Welcome to King Edward's School

King Edward’s School is one of the leading academic independent day Schools in the UK for girls and boys aged 3 to 18 years. The recent Independent Schools Inspectorate report judged King Edward’s School to be ‘outstanding’, with one of the best reports in the country.

 

As one of Bath’s finest independent private schools, King Edward’s provides a distinctive and stimulating environment for children from a variety of backgrounds, in which each individual is encouraged to strive for excellence and to acquire a lifelong passion for knowledge, discovery and adventure. There is a broad and dynamic curriculum and a host of extra-curricular activities to interest and enrich the lives of all pupils. This is underpinned by ‘outstanding’ pastoral care.

 

Pupils achieve outstanding success in many areas. The strength of music in the School is reflected in the excellent levels of public performances, the considerable success in examinations and the regularity with which pupils gather honours at regional music festivals. The School has an outstanding dramatic tradition, with two or more major productions a year, an Art Department which is a centre of excellence and a great tradition of sporting success, with many pupils representing their sport at both regional and national levels.

 

The facilities are excellent; with a state-of-the-art academic centre for Science, Geography, Modern Foreign Languages and IT, a stylish Sixth Form learning and social centre, a modern Sports Hall, all weather pitches, fitness suite and 16 acres of playing fields, in a beautiful location at Bathampton.

 

The quality and dedication of our staff, the individual guidance given and the exceptional range of extra-curricular activities makes King Edward’s an exciting and enjoyable place in which to learn and one of the finest private schools in Somerset.

 

We encourage pupils to contribute fully to school life and to make the most of the opportunities available here. There are excellent relationships and a real sense of partnership in learning between staff and students.

King Edward’s is committed to ensuring that all children with academic potential have the opportunity to become part of the School. Bursaries and scholarships are available for entry into the Senior School, alongside special talent awards in Art, Drama, Music and Sport.

 

What gives the School such a unique quality is the passion, commitment and expertise of its teaching staff, working hand in hand with friendly, engaging and highly motivated pupils, who are determined to achieve their goals and pursue their interests at the highest level.

I look forward to welcoming you to King Edward’s and to showing you what makes our School such a special place

 

Mr Martin Boden
Headmaster

 

Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal – School Charity 2012 - 2013

In the Autumn Term pupils vote on the school charity. The majority vote was to support the Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal – fundraising for the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and St Michael’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. 

The pupils also voted to donate 20% of all funds raised at the Senior School to the KES Annual Bursary Fund. As a charity, one of the school’s fundamental aims is the provision of bursaries to provide educational opportunities to children whose parents cannot afford the full fees. The 2013 Bursary Fund target is £12,000, which would enable the School to support one child on full fees or two children with a bursary of 50% for one year.

King Edward's is a Green Flag Eco School

The Eco Schools programme is a scheme run by the European Union which provides a simple framework to enable schools to analyse their operations and become more sustainable.

The Environmental Action Group at King Edward’s were instrumental in the School becoming part of the Eco School initiative in 2006. The first step was to conduct an environmental review of the School, which was undertaken by Dr Forsyth from Envision. The review considered various factors including energy usage, waste management and biodiversity.

Following the review an action team was formed including members of the school community, pupils, teachers and operations staff as well as parents, governors and the local community. The Action Team analysed the results of the Environmental Review and developed an action plan which would outline initiatives for improving the environmental sustainability of the School.

 

Since this time there have been several positive changes;

 

 

·	The development of an Eco code
·	The implementation of a school-wide paper recycling system in which pupils, prefects and  teachers all work together to reduce wastage and promote the new recycling bins
·	The construction of a large compost heap for the eco-friendly disposal of our garden waste
·	Environmental awareness campaigns, such as ‘switch off’ notices above every light switch,   a competition to find the form with the best practical idea to make KES more eco-friendly which resulted in water saving devices being added to toilets (where appropriate) a Recycled Fashion Show and an Environment Day
·	Providing waste paper for note taking in class
·	A printer cartridge and mobile phone recycling scheme
·	Looking at ways of monitoring the School’s energy consumption to form the basis of effective energy saving initiatives
·	Replacement of plastic cups with washable china alternatives
·	Cardboard recycling
·	The introduction of a car sharing scheme
·	The introduction of Eco representatives from every form who form a vital communication link between pupils and the Eco School Action Team and also help generate support for initiatives at grass roots (or form) level across the Senior School.

        

  

 

In December 2007 King Edward’s was assessed by two inspectors from Eco Schools and was successful in gaining the Green Flag, the Eco School’s highest award, for the first time. In May 2010 KES were awarded their second Green Flag for continuing to pursue the highest environmentally sustainable standards, with Travel Plan developments receiving particular praise.

If you are a pupil or parent and would like to become involved with the KES Eco Schools initiative please contact Dr Ali Fewell by email: amf@kesbath.com

 

 

Pastoral Care

Pastoral care is at the heart of School life at King Edward’s School. From the moment pupils enter our Pre-Prep to the day they leave our Sixth Form, King Edward’s School provides them with a comprehensive support system to help them progress, feel welcome and to address any issues they may face.

Pupils enjoy life at King Edward’s School where they are encouraged by all members of the teaching staff to aspire to their highest attainable personal goals. The relationships between staff and pupils are based on trust and respect. Friendships amongst the pupils are strong and often last a lifetime.

All members of the teaching staff have a responsibility for ensuring the well being of each individual. Pupils are encouraged to care for each other, with older boys and girls helping the younger members of the School either through acting as Form Prefects or helping in the classroom as part of King Edward’s School’s community service programme. Links between all three parts of the School; Pre-Prep, Junior and Senior are close and encourage pupils to feel very much at home as they progress through the School.

Global Schools Partnership – An initiative sponsored by the Department of International Development (DFID)

King Edward’s Senior School has been granted funding by the British Council and the Department for International Development to set up a partnership with Wagwer Secondary School in Kenya. King Edward’s Junior School is to partner with Wagwer Primary School.

The aim of the partnership is to develop international understanding in both Kenyan and British students. Initially British and Kenyan teachers will take part in an exchange programme and in later years there may be an opportunity for students to exchange, all funded by the British Council.

Through the partnership we hope to broaden both communities’ awareness of diversity, globalisation and interdependence. We plan to explore how decisions made by people in the UK and Kenya can affect people on the other side of the world. There will be a focus on the issues of aid, trade and debt in Africa.

Speaking about the exciting Global Schools Partnership initiative, Winifred Thomson, King Edward’s Governor, said:

“The Global Schools Partnership is a wonderful opportunity to raise young people’s awareness of global development issues and equip them with the skills and knowledge to become active global citizens. We are excited about helping our pupils gain increased understanding and knowledge of the world through joint activities between partner schools. We believe the partnership will provide a real context and topical content across a range of subjects which will enhance learning for pupils and teachers alike.”

With the partnership will come many benefits which will help to cultivate, alongside intellectual development, a strong sense of being part of a global community.

Since the partnership began a number of teachers from both King Edward’s School Senior and Junior School have visited Wagwer School and teachers from Wagwer Secondary and Primary School have visited King Edward’s. These visits have enabled the sharing of ideas and a greater appreciation of the culture of each country. Pupils from the Senior School have also visited Wagwer Secondary and Primary Schools to learn alongside the pupils and to share their knowledge by organising lessons for the younger pupils. The School has also been active in raising money towards improving the facilities at Wagwer School and providing equipment to facilitate learning.