Staff and pupils at King Edward VI High School are celebrating after a recent Ofsted inspection judged the school to be “Good”. The school, which 20 months ago had been labelled “inadequate” by inspectors, has been recognised for “rapid improvements in all aspects of the school’s work since the previous inspection.” The report concluded that, “This is a good school”. Her Majesty’s Inspectors further acknowledges that “Effective teaching means that pupils in key stages 3 and 4 now make good progress.”  

Headteacher, Jason Christey, praised staff, parents and pupils for their hard work and commitment in raising standards. He said, “We are absolutely delighted that inspectors have recognised the hard work that pupils, parents and staff have put in over the past two years. We have worked tirelessly to help raise standards and believed we had an excellent level of education to offer our young people. It is great to see that this has now been endorsed by the inspectors. This has been an incredible team effort and I am very excited for the future of our school.” 
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The report, which is now available on the school’s website, said “Relationships are strong throughout the school. Teachers know their pupils well. Pupils trust their teachers and other adults. Consequently, they feel safe and well supported. Pupils now make good progress in almost all subjects by the end of Year 11. Achievement is strongest in the humanities subjects.” 
Last year, the school celebrated some of its best ever exam results, with one of the highest Progress 8 scores in Staffordshire, the new government benchmark for measuring school performance.  
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Mr Christey added, “Our staff and pupils can now go home for a well-earned summer break with their heads held high, proud of their dedication and effort this year.” ​

As part of the latest efforts to promote reading at KEVI, Miss Lambe and the English Department have unveiled the “Extreme Reading Competition”.  We interviewed Miss Lambe about the benefits of this initiative and how to get involved.

• Why did you decide to hold the Extreme Reading Competition?
   
  We believe that reading is both fun and vitally important, and with the success of the Accelerated Reader Scheme (launched at the beginning of 2016), we want to keep reading as a central focus at our school. We are passionate about helping our students develop both their understanding, analysis and enjoyment of texts as well as developing their literacy skills and, we believe that introducing a competition such as this would be very beneficial.
   
  We don’t want people to feel as if reading is a chore, and instead offers a sense of escapism – something they can do in their spare time - and the Extreme Reading competition exists to encourage leisurely reading and to promote it as exciting, thrilling, fun and not just an onerous task that some might see it as.
  
  
• How many other schools are participating, or is this competition exclusive to KEVI?
   
  The Extreme Reading competition is just something being held by our school, open both to our students and staff. It’s important to the English department that both staff and students have an opportunity to get involved and show their love of reading – we have many members of staff and students alike who are avid readers, and this is a great opportunity for them to demonstrate their passion.
  
  
• Can you give us any examples of situations in which people can take an extreme photo?
   
  It could be anything – during a football or rugby match, horse riding, on the way up a mountain, like Mrs Dolloway, or maybe even just somewhere on your holidays – we’re really just looking for photos of reading somewhere unique, special - in a sense radical – somewhere just generally out-of-the-norm. It could be anything from whilst changing a lightbulb to being at the dentist – just somewhere where you wouldn’t expect to see someone reading.
  
  
• What is on offer for those who enter the competition?
   
  There is going to be an overall tutor prize of a Christmas party for the winning tutor group and an overall prize for the best individual student entry. There will be runner-up prizes too and also a prize for best staff entry.
  
  
• When will the result of the competition be announced?
   
  The deadline for this competition is Monday 11th December 2017 and any entries after then will not count. The winner will be announced just before Christmas, in the final week before we break up for the holiday. 
   
  To enter, simply email (lambe.s@kevi.org.uk) or hand in your photo to Miss Lambe in U1.
   
  For updates on the competition and from the English Department, follow them on Twitter: @TeamEnglishKEVI.
   
  Article by Joel Lufton and Chris Austin, Year 10.

On Friday 10th November 2017, the school held its annual Remembrance Service to remember the people that fought, or are fighting, for us in war and the people that gave their lives to protect their country.
The school invites ‘Old Edwardians’ every year to its Remembrance Service. The ‘Old Edwardians’ are ex-students of King Edward VI High School, and they are people who have experienced war or had close family or friends fight in war.
Two students from King Edward VI High School interviewed the ‘Edwardians’, to learn about what their experience of the war was. When one of the ‘Edwardians’, who was 85 years of age, was interviewed, we were told that: school life was enjoyable and he was seven years of age when the Second World War (WW2) broke out, and that he had two brothers and one sister. He also told us that they were never short of food as his family had an allotment, so they grew their own food. He then told that his first job after he left school was a shop in Stafford. The former student also told us that his father fought in both World Wars. He also told us that he became a Royal Air Force (RAF) jet engineer after the Second World War and that he had a brother, Sergeant A.H. Dingley, who was his older brother that was pilot. Unfortunately, his brother passed away fighting for his country. This is why the student that we interviewed, was very thankful to our school for holding this memorial service; to thank the people that have died, have suffered or have been injured from wars.

Report by Matthew Arthur and James Tincknell

Video our latest promo videos about coming to King Edward VI High School in September 2018!

On Friday 29th September, Miss Mouat and the KEVI Food Tech department raised £804 for cancer support charity Macmillan as part of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning – the UK’s biggest fundraising event for people facing cancer.
Available was a selection of cakes, coffee and other drinks which were enjoyed by the many in attendance, with timed slots throughout the day to ensure that all who wished to could enjoy what was on offer. Also held was a raffle, in which both students, teachers and parents alike could enter to win a selection of prizes.
Well done to all involved, both those who attended and the members of staff and pupils that helped to host – thank you for giving up your time to help others in need. Hopefully even more money will be raised for this great cause next year.
 
Christopher Austin and Joel Lufton, Y10

The school will be running another WW1 Battlefields Tour in 2018 to visit France and Belgium. Please visit the tour page to download a letter and for further details.

Staffordshire County Council have updated their information regarding penalty notices. Please see the download below.

Please see below information regarding the School Clubs on offer this term. More clubs may be added throughout the year, so please check back next term.

School finishes on Friday 21st July at 12.40pm when the school breaks up for the Summer Holidays. The day will also be a Mufti Day with £1 donations going to charity. The school will reopen for all students on Wednesday 6th September 2017. Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable break!

​Perkins Tennis Ball Launcher Competition with multi-armed trebuchet, a brilliant feat of engineering from Mr S Bradbury. Longest distance WINNERS for the second year in a row.