King Edward's School, Witley

King Edward's School, Witley
Address
Petworth Road Wormley , Surrey , GU8 5SG England
Coordinates	51.137365°N 0.644500°W / 51.137365; -0.644500
Information
Type	Independent day and boarding school
Motto	"A foundation for life"
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England
Established	1553
Founder	King Edward VI
Local authority	Surrey
President	The Duchess of Gloucester
Headmaster	John Attwater
Chaplain	The Rev'd Dr. David Standen
Staff	c.60 teaching
Gender	Mixed
Age	11 to 18
Enrollment	c.400
Houses	8 boarding houses
Colour(s)	Blue and Navy
Publication	Kestrel
Former pupils	Old Witleians
Website	http://www.kesw.org

King Edward's School, Witley is an independent co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1553 by King Edward VI and Nicholas Ridley. The School is located in the village of Wormley (near Witley), Surrey, England, having moved to its present location in 1867. The School became fully co-educational in 1952. As of September 2010, the school has joined the small number of independent schools in the UK which offer the IB Diploma Programme in place of A-Levels in the Sixth form. The School is re-introducing A-Levels as part of the curriculum from September 2015.

History

King Edward VI, the school's founder awarding the charter

The School was founded as Bridewell Royal Hospital, after Nicholas Ridley preached to Edward VI to give some of his empty palaces over to the City of London (governed by the City of London Corporation) to house homeless women and children.

The school was commandeered by the Royal Navy during the Second World War to test and develop the use of radar. The school still remembers this with a plaque in the central area, a junction of corridors known as 'Piccadilly'. The President of Bridewell Royal Hospital (the title was kept after the move of location) is now The Duchess of Gloucester, appointed from 1 January 2006. The Queen Mother held the title from 1953 to 2002. The school's creation was sanctioned by the same charter as that of Christ's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital. The school maintains strong links with the City of London, and is still supported by it, with some students on bursaries funded by the City. As of the academic year 2018/19 Senior School day fees are £19,200 per year, with Senior School boarding fees £30,810 per year, though a number of bursaries and scholarships are available.

Boarding houses

There are ten functioning houses in total, five male and five female. The boarding houses at the school are paired, and, in the case of the senior pupils, conjoined in the centre of the buildings. This central area (known as the 'Accy Area', from activity area) allows the boys and girls from the paired houses to meet in the evenings and during spare time; to chat, watch television or a DVD, or play pool or table football. The right-hand half of the iconic front building of the school is used as Copeland House, the junior girls' boarding house, while Queen Mary House was formerly a care home for the mentally ill and then the school sanatorium, until later becoming the junior boys' boarding house.

The senior houses were built in the 1970s, and the plans can be seen in the School Museum, housed in the History Department. Boarders moved into these new buildings in Autumn 1976 and the inauguration was commemorated by a visit from HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

The houses, in their pairs, are:

Juniors

• Queen Mary House - Queen Mary was President of the school from 1940 until 1953. It is known as QMH.

Copeland - this is the boys house paired with QMH. The 2 junior houses do not share a common building.

Seniors

King Edward's School, as viewed from Petworth Road

• Wakefield – After Charles Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield, President and benefactor from 1916 to 1940. This is a boys house. Paired with Elizabeth
• Elizabeth – After Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, President of Bridewell Royal Hospital from 1953 to 2002. She visited the school four times; 1958, 1965, 1976 and 1991. This is a girl's house
• Edward – After King Edward VI, the founder. This is a boys house and is paired with Tudor
• Tudor – After The House of Tudor, the current royal family at the time of the school's founding.
• Grafton – After Richard Grafton, MP, printer and historian. The first Treasurer of Bridewell Royal Hospital. This is a boys house and is paired with Queens
• Queens' - After the two queens who have been Presidents (Mary and Elizabeth).
• Ridley – Named after Bishop Nicholas Ridley, who preached to King Edward to request Bridewell Palace to be given to the City of London for charitable purposes. This house was unused for a number of years, but re-opened September 2013 having undergone extensive refurbishment. This is a boys house, and is paired with Bridgit's
• St Bridget’s – Saint Brigid of Kildare was a 5th-century Irish saint who is associated with a well which gave its name to the church of St. Bride and then to the palace, Bridewell Palace, built by Henry VIII. Currently not in use pending renovation or reconstruction.

School publications

The school has its own magazine, The Edwardian, which it publishes yearly. There is a short school newsletter, KEStrel, published bi-annually, that incorporates recent school events and news.

==Notable Old Witleians==

See also: Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Witley

Former pupils of King Edward's are referred to as Old Witleians, or Old Wits.

• Phil Andrew - Archdeacon of Cheltenham
• Sally Bercow - Wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons
• Ivor Caplin MP - Labour Member of Parliament
• Edd China - Television presenter
• Liz Gordon MP - New Zealand Member of Parliament
• Du'aine Ladejo - Olympic silver medalist
• James Mullinger - Comedian
• Sung-Hak Mun - Racing driver
• Richard Short - Actor
• Edward Tudor-Pole - Musician and actor
• Roger Collins - Airline owner and operator

Headmasters

• Joseph Myall ( –1856)
• Edward Rudge (1856–1886)
• The Revd Gerard Mason (1886–1900)
• The Revd Charles Raynham (1900–1926)
• The Revd Alfred Bellerby (1926–1951)
• Gordon Humphreys
• John Hansford (1969–1980)
• Richard Wilkinson
• Rodney Fox (1988–2000)
• Kerr Fulton-Peebles (2000–2010)
• John Attwater (2010– )

Notable associations

Aerial view of King Edward's School

• Christopher Cocksworth - Teacher (1981–1984)
• Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox – Governor
• Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester - Patron
• John Palmer, 4th Earl of Selborne – Treasurer (1972–1983)
• Samuel Pepys – Governor in the 17th century
• Sir James Sanderson, 1st Baronet, President of Bridewell (1793–98)
• Sir John Stuttard - Governor

Further reading

• King Edward’s School: Bridewell to Witley 1553-2005, Bertie Mawer, 2000. ISBN 0-7110-2776-5
• Bethlem Hospital 1247-1997, Patricia Aldridge
• The City of London, Mary Cathcart Borer, 1977
• Bridewell Royal Hospital and King Edward’s Schools, Alfred J. Copeland, 1912
• The Last Tudor King, Hesther W. Chapman, 1958
• Chronicle, Richard Grafton
• Old Bridewell (Monograph), R.S. Mylne, 1905
• Bridewell Hospital Palace, Prison, Schools, E.C. O’Donoghue, 1929
• Henry VIII, A.W. Pollard, 1905
• Nicholas Ridley, Jasper Ridley, 1957
• Works of Nicholas Ridley, Parker Society Cambridge, 1953

External links

• King Edward's School, Witley website
• Old Witleians website
• Profile on the Independent Schools Council website