King-Ed Prospectus 2022 web

King Edward VI School
Inspiring young people in Bury St Edmunds since 1550

We
Kin

lcome
to
g Edward
VI
School
Welcome to King Edward VI, a proudly inclusive 11-
16 School which has been focused on providing world
class education for nearly 500 years. We boast a strong
history of academic excellence and a deep commitment
to helping every child achieve. We are proud of every
student in the school and work tirelessly to nurture and
guide them so they can grow into happy, successful
young adults who take pride in what they know and
have confidence in what they do. As an 11-16 school
we are specialists in child development for this critical
period of ‘growing up’ and experts in preparing
students for GCSE success.
Embedded deep within the community of Bury St
Edmunds we have long standing links within the area
which create educational opportunities way above what
is normally possible. We are proudly part of a local
partnership which provides high quality education for
children from 3-18 years, working closely with many
local primary schools as well as Abbeygate Sixth Form
and West Suffolk colleges.
Each year, many students come to us directly as a
result of parental preference rather than catchment
area. We believe that every member of our school
community should demonstrate care for others,
strive to achieve their best (no matter how tough the
challenge), develop their creative talent and critical
thinking.
If, after reading this brochure, you would like further
information please look at our extensive website and in
particular the resources and videos in the JOINING US
section.
Deri O’Regan
Headteacher

Amazing curriculum
With 17 subjects taught in Year 7 we believe we have a
curriculum second to none. Alongside the important subjects
of Mathematics and English we teach Biology, Chemistry and
Physics as separate sciences from Year 7. We have an amazing
range of humanities at Key Stage 4 including Psychology,
Sociology, Economics and Politics alongside History,
Geography, Philosophy and Ethics taught in Year 7. We teach
Art, Music and Drama as well as a special Artsbox course. We
teach Computer Science, Design Technology, Food Technology
and an exciting project to build a computer. We teach French,
German and Spanish in the school as well as Physical Education
and Dance.
Academic Excellence
Last year 80% of all GCSE grades were Grade 4 and above
and students achieved a record 151 Grade 9s. Our Attainment 8
was 49 which is above national average. Our results have been
strong for many years with the school always having a strong
positive Progress 8 (most recent, in 2019, was +0.26 which
means students at King Edward VI School, achieve well above
national rates of progress).
Great learning
Learning is at the heart of everything we do and to make
this happen we invest heavily in teaching. We have great
teachers at the school and train up many new teachers
every year working with Cambridge University to get
the very best people in front of our students. We value
deep subject knowledge and have three teachers with
PhDs. We work tirelessly to provide exciting learning
experiences on a daily basis, delivered with inspirational
and research-based teaching methods. We want your
child to love coming to school and love learning.

‘It feels
exciting
to be in a
bigger school
with lots of
opportunities’
George, Yr 7

Student Leadership
We are committed to developing the leaders
of tomorrow and develop student leadership
across all year groups. Our top student leaders
are the Year 11 Prefect Team which consists of
a Head Boy and Head Girl, four Deputy Heads
and a team of Prefects. We also have a strong
sports leadership pathway which visits local
primary schools and supports the West Suffolk
School Games activities.
We have a well-established Duke of Edinburgh
programme allowing students to complete both
Bronze and Silver before heading to college to
complete Gold.

Debating
We have a lively and fun debating society led by Sixth Form students from Abbeygate
who enter national competitions such as the English Speaking Union’s Churchill Cup.
Church of England
We are a Church of England school and enjoy very close links with St Edmundsbury
Cathedral through our involvement in Lunchtime Recitals, Remembrance Day services,
Christmas Celebrations and our Musician in Residence - the Cathedral’s Organ Scholar.
‘The teachers are really
kind and they make
learning fun’
Lily, Yr 7

Extra-Curricular
We have a large and wide ranging
extra-curricular programme with
over 50 activities put on either at
lunchtime or after school. We have
a large number of sports on offer
and aim to have something for
everyone with our amazing sports
facilities (which includes a floodlit
astroturf).
Music
Music is central to life at the school and
our link with the cathedral. We believe
in providing regular performance
opportunities both in concerts and
school events. Music is most fun
when done together so we run a wide
range of ensembles. Many students
receive music lessons via the school
and our most accomplished musicians
perform with the Sixth Form students
at Abbeygate to push their musicianship
further.
Drama
Drama is exciting and thriving
at King Edward VI School. Our
students give regular performances,
many of which they direct and/
or devise themselves. Recent
collaborations with the Music and
Dance departments include: ‘Sister
Act’, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’,
‘Oliver!’, ‘Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolour Dreamcoat’ and
‘Grease’. In addition to examination
showcases, Drama productions
include ‘Attempts on her Life’,
‘Amadeus’, ‘Chatroom’ and ‘Songs
for a New World’. Students have
also taken part in performances
of ‘Macbeth’, ‘Othello’ and ‘A
Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at the
Shakespeare Schools Festival and
performed at professional theatre
venues such as The Apex. Our current
school production is School of Rock
and will be performed in December.

Dance
The school has partnerships with The Royal Ballet School,
Dance East and Hofesh Shechter Dance Company. The
annual Performing Arts Showcase is held at The Apex, Bury
St Edmunds and is always a dazzling success. The range of
Dance genres, skills and performance opportunities on offer for
students in Year 7 upwards is vast and this, along with our staff
expertise, leads to many students going on to a career in dance.

Your child’s future starts
Your child’s
learning
The recent success of our students
is testament to our commitment
to the individual – to your
child. We have regular and indepth
communications with
our feeder primary schools, and
respond to our students’ hugely
diverse learning needs, setting
suitable learning challenges and
overcoming barriers to learning
for all. We are exceptionally proud
of our Deaf Resource Unit which
offers places for 15 deaf students
from across the county.

here....
Your child’s transition
We manage the transfer of each child from primary school to King
Edward VI School with very great care. If your child secures a place
we will invite you to a transition evening in April and start building
the partnership with you to make your child’s education a success.
There will be further events in the summer term including a full day
at King Edwards for your child. Further transition and induction
will then happen for your child in September so that we really get to
know your child before the whole school starts for the new academic
year.
During their time at King Edward VI School students can take part
in maths challenges, workshops with industry professionals, physics
competitions, festivals of learning, higher education conferences and
careers workshops. All students are inspired, guided and supported
by our expert teaching and teaching-assistant teams, and one-to-one
support from tutors and Heads of Year.
‘The pastoral
care, staff and
leadership at
this school are
exemplary.
The choice of
extra-curricular
activities is
amazing.’ Parent

King Edward VI School
Grove Road Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk IP33 3BH
Telephone 01284 761393
admin@king-ed.suffolk.sch.uk
www.king-ed.suffolk.sch.uk
KingEdwardVISchool