King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys

King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys is one of the most academically successful in the city, and virtually all of our Year 13 students go on to university. Those that choose not to go to university, secure excellent apprenticeships with major companies.

We presently have about 280 students in the sixth form with about one third of those, joining us from other schools. We also welcome female students and approximately one quarter of the sixth form are female; we welcome applications from pupils presently at other schools.

We have a strong academic tradition in the sixth form, and our curriculum and ethos is unashamedly that of a grammar school. We make no apologies for insisting on the highest standards of dress, punctuality, attendance and behaviour, as we believe that this sets us apart from many other post- 16 providers.

Our students go on to the finest universities around the country, to study on the most competitive of courses. We challenge and support them as much as possible so that they can fulfil their potential and achieve the best possible grades to help them on to the next stage of their careers.

We have a new, modern, Sixth Form Centre, where our pupils have access to the finest IT and learning facilities, and all of the support necessary to be successful sixth form students.

Our students are very proud of this facility, and we make every effort to utilize it, and to look after it for the benefit of all of the students and staff who study and work here each day. They are role models for the rest of the school, and we expect them to set a good example in their dress, manner and appearance.

We have developed a varied calendar of enrichment days when students come off timetable and take part in various activities. We regularly invite speakers from a wide range of professions to speak to our students about potential careers on these days, and we also give our students the opportunity to try other activities such as rock climbing, yoga and pottery. Our students are also taught about cooking on a budget, which is a very useful skill to have when they are university students.

We also want our students to contribute to their local community. We have developed our own “Legacy” programme and through this, many of our students make valuable contributions to local institutions, including care and retirement homes. They enjoy meeting elderly people and helping with practical activities such as gardening, which older people find more difficult. One of our most recent groups also did superb work on working with homeless people and earned much praise for their efforts and achievements

We want our students to leave this grammar school equipped with the skills to make a real and meaningful contribution to society, both locally, nationally and indeed internationally. We challenge our students every day to push themselves harder and harder in order to succeed in a very competitive world.