI came to the throne in 1547, new legislation to close chantries was soon enacted. Part of the process of suppressing chantries involved holding an inquiry into their property and assets. The New Street chantry was abolished in common with thousands of others, although the people of Birmingham were told that the assets would not be seized by the Crown but made available for educational purposes. When the assets still had not been returned to the town, a meeting was held in St Martin's Church
St Martin in the Bull Ring
The church of St Martin in the Bull Ring in Birmingham 5, England is a parish church in the Church of England.-Background:It is the original parish church of Birmingham. It stands between the Bull Ring shopping centre and the markets. The church is a Grade II* listed building. The current Rector...
, the Bull Ring
Bullring, Birmingham
The Bull Ring is a major commercial area of Birmingham, England. It has been an important feature of Birmingham since the Middle Ages, when its market was first held...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, to petition the Crown to build a school in New Street on the land formerly occupied by the chantry. This was approved and the following year, King Edward VI School was opened. Owning land in the very centre of Birmingham gave it a secure financial base. In 1883, five new King Edward schools were created to meet the educational needs of the expanding population of the city of Birmingham.
Due to financial difficulties, many of the schools were forced to sell the land of their original location to buy the cheaper land from the surrounding area in the city. Many of the schools have hence changed location since their founding, with only Aston remaining in its original buildings.
{| border="1" class="wikitable"
!width="250"|School
!width="250"|Original Location
!width="250"|Current Location
!width="100"|Since
|-
|King Edward's School
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
|| New Street
New Street, Birmingham
New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England . It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.-History:New Street is...
(Guild Building) || Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
|| 1936
|-
|King Edward VI Camp Hill
King Edward VI Camp Hill
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys is a grammar school in Kings Heath, Birmingham for ages of 11 to 18 . One of the seven establishments of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, it is a voluntary aided school, with admission by selective exam...
|| Camp Hill || Kings Heath
Kings Heath
Kings Heath is a suburb of Birmingham, England, five miles south of the city centre. It is the next suburb south from Moseley on the Alcester Road.-History:...
|| 1956
|-
|King Edward VI Five Ways
King Edward VI Five Ways
King Edward VI Five Ways is a selective, humanities specialist grammar school located in the Bartley Green area of south Birmingham, England. As of April 2008, the school has a second specialism, a specialist Science College.-Background:...
|| Five Ways
Five Ways, Birmingham
Five Ways is an area of Birmingham, England. It takes its name from a major road junction, now a busy roundabout to the south-west of the city centre which lies at the outward end of Broad Street, where the Birmingham Middle ring road crosses the start of the A456 .-History:The name of Five Ways...
|| Bartley Green
Bartley Green
Bartley Green is a residential suburban area and electoral ward to the south west of Birmingham city centre, England. The ward is part of the Edgbaston constituency which has been under Labour rule for almost ten years. It is located in the metropolitan county of the West Midlands and was in the...
|| 1957
|-
|King Edward VI Aston
King Edward VI Aston
King Edward VI Aston School is a selective, all-boys' grammar school and specialist Sports College. The school, designed by Birmingham architect J.A. Chatwin, opened in 1883 and is still located on its original site, in the Aston area of Birmingham, England....
|| Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
|| Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
|| 1883
|-
|King Edward VI Handsworth
King Edward VI Handsworth
King Edward VI Handsworth School is a voluntary aided 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. In 2001 there were 932 girls on roll,...
|| Part of King Edward VI Aston
King Edward VI Aston
King Edward VI Aston School is a selective, all-boys' grammar school and specialist Sports College. The school, designed by Birmingham architect J.A. Chatwin, opened in 1883 and is still located on its original site, in the Aston area of Birmingham, England....
|| Handsworth
Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
|| 1911
|-
| King Edward VI Sheldon Heath Academy || Sheldon Heath || Sheldon || 2010
|-}
Foundation Service
Since the expansion of the Foundation in 1883, once per year, a selection of pupils from within each school in the Foundation meet at St Martin's Church in the Bull Ring in Birmingham meet for a service to commemorate the founding of the King Edward VI Foundation. This is not principally because it was where the idea of the original school was founded, but because it was the only place locally that could suitably hold the representatives from each school. At this service, pupils read from The Bible, sing hymns, and are told the story of the creation of the Foundation.Sources
- King Edward's School, Birmingham, Tony Trott, 2001, ISBN 0-7524-2448-3
- King Edward High School Birmingham 1883-1983, Rachel WaterhouseRachel WaterhouseDame Rachel Waterhouse, DBE is a local historian of Birmingham and the West Midlands of England, consumer affairs activist and writer....
, 1983 - King Edward Grammar School for Girls, Handsworth 1883-1983, Alison Thorne, 1983
- King Edward VI Five Ways 1883-1983, David Wheeldon, 1983
- Victoria County History of England, Volume on Warwickshire, article by Tyson, J.C.