King Edward VI School (Lichfield)
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King Edward VI School is situated near the heart of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, just a five minute walk from local amenities.
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[edit] History of King Edward VI Lichfield
In 1995 the school celebrated its 500th anniversary, its Quincentenary. In 1495 Bishop Smythe established the school as a free grammar school as part of the same foundation as St. John's Hospital, a home for the elderly. Every day prayers are said for the school in the tiny chapel which forms part of the St. John's almshouses in St. John's Street. The school takes its name from the Tudor boy king who reigned between 1547 and 1553. The school crest incorporates features of the royal Tudor coat of arms. The Latin inscription beneath, "Deo, Patriae, Scholae", is broadly translated as "for God, Country and School".
In the 18th century a number of eminent people were educated at the school. These included the great scholar and compiler of the first English dictionary, Dr. Samuel Johnson (the buildings of the former grammar school bear his name), David Garrick, the actor, and Joseph Addison, the essayist. Two of the school's four houses are named after Addison and Garrick. (The other houses are named after Bishop Clinton who founded a priory in Lichfield in the 12th century and Erasmus Darwin, who lived in the City for a number of years).
Until the beginning of this century the school occupied the school house in St. John's Street, opposite St. John's Hospital. It can still be seen, now forming part of the District Council premises. In 1903 the first building on the present site was opened. Further extensions were added in the 1920s and 1950s to what has come to be known as Johnson Hall.
[edit] School Council
The aim of the School Council is to provide a forum for the discussion by students' representatives of issues raised by students or staff and which affect the life of the school.
There is also a council committee for sixth form students known as the Ashmole Society. Elected sixth formers discuss topics relevant to the sixth form, and the students.
[edit] Present School
The present King Edward VI School was created in 1972 by the merger of the grammar school with Kingshill modern school which had been built on an adjacent site in the 1950s to cater for the City's expanding population. The premises of the former Kingshill School are referred to as Bader Hall in recognition of Douglas Bader, the World War II fighter ace, who opened that school in 1959.
The school is a co-educational comprehensive school maintained by Staffordshire Education Authority and admits pupils from the age of 11 (Year 7), with some 60% electing to continue their education into the Sixth Form, leaving at 18 (Year 13). In the main school (Years 7 - 11), there is a limit of 210 pupils for each year group. In total there are in excess of 1360 pupils on roll.
The school's success as a comprehensive school owes much to the merging of two strong and successful traditions; on the one hand, the tradition of academic excellence associated with the grammar school and, on the other, the modern school tradition of care and support for the individual. Academic challenge and care for the individual remain the twin guiding principles of the school today.
[edit] Vandalism
On 1st May 2006, a fire was started on the school site in the early evening. It destroyed a wooden pavilion used by the school sports teams. The pavilion had been built in the 1920s to commemorate ex-pupils that had fought in the great war. Directly in front of the damaged pavilion is the site of a naturally occurring spring, which ran until the mid 1930s.
The pavilion and spring enclosure was demolished due to safety concerns after the fire. Although there were sitings of youths in the area at the time and a £500 reward was offered, nobody has been prosecuted.
[edit] School Slang/Terminology
Impo - A School Imposition.
Senior Staff - A Senior Staff detention.
Leisure - The Leisure Centre on Kings hill, often frequented by students for snacks from the vending machines.
Bader - A general noun used for saying that you have a lesson or are going to the Bader building or fields.
Johnson - A general noun used for saying that you have a lesson or are going to the Johnson buildings or field.
Senior Five - The Five most senior prefects consisting of the head boy and girl, deputy head boy and girl and the captain of the school.
Mobiles - 'Temporary' wooden hut Classrooms that have taken permanent residence in the school grounds.
Staircases 1, 2 and 3 - The three main staircases in the Bader building.
The Astro - The astro-turf leisure facility co-owned by the school and King Edward VI leisure centre.
Airport Terminal - The new 6th form block (Y block - Young Block, named after a past headmaster). Aptly nicknamed because of the 'Airport Terminal like' seats the common room is furnished with.
Old Edwardians - A society for allumni King Edward VI lichfield pupils.
LRC - The Library Resource Centre, located in the Johnson buildings, more specifically H block.
H Block - Part of the Johnson area of the school. Primarily the a science block including the LRC.
M Block - Part of the Johnson area of the school. This is the mobiles section of Johnson.
S Block - Part of the Johnson area of the school. The oldest area of the school. Where the administrative offices and geography classrooms are located.
Q Block - A building between Johnson and Bader. Where the majority of Maths and R.E classrooms are located.
Tech Block - The Technology block. Located up behind Bader.
Gazebo - The monument at the top of Bader field, marking the burial sight of the Mercian royal family, who's capital was once Lichfield. Out of bounds to students and one of the highest points in the City.
Polo Day - Formally known as Dedication Day, a tribute service in memorial of the World Wars. Renamed by students who traditionally purchase polos to eat in the Cathedral, secretly flouting the no-eating rule.
