King Edward's School, Birmingham

The chapel

The chapel, a Grade II* listed building, was originally part of the upper corridor of the 1838 New Street school (built by Charles Barry). It was moved brick by brick to Edgbaston (1938–1940) by Holland W. Hobbiss, and renovated and rebuilt in the 1950s.

On Wednesday 4 May 2016, King Edward's School officially opened the second phase of its First World War exhibition in the chapel, originally opened in 2014, to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.

"Big School" the main assembly hall, used in the film Clockwise

Another glory of the school, the great desk of the Chief Master, with 'Sapientia' inscribed over it" survives from Barry's New Street school, and is still in daily use in Big School. This too is generally thought to be the work of Pugin.[4]

The school buildings have been used in several film and television productions. They were used in the 1986 film Clockwise, starring John Cleese, supposedly as the University of East Anglia. The school featured briefly in the 2006 Ray Winstone Channel 4 TV film All in the Game. The school has also been used in several episodes of the BBC medical drama Doctors. The school grounds were used in 2000 to film a feature on the Mazda MX-5 sports car for Clarkson's Car Years, presented by Jeremy Clarkson, against a background of boys in the Shells playing rugby on a rainy day. The school has also notably featured some teachers on TV, with one John Fennel famously appearing on the Birmingham series of Come Dine With Me.

There are three main sports at KES; rugby and hockey in the winter and cricket in the summer. Hockey is available as an option from first year (Shells) onwards. In the first and second years (Shells and Removes), there are up to six fully coached rugby teams, but from the third year there are only three. Other boys practise hockey, basketball, fencing, swimming and other sports. On rare occasions, where boys are especially talented in several fields, they play those sports they excel in, as well as their chosen sport.

The rugby match against KES's main rival, Bromsgrove School, is the highlight of the rugby season, has been played annually since 1875,[16] and is the oldest annual schools fixture in England. KES is also a keen rival of Solihull School and Warwick School, both fixtures dating back a hundred or more years. The school runs a rugby tour to a major rugby-playing country every two years, the tour being open only to the 1st and 2nd teams of that year.

The water polo team has won the English Schools Under-19 Water Polo competition in 2002 and 2008, the latter win being accompanied by the Warwickshire Cup. Numerous players have been called to the City of Birmingham Youth Squad and English Schools Water Polo teams. The school runs a water polo tour every so often, with the most recent tour in Cyprus taking place from 23 to 29 October 2019.[17]

The house system encourages participation in sport outside the weekly sports sessions. With autumn and winter competitions in rugby, hockey, tennis etc., pupils have the opportunity to participate in team competitions. In the summer, house activities such as the school's athletics competition, cross country races and house swimming allow further sporting pursuits. The school makes use of its extensive sporting facilities, which include a swimming pool, AstroTurf pitches (shared with KEHS), tennis courts, numerous rugby and cricket pitches (including additional training areas), an athletics track, a sports hall, squash courts and Eton Fives courts.

The school also competes in national competitions of a more intellectual nature including chess, Schools' Challenge (general knowledge) and debating.

KES/KEHS Christmas Concert

There is a separate building on site housing the Music Department, with facilities including a recital/rehearsal auditorium and a computer laboratory equipped with keyboard input. In addition, the school supports two full orchestras (in association with King Edward's High School for Girls) the more advanced of which has performed such works as Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World". There are also two wind/brass ensembles in association with KEHS, and the senior members of both schools can join the Choral Society, a choir of 80-100 people which has sung such works as Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and Karl Jenkins's The Armed Man. KES also has its own choir, which sings at the Christmas carol service held in St. Philip's Cathedral in the centre of Birmingham, and at the Christmas and summer concerts. The school holds four concerts every year: three at the school site and one in the summer at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham. The Drama Society at KES/KEHS performs a junior play, senior play or musical, and syndicate play (organised solely by pupils) and participates in the Shakespeare Schools Festival (for pupils in the Fourths and Fifths).

In 2012 the school built a new Performing Arts Centre, of which the main space is the Ruddock Hall which accommodates an orchestra of 90, audience of over 400 and a drama studio of flexible design that accommodates an audience of 120. The centre also houses a studio designed specifically for dance which benefits from panoramic open views across Winterbourne Gardens. Commissioned by Sir Paul Ruddock, a former pupil of the school, the facility was officially opened by the Rt Hon Michael Gove on 13 April 2012. The concert hall of the Ruddock Performing Arts Centre hosts the school's Senior and Junior Productions, Dance Production and three concerts throughout the year. The smaller drama studio hosts the more minor productions, such as the Middle School Drama Club.

Cycle touring in Normandy

In the Shells boys take part in a three-day camping trip in Staffordshire, cooking their own evening meals. In the Removes each form has a five-day youth hostel visit in the Lake District or Snowdonia. This is alongside individual department field trips, such as annual Geography, History and Biology field trips along with exchanges with foreign pupils.

There are also a few hill-walking, caving and climbing trips for boys in the lower years.

The annual expeditions programme includes cycle tours, visits to Jordan, Ardèche adventure weeks in France, ski and snow-shoeing trips, and visits to Normandy and the Bay of Naples. The school has operated annual cycle tours since 1995. Past tours have included Sustrans routes such as the Coast to Coast and Hull to Felixstowe. The school has toured on three occasions from Land's End to John O'Groats. Cycle tours abroad include the Kingfisher Trail in Ireland, a tour in Normandy, the Golden Circle in the Netherlands, and most recently from Dunkerque in France to IJmuiden in the Netherlands.

King Edward's School has had a Combined Cadet Force (CCF) since 1906 (originally Officers Training Corps, then Junior Training Corps, 1940–48); it is a voluntary organisation. The CCF comprises: the Royal Navy section, the Army section, and the Royal Air Force section which was terminated in 2014 but was started again in 2016. The CCF conduct their training on Friday afternoons, and expeditions take place throughout the year. The RN section is currently affiliated to HMS Daring, along with several other organisations in the Midlands.[18] The RAF Section is affiliated with No. 8 Air Experience Flight which is based at RAF Cosford.

The contingent is part of 143 West Midlands Brigade, and the contingent are represented at the Brigade competitions by members of all three sections. In 2006 the contingent won all the matches at the CCF Skill at Arms competition, the Military Skills competition and various first aid titles. The CCF is closely linked with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme within the school. In 2006 KES CCF celebrated its centenary Review; the Inspecting Officer was the then Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Adrian Johns.

The CCF train on Friday afternoons, on the school site for the majority of the year, although each section may go elsewhere occasionally for specific activities, and weekend activities and expeditions take place at various military bases around the country. The school has a 25m indoor Firing Range on which cadets from all sections fire the .22 No.8 rifle. To shoot the larger, semi-automatic L98 rifle, cadets must fire on ranges on real military bases. Royal Navy cadets frequently spend Friday afternoons sailing or kayaking at the local Edgbaston Reservoir.

In June 2014, it was announced that the RAF section would be disbanded due to a lack of staff as well as for various other reasons. The final Annual General Inspection of the CCF with the RAF section present was held on 4 July 2014, and was attended by Air Marshal Barry North as the Inspecting Officer, as well as a number of other officers from each section. However, the RAF section was restarted in September 2015 and has recently competed in the Royal Air Squadron Trophy (RAST). On a weekly basis, it involves itself in leadership tasks; first aid tasks and general military skills such as drill and uniform presentation.

Previously, the school operated the Duke of Edinburgh's Award at Bronze, Silver and Gold Level; since September 2012, only the Gold award is offered and only for senior students. Instead the school holds their own awards scheme - the KES Expeditions Award.

There is a range of around 40 groups, clubs and societies at the school, including: the Agora Society (philosophy), Engineering Society (STEM), Visual Media Society (films, television and the industry),Junior and Senior Debating Societies, Literary Society, Dramatic Society, Amnesty International Society, Classic Film Society, Model United Nations, Programming Club, Scientific Society, Book Club and Archery. The school also had a Living History (historical re-enactment) society, which stopped in 2018. There are drama clubs for every year, with years 7 and 8 having their own; with years 9 & 10 participating in 'Middle School Drama Club'. The mentoring society, with the aim of helping pupils in their studies, runs weekly under the supervision of the Learning Support co-ordinator.

Boys can also compete in the Schools Challenge competition, with King Edward's having won the National Competition in 2011. The Schools' Challenge team has secured regular victories in regional competitions such as the Lord Mayor's Quiz, coming 1st in 2019 and 2020.

King Edward's has flourishing debating teams which participate in competitive tournaments at venues like the Oxford, Cambridge and Durham Unions. It was the first (and so far only) school to retain the Cambridge Union Schools' Debating title (2000 and 2001).