King Edward VII Academy
King Edward VII Academy (known as KES Academy) is a large, mixed comprehensive secondary school in Gaywood Road (A148), King's Lynn, Norfolk, England with around 1,300 pupils, including about 300 in sixth form education.[1] Prior to the school year beginning in September 1979, KES was an all-boys state grammar school. The school became an academy, sponsored by the College of West Anglia's CWA Academy Trust in September 2014 but following the College's withdrawal from school sponsorship in the summer of 2017 is now part of the Eastern Multi-Academy Trust. In July 2017 another critical Ofsted report judging the school to "require improvement" was followed by the resignation of its Principal, Craig Morrison.
| King Edward VII Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
Gaywood Road , , PE30 2QB | |
| Coordinates | 52°45′24″N 0°24′49″E |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Motto | 'doctrina in horas crescat' (let the learning grow hourly) |
| Local authority | Norfolk |
| Department for Education URN | 121187 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Principal | Ms Sarah Hartshorn |
| Staff | 278 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 1,344 pupils (2012)[1] |
| Houses | 4 (Gloucester/Windsor, Keene/Thorseby, Edinburgh/York, Lancaster/School) |
| Colour(s) | Navy and Burgundy |
| Website | http://www.kesacademy.co.uk/ |
History
The history of the school dates to 1510 when former Lord Mayor of Lynn Thomas Thoresby (who began in his lifetime Thoresby College for thirteen chantry priests) established a provision in his will for a priest to teach six children ‘in grammar and song’.[2]
In 1543 his eponymous son agreed to grant the four pieces of pasture in Gaywood, referred to in his father’s will, to the corporation on condition that it appointed a suitably qualified priest as school master to teach six children who would pray daily for his father’s soul. The academy's name was changed to King Edward VII Grammar School in 1903, when it was amalgamated with the King’s Lynn Technical School.[3]
The current academy building was designed by Basil Champneys and opened in 1906 by King Edward VII.[3] In 2007 the school was visited by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the centenary celebrations of the building. The school became an academy on 1 September 2014, sponsored by the CWA Academy Trust, and changed its name to King Edward VII Academy. King Edward VII Academy has a sister school in Chongqing, China.
In 2019, King Edward VII Academy received an 'inadequate' report from Ofsted.[4] Also in 2019, the school appointed its first female head teacher, Ms Sarah Hartshorn.
Notable former pupils
The alumni association, the Old Lennensians, was revived in 2006 in association with the centenary of the new buildings donated by Sir William Lancaster.
Former pupils of the academy and its predecessor, the Lynn Grammar School, include: Captain George Vancouver; Captain Manby, whose rocket apparatus for ship-to-shore rescues was used by HM Coastguard until recently; the Rev Somerset Walpole (later a bishop), England cricketer and former Captain of Middlesex Peter Parfitt; field hockey coach Danny Kerry, Performance Director for UK & GB Men's & Women's Hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[5] The infamous 18th century murderer Eugene Aram was an usher (teacher) at the school, and was arrested there in the staff room. Neil Shephard is currently Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science in the Department of Economics and the Department of Statistics at Harvard University.
External links
References
- "King Edward VII School". Norfolk County Council. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- "Norfolk Record Office Information Leaflet 64 - Grammar and Independent Schools in Norfolk". Norfolk County Council.
- "School History". KES. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- "Ofsted Inadequate Report for King Edward VII Academy". Ofsted News. 24 September 2019.
- Andrew Stephen. "Latest News & Information". Old Lennensians Association. Retrieved 14 March 2013.