Tatler UK - 10.2019

58 Tatler Schools Guide 2020 tatler.com

boys with smaller class sizes and a

wider range of subjects, sugg-

ests Nicole Phillips, the school’s

Director of Admissions. It’s clearly

working – students praise ‘the

quality of teaching’ and ‘broader

scope’ available here. Oxbridge is

the target destination for most

of the boys, with the rest going on

to the best Russell Group universi-

ties, but there’s plenty to enjoy

along the way. ‘KES really is a fun

place to be,’ says a trusted source,

‘and there is so much more on of-

fer than achieving high grades.’

Particularly strong in rugby and

cricket, the school is always keen

to attract clever sportsmen and has

the teaching to lure them – an

ex-Olympian swimmer coaches

swimming and water polo. Drama,

debating and music are thriving

too, and are taken jointly with

next door King Edward VI High

School for Girls in an impressive

performing arts centre.

KING’S HIGH 

Banbury Road, Warwick

CV34 6YE

Website kingshighwarwick.co.uk

Head Richard Nicholson, MA,

since 2015; previously Deputy

Head at Lady Eleanor Holles Pupils

651 day girls Ages 11–18 Term Fees

£4,563 Oxbridge 11%

Registration 1–2 years before entry;

£75 fee Admission School’s own

exam Alumnae Actress Sophie Turner,

historian Dr Helen Castor

PREP Head Hellen Dodsworth

Pupils 508 day: 149 boys, 359 girls

Ages 3–11 Term Fees £4,220

own clubs too, and have intro-

duced a flourishing current affairs

breakfast club, a contemporary

choir, a classics club and a Sherlock

club. It’s a tight-knit place as well,

with a community feel that’s un-

derpinned by a clever ‘buddies’

system, in which all new starters

are paired with one girl in the year

above them and one sixth former.

Other recent success stories (there

are many) include students being

named Birmingham Young Poet

Laureate and BBC Young Musician

of the Year. Competition to study

here is increasingly fierce, with the

school now typically receiving

600–700 applications – up from

500 two years ago – for the 96

precious places. The entrance

exam consists of two English papers

and one maths paper and, as KES

has previously stated, tutoring in

preparation for these exams is

actively discouraged.

KING EDWARD’S

SCHOOL 

Edgbaston Park Road,

Birmingham B15 2UA

Website kes.org.uk Head

Dr Katy Ricks, DPhil, from

September; previously Head of

Sevenoaks School Pupils 874 day

boys Ages 11–18 Term Fees

£4,410 Oxbridge 15%

Registration By autumn of year

before entry; £25 fee Admission

School’s own exam, previous school’s

report and interview Alumni JRR

Tolkein, Edward Burne-Jones,

molecular biologist Maurice Wilkins

Dr Katy Ricks has returned to

KES (having had a sojourn as

Head of Sevenoaks), now taking

the helm at this league table-

topping Birmingham boys’ day

school. According to Acting Chief

Master Keith Phillips, this is a

‘great thing’, as she is a ‘full advocate

of the International Baccalaureate

and has achieved much in acad-

emic and co-curricular excellence’.

This does, indeed, make for a great

fit. In 2010, the school moved to

100 per cent IB, replacing A-levels

and enjoying stratospheric results

in the process. The secret to this

success? Attracting the brightest

THE LEYS 

Trumpington Road,

Cambridge CB2 7AD

Website theleys.net Head

Martin Priestley, MA, since 2014;

previously Head of Warminster

School Pupils 573 Day: 124 boys,

77 girls; boarding: 213 boys,

159 girls Faith Methodist

Ages 11–18 Term Fees Day:

£7,640; boarding: £11,415

Oxbridge 5% Registration By

October of year before entry; £100

fee Admission ISEB pre-testing for

Year 9 boarding and school’s own

exam Alumni politician Martin

Bell, tennis player Jamie Murray,

rugby player Alex Goode

Soaking up the cerebral aura of

Cambridge, The Leys likes to look at

itself as a ‘big small school’. This

means it is big enough to challenge

its pupils and in turn offer them

multiple opportunities, but small

enough to get to know the nuances

of each and every one of them.

The finely tuned balance seems

to have scored the approval of

parents. Asked by The Leys if it

lived up to their expectations,

a resounding 95 per cent responded

yes, praising the three cornerstones

upon which the school is

built: academic, pastoral and wider

curriculum. Last year, results were

some of the strongest ever, with a

99.3 per cent A-level pass rate, and

43 per cent of GCSEs graded 8 or

above. Study hasn’t diluted the

traditional emphasis on sport: these

pupils remain formidable at hockey,

rugby, tennis, cricket and netball,

and share a multi-million pound

boathouse with Cambridge Univer-

sity’s Selwyn, King’s and Churchill

Colleges. The Sports Academy was

created in 2007 to offer elite training

and learning, and sports scholarship

applications are actively encouraged.

Music sounds loud here: more than

200 music lessons are taught each

week, and this year’s musical

highlight was the first ever perfor-

mance of a specially commissioned

piece by renowned composer

Rebecca Dale. ‘Leysian pupils are

happy, self-confident and resilient,

thriving in a purposeful and

special place,’ says the school.

At King’s High, ‘it’s cool to be

clever,’ according to one delighted

student. With 64 per cent of all

exams graded A–A*, it’s not hard

to see why some view this as an

academic hothouse – but there’s

more to it than league tables. ‘We

fire on all cylinders, all the time,’

says Head Richard Nicholson –

and he leads by example; one

parent calls him ‘full of energy and

motivation’. When it comes to

extracurricular endeavours, the

school is shooting for the stars.

Last year, there was a student-led

link-up with the International

Space Station (masterminded by a

Year 11 pupil), which spurred a

year of space-age activities. Mars

Rovers were built in DT, astro-

photography was tackled in art

and there was a Space Day and

stargazing event. The Inspire pro-

gramme is another outstanding

feature; one parent explains: ‘In

her first term, my daughter has

been on a trip to the University of

Oxford, has had a lecture from a

polar explorer and has taken part in

a workshop with an England wom-

en’s cricket player.’ This September,

the girls move to brand new state-

of-the-art facilities on the edge of

the city, where they’ll join the oth-

er schools in the Warwick Inde-

pendent Schools Foundation, the

boys’ senior school and the prep

school. Along with a new gym, a

suite of science labs and a spacious

central quad, there’ll be a sixth

form building providing ‘shared

social and work space’ with the

boys of Warwick School.

MORETON HALL

PHOTOGRAPHY: IAN DAVIES

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