King Edward VI Handsworth

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King Edward VI Handsworth School (grid reference SP053893) is a voluntary aided grammar school for girls aged 11-18 and is located in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI. The school was founded in 1883 as King Edwards Aston. In 2001 there were 932 girls on roll, including 248 in the Sixth Form.

The current Headmistress is Elspeth V. Insch, who was awarded an OBE for her work in education during the 1990s.

1 History
2 School Anthem
3 Sources
4 External links

[edit] History

The school was originally three separate schools: Aston (Girls section), Summer Hill, and Bath Row in the King Edward VI Foundation. On the 14th September 1911 the three were merged and the Head Mistress of Aston - Miss Nimmo - became the new Head. When the school first opened, girls were not permitted to eat in the street and had to wear gloves on the journey to and from school. In the beginning, the sixth form was very small with as little as 6 pupils in a year. Many girls transferred to King Edward VI High School for Girls for their sixth form studies.

The new school at Handsworth cost £50,000 to build. The architect, P. B. Chatwin designed a very modern building with a number of specialist areas which included the library and the "playroom" (a whole school common-room). As it was built on a slope, there are two ground floors, and originally the gymnasium was located in the room on the lower ground floor later used as a Music room.

Speech Day, a tradition for the culmination of the school year, began right at the beginning of the school's existence with the celebration being held at the Midland Institute until the move took place from Aston to Handsworth. Until the 1920s all girls attended wearing white dresses with red bows. The school song, "Come, sing the song of Handsworth School" was sung until the present anthem was suggested by Miss Bamforth (Headmistress) in 1942.

School Houses were introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, with each House having its own name and colour. Nightingale mauve, Kingsley green, Fry pale blue and Browning brown. By the 1930s there were awards given for winning competitions against other houses in sports. In the beginning there were House notices in the Playroom and a strict House conduct system. In 1939 four more Houses were added and they were renamed after the different royal Houses (Windsor, Stuart, Tudor, Hanover, Plantagenet, Lancaster, York). In the 1970s the houses were rearranged again and given names of precious stones (Amethyst, Coral, Garnet and Topaz) because of the school's proximity to the Jewellery Quarter. At the end of the 1990s they were renamed once more after famous women (Bronte, Pankhurst, Curie, Franklin and Nightingale).

A society for former pupils was formed called the Old Edwardians, going back to the turn of the 20th century.

To celebrate the centenary of the school in 1983 a new block was built to house a meeting room and the changing rooms for the sports field. In 1997 a new Sixth Form block was built with the help of the King Edward VI Foundation fund.

In 2005, the new sports hall was built, using sponsorship money from companies such as O2, and a church was bought by the school to be renovated and used for music studies. The school also gained specialist performing arts status.

Latin was also removed from the curriculum and replaced with drama in 2004, which had previously been on the curriculum in the late 20th century.

[edit] School Anthem

Except the Lord build the house,

Their labour is but lost,

Their labour is but lost that build it.

Except the Lord keep the city;

The watchman waketh but in vain. (source: Psalm 127:1-2 KJV)

It is but lost labour

That ye haste to rise up early

And so late take rest,

So late take rest

And eat the bread of carefulness;

And so He giveth His beloved sleep. (source: Psalm 127:2 as found in the 1661 Book of Common Prayer)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

A good understanding have all they that do thereafter

The praise of it endureth forever. (final verse is repeated) (source: Psalm 111:10 as found in the JPS translation and the 1929 Book of Common Prayer)