King Edward VI School, Southampton

History

King Edward's was founded in 1553 when King Edward VI signed the necessary Royal Charter for a school to be built out of the proceeds of the will of William Capon, who had died in 1550 and bequeathed money for a grammar school for the poor. The school opened in 1554; it became an independent school in 1978, and accepted girls into the sixth form in 1983. It became a fully co-educational school in 1994. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

The current building was designed by the English architect Ernest Berry Webber in the early 1930s. Webber was a prolific designer of public buildings, including the civic centres at Southampton, Dagenham, and Hammersmith.

Traditions and day-to-day life

The school motto is Dieu et mon droict (French for God and my right, referring to the monarch's divine right to govern) and is generally used as the motto of the British monarch. Originally it was spelled Dieut et mon droict, the Early Modern French spelling, but later the 't' in "Dieut" was dropped in accordance with present French orthography. In the 1970s the motto was 'Pax Huic Domui', 'Peace to this House' (traditionally the words a priest says when visiting a sick person). The school hymn is Our God, Our Help in Ages Past, written by a famous former pupil, Isaac Watts. The clock tower at the Civic Centre, Southampton plays the same tune at 4, 8, and 12 o'clock, after it has chimed the hour.

In 2011, 100% of pupils achieved 5+ A*-C GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and maths, with 85% achieving all English Baccalaureate subjects. The average fifth year student was entered for 11.2 qualifications.

As well as a main playing field, and an area of artificial turf large enough to accommodate 12 tennis courts, King Edward's owns 33 acre of sports grounds called Wellington on the edge of Southampton, where there is a water based astro pitch, along with netball courts, tennis courts, and a large number of grass pitches.

Old Edwardians

House named after them

• William Capon (priest and School Founder)
• Arthur Lake, bishop
• Thomas Lawrence, physician
• Edward Reynolds, bishop
• Josuah Sylvester, poet
• Isaac Watts, minister and hymnist

Other notable former pupils

• Edward Abraham, biochemist
• Hugh Ferris, television, radio, podcast and events presenter
• John Heath, entomologist
• Eric Meadus, artist
• Gordon Messenger, general, former Vice-Chief of Defence Staff
• Basil Mitchell, academic, philosopher and theologian
• Hugh Mitchell, actor
• Peter Smith, architectural historian
• Hannah Snellgrove, sailor
• Hugh Whitemore, playwright and screenwriter

Preparatory schools

King Edward VI School has operated their mixed gender preparatory school of Stroud school since 1st January 1943. The school was founded in 1926 at Greyswood, Surrey but relocated to Highwood Lane, Romsey in 1953 where it remains today. Its age range is 2-11 and it operates nursery facilities for younger ages. The current head of Stroud is Mrs Rebecca Smith. Among notable alumni there is Rishi Sunak, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

On May 13th 2025, King Edward VI School announced their merger with Prince's Mead, a 3-11 school in Kings Worthy which is scheduled to go into effect on September 1st.

References

References

1. {{EW charity. 1088030
2. "Well known architect: New resident in Eastbourne", ''The Eastbourne Gazette'', 28 December 1938, p. 17.
3. "King Edward VI School – GOV.UK".
4. {{cite DNB
5. "Sir Edward Penley Abraham". Alumni association.
6. (29 August 2000). "Hugh waits to find out if TV job is his".
7. (1988). "Obituary, John Heath (1922–1987)". [[British Journal of Entomology and Natural History]].
8. Brisland, M.. (2019). "A-Z of Southampton: Places-People-History". Amberley Publishing.
9. (1 December 2018). "Messenger, Gen. Sir Gordon (Kenneth)". Oxford University Press.
10. (14 July 2011). "Basil Mitchell".
11. Reddin, Lorelei. (16 February 2009). "Home-grown talent back in the region".
12. Wakelin, Peter. (7 April 2013). "Peter Smith obituary". The Guardian.
13. (18 July 2018). "Hugh Whitemore obituary". The Guardian.
14. "King Edward VI Preparatory School - GOV.UK".
15. (25 October 2022). "Where was Rishi Sunak educated? From Winchester College to Oxford".
16. (13 May 2025). "Two Hampshire private schools to join in 'merger' from next academic year".