King Edward's School, Birmingham

KES Through Time ⏳📸

Speech day 1945 ➡ 2026

Our school has been shaped by remarkable people, enduring traditions and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Join us as we celebrate 475 years of King Edward’s.

Find out how to get involved ➡ https://kes.org.uk/475-celebrations/

Our A Level Geography pupils enjoyed an exciting and insightful trip to Bristol, exploring urban regeneration, land use and gentrification in action.🏘️📊

Highlights included a boat tour of the Floating Harbour, fieldwork in Wapping Wharf and Millennium Square, stunning views from Cabot Tower, and visits to St Paul’s and Stokes Croft to investigate how communities and places change over time. 🚤🌟

Year 12 pupils from KES and KEHS came together for two interdisciplinary project days, exploring topics linked to Perception and Green. 📚🧠✨

Working in mixed-school teams, pupils developed research skills, tackled big questions, and presented their findings to peers and staff. 🔍📊🤝

KES Through Time ⏳📸

2027 marks a wonderful milestone: the 475th anniversary of King Edward’s School. Discover a vibrant programme of events, projects and explore the many ways you can be part of this unforgettable anniversary year 🎓✨

Get involved ➡ https://kes.org.uk/475-celebrations/

We are saddened to learn of the death of Old Edwardian Bill Oddie OBE (OE 1959).

William Edgar Oddie attended King Edward's from 1954 - 1960, being involved in many parts of school life, including sport and drama. His distinctions included captaining the 1st XV rugby team, being a prefect and writing Let's Face It! - an original r***e presented in 1959.

We are grateful for the support Bill showed to the school over the years, including as an ambassador for the AP100 Campaign, which raised funds for Assisted Places. As part of this role, in 2015 he entertained more than 300 pupils, parents, alumni and staff with stories from his time at school, reflecting on the lasting impact his school days had on his life.

The thoughts of the King Edward's community are with Bill's family and friends at this sad time.

"School days really were the best years of my life. Not many people can truthfully say that. I'd love to do it again, but be a little bit taller."

Bill Oddie 1941 - 2026, wildlife presenter, broadcaster, comedian, writer, songwriter, musician and conservationist

Photos:

Bill speaking at KES in 2015
The rugby team, 1959/60: Bill seated centre (photo previously shared with us by OE Chris Hughes)
The prefects, 1958/59: Bill standing on the left
Bill's portrait from the time of Let's Face It! (photo previously shared with us by OE Roger Wilkins)
Cricket, 1958: Bill standing centre
The front cover of the Let's Face It! programme, 1959

A wonderful celebration at our Annual Speech Day! 🎓✨

We were delighted to welcome back William Clarke (OE 2008), Associate Professor at the Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging at the University of Oxford, who delivered an inspiring speech and presented this year’s prizes.🏆👏

The perfect send-off for a brilliant year group. 🎉

We were delighted to welcome the High Sheriff of the West Midlands, Carmen Watson, and Tim Jones from Pertemps to present a £10,000 prize following our sixth consecutive victory in the Lord Mayor’s Sixth Form Mega Quiz! 🎉🏆👏

A huge congratulations to Lewis, Neel, Finn, Haresh, Gwilym and James. The funding will help enhance a range of co-curricular opportunities for our pupils. 💙✨

Class of 2026 😎✨

Our final KES IB cohort celebrated an outstanding set of results and will now embark on the next stage of their journeys at leading universities. 🎓🎉👏

Discover their results, university destinations, and hear what some of our pupils had to say over on our website ➡ https://kes.org.uk/news/final-kes-ib-cohort-celebrate-outstanding-results-and-exciting-futures-ahead/