We were delighted to welcome parents and carers to our Year 12 Induction Evening on Wednesday 27 September. We have an incredible cohort of students who are embarking on their Sixth Form journey with us at KEVI. The evening provided the opportunity to share key information in order to support students as they progress over the next two years. Thank you to all who attended.
Starting a new school brings a mixture of emotions. It can be nerve wracking and exciting – meeting new people, experiencing new routines and new opportunities. To support this transition all of our students have been taking part in team building activities with their new tutor and tutor group.
Students worked on a range of fun and engaging activities, facilitated by outdoor education specialists KA Adventures. Activities included a spider web, slacklining and water-based activities where the key has been teamwork and communication.
Students and tutors had a great time and certainly got to know each other a little better.
Thanks to the dedication of Dr Tate, Mrs Harrison and our fantastic array of talented and professional peripatetic teachers, we’re delighted to say that The King Edward VI School has been awarded the Music Mark. Over the past year, we have expanded our instrumental ensembles in the school, have put on multiple concerts, been on trips to other schools around the area, had students play with the National Youth Orchestra, had students play in a piano masterclass and put on composition premieres.
This year we’re proud to announce in partnership with the Drama department that we will be putting on our bi-annual school production: The Addams Family. Look out for details!
Alexandria and Victoria Hodgson
Victoria (under 17’s) and Alexandria Hodgson (under 15’s) have had a successful summer this year, having represented Morpeth Harriers in national competitions in both England and Scotland. Victoria on the track and Alexandria on the field.
Alexandria is coached by North Shield Poly’s National throws coach, Neil Ellerby and Victoria is coached by North Shields poly’s David Thomas and Morpeth Harriers Venia Desi.
All Scottish Athletics Championships 2023
20th August 2023
Alexandria took the Gold medal in the under 15s Hammer.
All England athletics Championships 2023
26th and 27th August 2023, Alexander Stadium, Birmingham.
Victoria recorded the 10th quickest time overall in the U17s 300m hurdles.
Alexandria took the silver medal in the under 15s Hammer.
North of England Championships 2023
12th and 13th August 2023 Sports Village, Middlesbrough.
Victoria took the bronze medal in the under 17s 300m hurdles.
Alexandria took the gold medal in the under 15s Hammer.
Both Girls look forward to good winter’s strength training and then next year’s summer athletics with Morpeth Harriers Athletics club.
The King Edward VI School is reporting another set of excellent GCSE results today.
I would like to congratulate all Year 11 students and staff on our GCSE results which is testament to Year 11’s positive attitudes, determination and hard work. I am proud of every one of our students who have worked so hard to achieve such fantastic grades. They have been committed to their studies and sat their exams with confidence and determination. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all staff on behalf of our students for all the support they have given them.
This was a great year group with a really positive work ethic. They fully deserve these results and I wish them the very best for the next step in their educational journey.
80% of our students achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and Maths. The majority will be joining their Sixth form in September whilst others will follow other further education courses or apprenticeship opportunities.
Clare Savage
Headteacher
The King Edward VI School A Level students have once again excelled themselves. Year 13 students have achieved excellent A Level and Level 3 vocational results today.
The school is delighted that students are now moving into higher education at a number of high performing universities including Oxbridge and many Russell Group institutions. Many others have secured quality apprenticeships and employment and we are looking forward to them keeping in touch to help inspire the next generation of students.
Headteacher, Clare Savage commented: “As a school community we are proud of our students’ efforts and achievements this year. I also want to extend my thanks to all of the teachers, school staff, and parents who have supported our students along the way. Congratulations to all King Edward’s Leavers 2023. We wish all of our students every success in their future endeavours.”
Leanne Johnston, Head of Post 16 thanked the students for their efforts and congratulated them on their successes. “The relationships established in Sixth Form continue to be the bedrock for success. It has been incredible to see the support, challenge and encouragement the students have given each other over the last two years and a privilege to share in their success and excitement on their results day.”
“We are delighted at the range of exciting opportunities our students are moving on to this year. The courses and pathways applied for continue to expand and reflect the varied interests and talents of our students. We have students moving on to study a range of subjects from fashion, filmmaking and design to medicine, midwifery and cyber security and everything in between. We are delighted that a number of our students have secured highly competitive degree apprenticeship programmes ranging from furniture design to business management and engineering. Several students are taking gap years to consider their options and it is amazing what they have lined up; farming in New Zealand and ski seasons in Canada. Whatever their next step, we wish all our students the very best for the future and look forward to hearing about their future endeavours.”
24% of A level grades were A*-A grades. Over 55% of all A level entries were A*- B grades and 80% of all A level entries were A*- C grade. A number of students performed outstandingly well, including 22 students who achieved all A-A* grades. In addition, many students achieved excellent Level 3 vocational results with over 50% of all grades Distinction* or Distinction.
Over the past two weeks we have had the amazing opportunity to create some poetry and
stained glass art through Newcastle University and with professional stained glass artist,
Helen Grierson.
On Thursday 6th July we travelled to The Sill on Hadrian’s wall where we had a presentation
about ‘Poems in the Air’ and learnt about the amazing partnership between Northumberland
National Park and Simon Armitage. We then looked around the centre and saw where our
poems and stained glass were going to be displayed. Afterwards, we walked the short
distance along the wall to Sycamore Gap and learnt about the history of the area and started
to form ideas about our poems.
Some of the poems can be viewed here.
On Tuesday the 11th July we headed to Newcastle University for the day where we first got
to have a tour of the brilliant library facilities and looked at the historical books there. We
then had a lecture by John Chalice, a member of the English Faculty, and a workshop to
help to develop our poetry ideas further and show us many techniques to improve our
poems. The workshop was incredibly helpful to develop the poems and really it helped to
have an experienced writer to suggest improvements.
Finally, on Thursday the 13th July, we went back to Newcastle University where we went on
a nature walk around the university taking brief drawings and notes about what they could
see, hear and smell around the campus site, then walked around the Hatton Gallery. We
then produced stained glass artwork with Helen Grierson, a Northumberland stained glass
artist, using the natural landscape of Hadrian’s Wall and our poems to create some beautiful
stained glass pieces.
It was a truly inspirational and unique experience allowing us to explore our individual
creativity and have fun.
Our work will be exhibited at The Sill from the 11th August until mid-September.
We are delighted to announce that science teacher Phillippa Life has become World Champion in the executive ladies black belt heavyweight point stop sparring and tag team sparring events at the Tae Kwon Do International’s 13th World Championships.
The event took place over the 14-16th July weekend in Coventry Skydome arena with 20+ international squads taking part.She fought an American in the 1st round and won (25-2), an English competitor in the semi-final and won (26-1) and then went on to win 5-2. Her team also won the executive tag team sparring.
This is a huge achievement and staff and students at King Edward’s are really proud of her success.
Congratulations to Morgan Collings for his recent success in the U15 Rowing Nationals C Final. Well done on finishing 16th in the country!
An unforgettable event for students and teachers on a day of competition and enjoyment
This year’s sports day was an exciting one for our students. Students competed in order to gain glory for their houses, however despite all this competition, there was still an incredibly positive atmosphere, thanks to staff and students cheering on competitors and the good sportsmanship demonstrated on the day.
The true essence of Sports Day lay not only in the students’ pursuit of victory but also in fostering a sense of unity and school pride in our community. The compassion shown by the students towards those competing and their fellow classmates was brilliant to see.
Sports Day demonstrates exactly what our school is about.
