Our 2023–2024 highlights
At King Edward’s School, we’re proud to collaborate with local partners, schools and charity organisations to make a positive impact in our community. Here’s a snapshot of what we achieved in 2023–2024.
678 Local school pupils supported through inspiring workshops, lessons and activities
20 Staff members involved in outreach and partnership work
Senior School pupils at KES with meanstested bursaries
Primary school partnerships developed
£22,530 Raised for charities by pupils and staff across all three Schools Days of free facility use donated to our community
45 Community organisations helped
Making a difference
We are extremely proud of the strong sense of social responsibility that has guided King Edward’s School since it was founded in 1552.
Our commitment to making a transformative difference to our community is shaped by our history as a grammar school and a direct grant school, providing an excellent education for local children.
I am delighted to introduce our report sharing the impact that KES has in the city of Bath and beyond. Highlighting our long-standing relationships with partner organisations, our pupils’ dedication to volunteering and our connections with local schools, these pages reflect our outward-looking and inclusive values.
As you will discover, our community engagement is varied and extensive. From facility-sharing arrangements with the NHS to rewarding community service programmes and enriching cultural collaborations, we strive to make a positive impact on those around us. Enabling the widest possible access to an inspiring KES education is key to this, and our well-established Bursary Programme (see page 5) provides often transformative means-tested financial support to over 155 of our Senior School pupils. KES has been involved in partnership work for almost two decades. With our 475th anniversary coming up in 2027, we want to honour our founding purpose by doing even more to increase our impact on young people and families in the Bath area. If you feel inspired to support our mission, please do get in touch.
Martin J Boden Headmaster, King Edward’s School, Bath
Highlighting our longstanding relationships with partner organisations, our pupils’ dedication to volunteering and our connections with local schools, these pages reflect our outward-looking and inclusive values.”
Widening access to a KES education
A first-rate education has the power to transform lives. King Edward’s School has been providing education for young people in financial need since our founding.
Dr John Wroughton
Long term, our aim is for our Bursary Programme to provide financial support for any pupil offered a place at the Senior School, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances. To help achieve this, the Wroughton Bursary Fund, named after former Headmaster and long-term supporter of the Bursary Programme, Dr John Wroughton, was launched in 2023.
Bursaries at KES
£1.3m
Awarded in meanstested bursaries
53 Pupils with bursaries of 70% and above
57 Senior School pupils with meanstested bursaries
70 Donors to the Wroughton Bursary Fund
It really is difficult to put into words how much the bursary has helped me. The award has allowed me to not be held back by finances and be able to access high-level education so I can make the most of my academic talent with the fantastic teaching offered at KES. A bursary is something that can really change people’s lives.”
Martin, Old Edwardian 2023 and bursary award holder
Raising money for charity
Our school community raises money for local and international charities every year. Together, we reached an impressive £22,530 in 2023–2024.
Championing good causes
The Senior School community raised over £18,500 through sponsored walks, charity concerts, a fire walk, a parachute jump and more. Pupils and staff have been busy fundraising for local organisations, such as Bath Foodbank, homelessness charity Julian House and the Salvation Army. They have also collected clothes for Dress it Forward, an organisation that donates prom outfits to young people in South Africa.
Our Junior School pupils have been collecting money for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Pupils and their families raised £2,544 in just two hours with a sponsored cycle around the Castle Combe Circuit.
These great efforts continued into our Pre-Prep and Nursery, with pupils raising cash for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, the British Heart Foundation, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Save the Children.
Thank you for generously donating 302.2kgs of food to Bath Foodbank in March and for being an important part of this support network for vulnerable people in Bath.”
Grainne
Moher, Bath Foodbank
The Junior School taking part in a sponsored cycle
Our charity work abroad
Our long-term partner is the Moving Mountains Trust and its sister organisation, Adventure Alternative. Working with communities in Kenya, Tanzania and Nepal, they are dedicated to relieving poverty through education, health and social welfare projects.
Every two years, KES organises a trip in support of Moving Mountains. In 2023, pupils and staff travelled to Kenya, where they donated clothes and sports equipment to local children and taught in schools. They also worked on vital improvements to two school sites, including decorating classrooms and laying concrete pathways.
Planning for the July 2025 Kenya trip is underway, including an exciting treeplanting initiative. We are also working with the Ministry of Education in Kenya to provide a life skills curriculum.
This year, the support from KES allowed us to branch out into new areas, including mental health counselling for young people and victims of genderbased violence, sanitation facilities in schools and the provision of sanitary pads.”
It was life changing – the best thing I have ever done.”
Lucy, Year 12
Gavin Bate, Adventure Alternative, Moving Mountains Trust
Providing enriching opportunities for local schools
Supportive, community-minded values are at the heart of our educational approach, enabling us to build strong relationships with surrounding local schools.
Our primary school partnerships and Combined Cadet Force (CCF) programme with Beechen Cliff School reflect our commitment to creating opportunities for young people in Bath.
Inspiring young minds
Every summer term for the past decade, over 300 Year 5 children from local primary schools have participated in a programme of workshops at KES. Led by our specialist subject teachers, these workshops cover a range of academic and co-curricular subjects, from Performing Arts to STEM, and Sport to DT and Art. Making full use of the School’s excellent facilities, these exciting sessions introduce pupils to new learning experiences.
300+
Year 5 children from local primary schools have participated in a programme of workshops at KES in 2023–2024
We are also committed to supporting learning in local schools on a long-term basis, including through ongoing partnerships that have been in place for many years. Teachers from the Senior School regularly visit four primary schools to deliver specialist English and Maths teaching, while our Year 6 Junior School pupils share their creative writing with children in local primaries as part of their Personal Award Programme. Pupils from St Andrew’s Church School taking part in workshops at KES
Sharing special experiences
We believe that learning together and sharing experiences strengthens our community bonds. At a recent Junior School literary event with Laura Ellen-Anderson, author of the fabulous Amelia Fang series, pupils were joined by 48 children from Bathwick St Mary’s Primary School. Our Pre-Prep and Nursery also hosted 16 children from Twerton Infant School’s nursery to watch a puppet show performance by Tallulah Swirls and participate in a workshop (photographed above).
To have this time with a local author and secondary school teacher was a real inspiration, and an absolute highlight of their week.”
Freshford Primary School teacher
Learning skills for life with the Combined Cadet Force
King Edward’s School CCF is numbered among the oldest contingents in the country, with a corps established in 1900. Through a unique local partnership that started almost two decades ago, we are proud to welcome pupils and staff from Beechen Cliff School to our cadet and officer ranks. Collectively, over 100 cadets from both schools work together to develop valuable life skills such as leadership, self-reliance and perseverance.
CCF cadets parade through Bath city centre
The now long-established CCF link between King Edward’s School and Beechen Cliff School has allowed many hundreds of pupils to learn and work together, building confidence and understanding within the structure of the Combined Cadet Force.”
Lt Andrew Davies, Beechen Cliff School Liaison Officer
The partnership between King Edward’s School and Beechen Cliff School allows for a wide range of people from different backgrounds to mix with each other and share experiences. It creates memorable life lessons and bonds of friendship.”
Cadet Colour Sergeant George Dias-Whyard (KES pupil)
Partnering for positive impact
Our community partnerships benefit the local community and teach our pupils to use their skills for good.
Our School has strong connections with several community organisations, including Bath Cricket Club, the Holburne Museum, the Royal United Hospital and Bath Philharmonia. We have also supported Hannah Dawes, our Head of Learning for Life (PSHE), to team up with Drug Science and create vital resources for teachers across the UK.
Pupils and staff from KES, St Martin’s Garden Primary School and the Margaret Coates Centre with members of Bath Philharmonia
Making music with Bath Philharmonia
In 2023, King Edward’s School staff and pupils, along with members of Bath Philharmonia, organised a three-day percussion workshop with 80 pupils from St Martin’s Garden Primary School, including pupils from the Margaret Coates Centre who have an autism diagnosis. The workshop culminated in a final live performance involving all 80 children.
It was such an amazing experience for the children that took part, and they still talk about it.”
Michael Bogg, SENCO at St Martin’s Garden and Head of The Margaret Coates Centre Resource Base
Supporting art and education at the Holburne Museum
KES is proud to support the arts and is a regular sponsor of exhibitions at the Holburne Museum, including last year’s Gwen John exhibition.
Partnering with the Royal United Hospital
Our partnership with the RUH is twofold – as well as raising valuable funds, it provides a public performance platform for our ensembles, and brightens the days of the patients, staff and visitors to the hospital. Our fabulous Saxophone Ensemble performed this year, and through our work with Art at the Heart and the RUH Charity, RUHX, we raised over £500.
The Saxophone Ensemble performing at the RUH
Supporting The Exchange
Our Head of PSHE, Hannah Dawes, is the creator of The Exchange , an educational platform exploring subjects that matter to young people. Working with the charity Drug Science, and with financial support from King Edward’s School, Hannah has created a series of free teaching resources on nicotine and vaping for KS3 and upwards.
Often issues around vaping are shrouded in misinformation. My hope is that these classroom resources will support teenagers across the UK to make safer and better-informed decisions.”
Hannah Dawes, Head of PSHE at King Edward’s School
Credit: Jo Hounsome Photography
Contributing to our local community
At King Edward’s School, we strongly believe in the value of community service.
Nurturing our pupils’ sense of responsibility for others and the world around them is a core part of our holistic approach to education. Pupils across the School volunteer their time to support a wide range of community initiatives in Bath and beyond, forging rewarding relationships with our partner organisations.
Sixth Form volunteering
Many of our oldest pupils are involved in our weekly Community Service programme, which has been running for over 20 years in local primary schools, care homes and day-care centres. In the 2023–2024 academic year, 35 Sixth Form pupils spent Thursday afternoons participating in activities with children and elderly people. Volunteers in schools supported primary-aged pupils with reading practice or took part in art, craft and IT lessons. In care homes, our sixth formers enjoyed engaging with residents and day-care users in singing sessions, by playing musical instruments and doing puzzles.
Our community partnerships
Peggy Dodd Centre
Bathampton Primary School
Combe Down Primary School
Widcombe Infant School
Bridgemead Care Home
Bathwick St. Mary Church School
I have really loved going to Bridgemead as part of the Community Service programme this year. It has been a genuine joy to chat to another generation and hear their stories.”
Joseph Walker, Year 12 pupil
Learning
compassion and resilience
Each year, a significant number of King Edward’s School pupils complete the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, an empowering programme that enables young participants to challenge themselves and support their communities. From sorting donations in charity shops to helping at local youth groups and sports clubs, pupils have volunteered at many local organisations.
Sixth form pupil volunteering at a local primary school
Becoming an ‘active citizen’
As part of their Personal Award programme, pupils in the Junior School have dedicated 560 hours to volunteering during the last academic year, learning how to become ‘active citizens’.
Younger pupils have developed strong community links and cared for our local environment by participating in voluntary activities ranging from supporting elderly neighbours to caring for pets, and from picking litter to baking for the congregations of local churches. It was lovely to watch Annabel welcoming and interacting with the congregation – of all ages. Her banana bread was delicious, and she served it with a big smile.”
Rev. Philip Hawthorn, Rector at St.
Stephen’s Church, Bath
Taking action for a better future
With a clear vision for the future and big ambitions to be the greenest school in Bath, the KES Sustainability Strategy is at the heart of so much of what we do.
From the food we eat and the new facilities we build, to the energy we consume and the future-conscious career advice we offer pupils, our focus is on finding solutions to the environmental challenges that we all face.
We are delighted to be shortlisted in the category of ‘Environmental Achievement’ in the Independent Schools of the Year Awards
This is only the beginning: the KES Green Evolution has begun!”
Joe Johnson, Year 13 pupil and member of the KES Sustainability Committee
Staff and pupils working together on the Sustainability Committee have helped us to make tremendous progress towards our goals:
Solar panels now generate 40% of energy at the school’s North Road site
Electric alternatives are replacing all Estates and Facilities vehicles at North Road
Our food procurement policy is mindful of waste, food miles and origin
A new Senior School building has been designed to be net-zero carbon in use
Sustainable, costeffective uniform is sold at our ‘Nearly New’ uniform shop
Climate-conscious education
Raising pupils’ awareness of climate challenges and how they can contribute to a sustainable future has never been more important. Co-curricular clubs, such as the KES Sustainability Committee in the Senior School and Eco Warriors in the Junior School, encourage pupils to improve our school environment. Forest School and curriculum topics in our Pre-Prep and Nursery build early understanding of environmental issues.
Looking ahead to life beyond King Edward’s School, our careers programme promotes opportunities for our pupils within the sustainability sector. At a recent Green Careers Convention, sector experts shared their experiences with our Sixth Formers, inspiring the next generation to consider careers that contribute to positive change for people and planet.
promoting environmental awareness
A poster
by a pupil in the Junior School Eco Warriors Club
