King Edward VI Camp Hill
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King Edward VI Camp Hill Boys and King Edward VI Camp Hill Girls (grid reference SP067813) are a pair of Grammar Schools in Kings Heath, Birmingham. They are grant-maintained schools, part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI. The two single-sex schools are located on the same site; the buildings are connected and some facilities and activities are shared, but they are separate establishments. They are selective schools, but not private schools. They teach students from the ages of 11 to 18 (Year 7 to Year 13). Their name comes from a previous location at Camp Hill in central Birmingham. Next year Camp Hill boys will be celebrating 50 years at the new site in Kings Heath.
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[edit] Admission
Along with the other grammar schools in Birmingham, the Camp Hill schools grant admission to students based on their performance in the Eleven plus exam. Children from all parts of Birmingham attend, not just Kings Heath and the surrounding area. About 120 places are available at each school for children leaving primary school, so there is a lot of competition for these places, as nearly 1000 people take the exam with Camp Hill Boys as first choice, and an even greater number for Camp Hill Girls. In addition, the pass mark for the 11+ exam is 350 out of 400. On average over 1000 children sit the exam for each school but only about 100 are actually accepted.
[edit] Shared Features
The two schools share the same site, to an extent, and share some major music events such as concerts, and occasional drama activities, such as plays and musicals. However they rarely have joint lessons. Both groups of pupils can use the two entrances to the grounds but the bulk of the facilities are separated. The fields, tennis courts, playgrounds and the main school buildings are not shared. There is a swimming pool which is shared but boys never use it at the same time as the girls. The only shared part is the sixth form block, although technically the upstairs belongs to the girls school and the downstairs belongs to the boys school. Construction of a Joint Sports Hall was completed in September 2006 and is used by both boys and girls with a separation barrier.
[edit] Facilities
The swimming pool is currently undergoing major repair work after unexpected deterioration of the tiles. Both schools boast dedicated computer rooms, libraries, several science labs, art and design rooms, and of course many classrooms. Nearly all of the classrooms are equipped with smart boards and projectors. All the pupils also have their own email and home page that are used for communication.
[edit] Sports Hall
In October of 2006, the sports hall was officially opened. The sports hall boasts a considerable amount of space, with two gyms, mini-cafeteria but the students can't use it and a small drama studios. The facility is regarded as one of the best owned by a school in the UK, both visually and physically attractive.[citation needed] The school aims to increase the range of sporting activities they provide by introducing more extracurricular activities such as badminton and volleyball. The sports hall will be available to both boys and girls.
[edit] Camp Hill Boys
[edit] History
The boys' school was founded in January 1883 and operated for two terms on the New Street site of King Edward's School. It opened at its intended site at Camp Hill in Birmingham, near the city centre in September 1883, and moved to its current location, adjacent to Kings Heath Park, in 1956.
[edit] Headmaster
The headmaster of Camp Hill Boys is currently Vincent Darby, formerly of King Edward VI Aston. Previous headmasters include Mr Mervyn Brooker and Roger Dancey.
[edit] Sports
Being a rugby school, the main sport is rugby, followed by hockey. During the summer, athletics and cricket are also played. During gym lessons anything from basketball, fitness, judo, gymnastics or tennis are played. Sixth formers have the opportunity to play football during games, and seniors (Years 11–13) have the opportunity to play a wide variety of sports, including football, basketball, badminton, volleyball and, the fairly new, ultimate.
[edit] Houses
There are four houses, all named after the families who fought in the War of the Roses — Seymour, Tudor, Beaufort and Howard. The houses also each have their own colour - Seymour are yellow, Tudor are green, Beaufort are red, and Howard are blue. Beaufort, under the leadership of Mr Southworth, were guided to the championship in 2004-05, dominating in the rugby, cross country, swimming and basketball. Under the leadership of Mr Nash, the "Green Machine" of Tudor won the championship of 2005-06 after dominating the basketball and football. The leader of the current House championship is currently unknown and should be seen towards the end of 2007.
| House | Colour | Head of house | House Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort | Red | Mr Southworth | Tom Beardmore |
| Howard | Blue | Mr Carman | Joe Pick |
| Seymour | Yellow | Mr Bruten | James Pumphrey |
| Tudor | Green | Mr Nash | Robert Obeng-manu |
[edit] Camp Hill Girls
Camp Hill Girls also have their own 6 houses called Cartland, Warwick, Priory, Meriden, Stratford and Lichfield.
| House | Colour |
|---|---|
| Meriden | Red |
| Cartland | Green |
| Warwick | Blue |
| Priory | Yellow |
| Lichfield | White |
| Stratford | Light Blue |
[edit] Awards
Although both schools consistently rank high in the top 20 state schools in the UK, in the 2006 edition of the Sunday Times "Parent Power" CD, Camp Hill Boys was The Sunday Times' state school of the year.
