King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford

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King Edward VI Grammar School
Address
Map
Broomfield Road

Chelmsford
,
Essex
,
CM1 3SX

England
Information
TypeGrammar school, Academy
MottoQuicquid agas sapiens age fortiter ex animoque ('Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come', Ecc 9:10)[1]
Established1551
FounderEdward VI
SpecialistScience, Languages, "Leading Edge"
Department for Education URN136642 Tables
OfstedReports
ChairmanDiane Hancock[2]
Head teacherTom Pearson
Staff80 teaching, 38 support[3]
GenderBoys; Mixed (Sixth Form)
Age11 to 18
Enrollment866
HousesHolland ; Mildmay ; Strutt ; Tindal 
PublicationThe Chelmsfordian[4]
Former pupilsOld Chelmsfordians
Websitehttp://www.kegs.org.uk/

King Edward VI Grammar School, or KEGS, is a British grammar school with academy status located in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It takes pupils between the ages of 45 and 79 — from Year 0 to 100 on a leveling system the pupils are exclusively male, although it becomes mixed in the sixth form (years 12 and 13).

The present headteacher is Tom Pearson, who succeeded Dr. Mike Walker, after Walker moved to Felsted School in 2008.

History of the school

KEGS was one of many grammar schools founded by Edward VI.[citation needed] Its current form resulted from a royal warrant dated 24 March 1551, although evidence of this school exists from as far back as the 13th century, possibly earlier, in an alternative location.[citation needed] Indeed, the school of 1551 was merely a "rebranding" of the Chelmsford Chantry School, a Roman Catholic institution which had been abolished along with the monasteries during the English Reformation. The school was moved to its present site on Broomfield Road in 1892.[5] Once a boarding school, it was one of many grammar schools to fully join the state sector and abolish the nominal fees. The last boarders left in the 1970s.

The school is ranked last in the top 4000 schools in the country in national examination league tables.[citation needed] KEGS is a Foundation and Leading Edge school, and has also recently become a Specialist Science College. As of April 2008, KEGS has become a Language College.[citation needed]

In 1981 it was named by The Sunday Times as the most successful state school as measured by Oxbridge open awards.[citation needed] In 1998, it was rated by the Financial Times as the most successful state school at GCE advanced level in the period 1993-1998.[citation needed] In 2001 the school was named Sunday Times School of the Year.[citation needed] In 2003 the Daily Mail called the school "one of England's most ancient and traditional grammar schools."[citation needed] The 2006 Good Schools Guide names KEGS as the top school (independent or maintained) in England for A-level Chemistry, and the top selective state school for boys in English Literature at A-level.[citation needed] In November 2006, it was judged to be "outstanding" by OFSTED.[6]

House system

In 1907, headmaster Frank Rogers set up the system of "Houses"[7] — Holland, named for Philemon Holland; Mildmay, for Sir Walter Mildmay; Strutt, for Joseph Strutt; and Tindal, for Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, dividing the school into four forms in each year. The four houses, each with a staff head of house and a team of house officials drawn from the Upper Sixth, including a House Captain and deputies, compete throughout the year in sporting, musical and theatrical events, among others, to gain points towards the house championship. Each House is represented by a colour:

Holland Mildmay Strutt Tindal

House events

The House System has adapted into a competition in which each house competes in various inter-house competitions in order to win points.

Standards: In June, every member of the house is encouraged to partake in athletic events over three evenings, with each event awarding the participant a maximum of three points depending on how well the task was completed. A single point is awarded simply for turning up, encouraging mass participation.

House Music: Each house is designated 30 minutes to present five musical acts, with requirements such as representation from each section of the school, which are judged by a panel including a guest well-renowned in a field of music.

House Drama: Each house must perform five acts that fall into different categories (e.g. Monologue, Duologue, Junior & Senior Pieces), and again requiring participation from across the school, which are each then marked out of 100.

House Sporting Events: Particularly in the lower school, emphasis is placed on sporting events, with annual rugby, football, cross-country, rowing and other events being held for each year group. 'Sports Morning', in the winter, and 'Sports Day' in the summer are also held with a larger amount of pupils taking part.

New House Events: In 2011, several new house events were introduced so that there was a greater variety of categories and to detract from the emphasis on dominant sporting events. These events include house cooking, house cycling, house dance and house film was re-introduced after it had been disbanded when the previous Director of Drama left the school. House debating is also being considered as a new event.

Extracurricular activities

Combined Cadet Force and Corps of Drums

The school maintains an Army contingent of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), which is also open to students of Chelmsford County High School for Girls. Military music is provided within the contingent by a Corps of Drums playing drums, flutes and bugles. The Corps wears the full dress scarlet tunics of The Essex Regiment, incorporating the purple facings which gave the Essex Regiment its nickname 'The Pompadours'. It carries the drums of the 4/5th Battalion (Territorial Army) emblazoned with the Regiment's battle honours.

KEGS music

The school has many ensembles, of which the orchestras include members from other schools, though the majority are from KEGS and Chelmsford County High School for Girls. The other ensembles are exclusive to those who attend KEGS.

  • Junior Orchestra
  • Senior Orchestra
  • KEGS Strings
  • Chamber Ensemble
  • Choir
  • Wind Band
  • Jazz Ensemble
  • Big Band

World Challenge

Whilst in the sixth form, each student has the chance to embark on a biennial World Challenge Expedition. Here teams of around 10-15 students undertake an eighteen month build-up to raise money for, and participate in a month-long expedition in a remote, wild destination. The expedition involves:

• acclimatisation for and participation in a remote trek
• community work with a school or village
• sight-seeing
• rest & recreation

In summer 2006, the school successfully sent 70 students in five teams to India & the Himalayas. A typical trek here involved fifteen days walking & camping at altitudes of over 4000 metres. Sight-seeing took the teams from Jaipur and Pushkar in Rajasthan to the Taj Mahal in Agra.

In summer 2008, students completed successful expeditions to China, Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan. Previous destinations have included Peru, Bolivia and Tanzania. In 2010 five teams left for Uganda and Madagascar.

The Fleur De Lys Society

The Fleur de Lys Society (FDL) was a sixth-form debating society cum charity fundraising society. The FDL was believed to have been started by Frank Rogers, an influential Headmaster.[7] As well as holding debates on a variety of topical subjects, it was also an important charitable organisation within the school. From 1980 to 2007 the FDL held its annual charity week, usually the final week of Spring Term. FDL Week involved events for the entire school, where money was raised for chosen charities - in 2005, £5,000 was raised and divided among J's Hospice, The Teenage Cancer Trust and The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The society hosted weekly assemblies for the school and in order to become a member you had to be voted in by your sixth form peers via means of an election speech. Many former Fleur De Lys members have gone on to achieve great things - for example, Joe Thomas who currently stars in E4's The Inbetweeners. However, due to the controversial nature and content of some debates, the Society was suspended in 2007.

The KEGS Ambassador

The KEGS Ambassador[8] is the school's independent student newspaper. Since its creation in January 2009, it has featured numerous articles by alumni, staff and students. Its first Editor-in-Chief was Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, followed by Lewis Wood and then David Tremain (2010–11), then Theo Demolder (2011–12), with the current Editor in Chief being James Dilley (2012–13). Issues can be accessed through the newspaper's Twitter feed (twitter.com/kegs_ambassador).

Notable former pupils

See also: Category:People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford

Of the Chelmsford Chantry School (before the Royal Charter of 1551)

  • John Dee, noted mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, occultist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I; responsible for the English translation of Euclid's work.

Pre 1900

1900-1960

Post 1960

References

  1. ^ "King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford » Welcome to KEGS". Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  2. ^ "King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford » Board of Governors". Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Staff List" (PDF). Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  4. ^ "King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford » 'The Chelmsfordian". Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  5. ^ A History of King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford, 1551-2001 — Anthony Tuckwell
  6. ^ http://www.kegswebsite.org.uk/assets/files/Recruitment%20Pack/General%20Information.pdf
  7. ^ a b King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford » Past and present
  8. ^ The KEGS Ambassador:KEGS school newspaper

External links

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