KES in the community
The Community Partnerships and Outreach Programme at KES, alongside our charitable work and volunteering, aims to provide meaningful benefit to the local community and beyond, as well as offering KES pupils the valuable experience of service as part of an all-round KES education.
With a long tradition of supporting the local community, from providing bursaries to widen access to a KES education for all children with potential, to volunteering in local schools, this element of school life continues to expand and grow in scope and ambition, with collaboration, mutual respect and long-term impact at the heart of its endeavours.
Community Outreach Programme
Contributing to and supporting the local community is part of the School’s DNA and can be traced back to the the School’s roots and its founding as the city’s grammar school. Many of our cross-sector partnerships are long-standing and each year support different educational opportunities for hundreds of local young people. Here are some examples of our outreach work.
| BURSARIES |
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| King Edward’s has a long history of supporting education for pupils with academic potential who have clear financial need through the provision of means-tested bursaries in the Senior School. This tradition stretches back to the School’s foundation in 1552 and remains at the heart of our ethos today. In the current academic year, the School has invested over £1.3 million in means-tested support, with around 20% of pupils in the Senior School in receipt of a bursary. |
| ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS |
| Two Senior School teachers visit up to 4 local schools to deliver English and Maths support and stretch and challenge activities to Year 5 & 6 pupils. They support the primary school curriculum, provide suitable and relevant resources, and deliver specialist teaching to small groups of able pupils. |
| CCF Partnership |
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King Edward's School CCF is numbered among the oldest contingents in the country, establishing a corps in 1900. It is an army only section and, since 2006, has been proudly affiliated to the King's Royal Hussars and combines their unique 'brown beret' with our very own original cap badge. Pupils can join in Year 8 and the broad function of the CCF is to develop valuable life skills such as leadership, responsibility, self-reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance. The weekly syllabus is progressional throughout the 6 years, allowing cadets to move up the ranks and gain valuable life and leadership qualities. Through a unique local partnership, we are proud to welcome pupils and staff from Beechen Cliff School to our cadet and officer ranks. Collectively, there is over a 100 cadets on roll in total. |
| PRIMARY SCHOOL WORKSHOPS |
| Every Summer Term KES runs a week-long programme of workshops for over 200 Year 5 pupils from local primary schools in Bath. The workshops, run by KES teaching staff, take place on site and make full use of the School’s facilities. Aiming to engage and inspire, the workshops cover most academic and co-curricular subjects, from Performing Arts to STEM and Sport to DT and Art. In addition to the learning and experience, visiting pupils and staff are also invited for lunch each day which they really enjoy. |
| SPECIAL SCHOOL ART WORKSHOPS |
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KES Art department is working with Three Ways School, a community special school in Bath, to support classroom teachers in the delivery of a series of creative workshops for pupils aged 11-12yrs and 13-14yrs. The summer workshop will culminate in an exhibition of the work created throughout the year. KES Sixth Form pupils help to deliver the workshops alongside KES Art department staff, providing students with valuable life experiences. |
| PRIMARY SCHOOL MUSIC WORKSHOPS |
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In conjunction with our partner of ten years, Bath Philharmonia, KES Music undertook a new community outreach project earlier this year where KES music staff and pupils, and members of the orchestra’s Creative Learning Team, 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 a diagnosis from the Autistic Spectrum. Inspired by Anna Meredith’s body percussion piece, Connect It, the KES/Bath Phil team worked with St Martin’s pupils to develop and record their own body percussion piece ahead of choreographing the piece into a final live performance involving all 80 children and the workshop team. “It was such an amazing experience for the children that took part, and they still talk about it. Thanks so much for taking the time to be so inclusive and allow all our pupils to take part.” Michael Bogg, SENCO at St Martin’s Garden and Head of The Margaret Coates Centre Resource Base. |
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CHARITY FUNDRAISING
A huge number of fundraising events take place at King Edward’s each year, many instigated and run by our student body. Pupils are also responsible for selecting the local school charity each year, with a shortlist of charities put together by pupil charity representatives that the whole school then votes on to select. Each year we support one local, one national and one international charity.
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Last year the KES community raised over £21, 000 for our school charities through a variety of activities including sponsored walks, a sponsored abseil down Bath Abbey, sponsored haircuts, non-uniform days, a drumathon, Christmas elf run, cake sales, charity netball match, fundraising talks, and music concerts, to name just a few. We also collected books to create a Bookbank at Bath Foodbank. In addition to its fundraising efforts, the School also holds four Foodbank collections every year. Year 7 organises a reverse advent collection for Julian House, and we participate in a Salvation Army collection at Christmas. Our Charity Committee which includes pupil members from Year 7 to Year 13, meets every half-term to brainstorm fundraising ideas. Members also visit charity partners to help increase understanding of their work in the community. You can follow the work of KES charity initiatives by following @KESBathCharity on X. |
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OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MOVING MOUNTAINS TRUST
Over the past 15 years, KES has developed a close relationship with the international charity, Moving Mountains Trust and its sister organisation, Adventure Alternative. Moving Mountains Trust is an international charity working with disadvantaged children and communities in Kenya, Tanzania and Nepal. The charities’ central objective is the relief of poverty, and they fund programmes and projects dedicated to education, health and social welfare run by partner NGOs. Moving Mountains Trust work is supported by KES through regular fundraising efforts and is the School’s current International charitable partner.
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"The long-term fundraising that Moving Mountains receives from King Edward’s enables us to plan consistently and with confidence in the future. This year the support from KES has allowed us to branch out into new areas including mental health counselling for young people and victims of gender-based violence, sanitation facilities in schools and the provision of sanitary pads."Gavin Bate, Founder Moving Mountains Trust |
Every two years KES organises a school trip to support the work of this wonderful charity. In summer 2023, 36 pupils & six members of staff embarked on the trip of a lifetime to Kenya. Whilst there, pupils immersed themselves in a completely different culture. They participated in life-changing charity work and experienced the breathtaking African landscape.
The trip was split into three parts including the community project element, climbing Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa, followed by a safari in the Rift Valley.
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COmmunity Service
Community service is an important part of school life here at KES, and a dedicated group of our older pupils are engaged in a wide variety of activities across Bath and the local area. Helping others is a valuable experience for our pupils and their contributions are greatly appreciated by our partner institutions.
Every Thursday afternoon, members of the Sixth Form volunteer at local organisations, including local primary schools and homes and day centres for the elderly. Activities include helping children to practise their reading and taking part in arts, crafts and IT lessons. With the older people, students take part in activities such as singing, playing musical instruments and doing puzzles.
Our Community Links Include:
- Peggy Dodd Centre
- Bathampton Junior School
- Combe Down Primary School
- Widcombe Infant School
- Bridgemead Care Home
- Widcombe Infant School
- Bridgemead Care Home
