King Edward VI High School for Girls

"My daughter is enjoying her time at the school & to add. The negative comments are untrue!!"

"Completely agree with 'one cosmic boi', My daughter was there until recently. She had severe mental health difficulties with crippling anxiety and self harm. In the end she was actively suicidal. Real pastoral care on the ground (with a few honourable exceptions) was laughable, although the talk was talked to us parents. The school is rigid and arrogant. They know that they get the results, so they don't see any reason to change. They go on doing what they do. Really the problem is the parents. If they kicked up a fuss, the school would have to make changes. But the parents want that Oxford place above everything else, and they know that if they stick with the programme, they'll get it, or something close."

"I have been reading these reviews and, as a KEHS student myself, am a little hurt by some of the more negative comments. The club opportunities for students cover a massive range, some ran by Sixth Formers (proving it is not all about grades). Also, the curriculum is wide and yes, it does cover computing in our curriculum. When we chose our language options (which gave us high flexibility with the MFL languages we could choose for Yr8), there was little pressure on any of us, if there was any. The pressure certainly didn't come from the teachers; it was from the choosing of wonderful opportunities each department offered. Also, the new language on offer (Mandarin) is something I don't think counts as a part of a small set of traditional subjects.The teachers are wonderful, engaging and try to put as little pressure as possible. Lastly, I would like to address the matter of the school 'mocking the poor'. I am on their assisted places scheme and I am really grateful for it. The school tries to raise as much as possible for this scheme yet they cannot do everything they want."

"Coming across these reviews, I have to admit I am incredibly surprised. KEHS is honestly one of the best schools I know, and I am incredibly fortunate to be able to say I am a student there. I saw quite a few reviews saying that parents who aren't rich shouldn't send their children here, but over 25% of pupils at the school are helped in some way by funding from bursaries or scholarships. As someone who took the test in Y7, having come from an inner-city state primary school, I have NEVER been made to feel like I didn't belong at the school, and the financial support (which lasts from Y7 through to Y13), has been nothing short of incredible. The school doesn't "aim to take your money", it's quite the opposite, and they are extremely transparent with increases of fees . As well as two counsellors (available free of charge to any pupil who asks for help, which can also be done anonymously), there are always teachers available, who care MORE about your mental health and wellbeing than what grades will be on a piece of paper after public exams. Before sitting my GCSEs, Mrs Clark spoke to our year and explicitly said, "To me, it's more important that whatever you get in these exams is a true reflection of all the hard work I know you put in". I don't think this is a headmistress who only delivers "lip service". I have never personally felt pressured to "perform" during any End of Year Examinations or public ones, and I can safely say that although there are of course teachers who may be seen to be "putting pressure" on girls, the vast majority of them don't do this purposefully or maliciously. I think, from personal experience, the pressure felt is a result of a small group of girls, or even one, talking about their fears and worries, which sets other girls off, and can spread like a wildfire. It easily becomes a culture of "X did 3 hours of History homework last night, so now I need to do 4". This toxic behaviour is in no way endorsed by teachers, and, especially during exam season, they try to quash this type of rising angst. Teachers at KEHS are one-of-a-kind; everyone will have their favourites, or teachers they feel most comfortable talking to, and whichever teacher you decide to talk to about an issue will be extremely sensitive and considerate when advising you on what to do next. It's safe to say they go above and beyond, which I've had many experiences of. Where else can you go where a teacher will spend their lunchtime sitting and eating with you because of your relationship with food, or where you are able to have a year group discussion with the Headmistress about things that need to be changed in the school, or where teachers allow you to email them over the weekend for help with a question? Over the years, there have been problems with the amount of homework given, however in the last few years I've seen this more than resolved. Teachers are not allowed to give homework that has to be in for the next day, which teachers will not do unless agreed by the WHOLE class.Generally, teachers are very flexible when it comes to homework deadlines, providing you talk to them in advance. There are also meetings set up for pupils with their Form Teachers or members of Senior Leadership to discuss things such as pupil wellbeing, homework, and general happiness at school. I think it's a lot easier to complain about all the ways in which something is bad, than to take a moment to reflect on what is good, and KEHS is more than just a GOOD school. A great example of this is the end of my GCSE period, when girls in my year were deciding where to go for Sixth Form. The majority of the year decided they were leaving because "it's rubbish here", "it's too expensive", "I just want to chill", but here we are, further down the line, only a handful of people in my year left, and for a brief period of time those people stopped complaining. They all thought KE was bad, so decided to look elsewhere, but when they didn't find anything better, they stayed, and realised it wasn't actually bad."

"KEHS is truly one of a kind as a school. You will find it hard to come by a school with such inspired teachers, high achievers, and such a unique environment. This is a school that drives its students to do their best, no matter how much work and motivation that takes. It is evident that KEHS wants to come out looking stellar in the league tables each year, and thus want their pupils to work to their full potential. And this attitude manifests itself strongly in each student. The number of students with increasingly poor mental health is skyrocketing, as the concepts of burnout and stress remain utterly foreign to members of staff; upper management is particularly guilty of this. The pressure to perform is piled on every year, with some school days being extended recently, a decision that neither students nor teaching staff felt to be necessary. Management likes to repeatedly acknowledge the high stress that its pupils undergo, but has yet to make any actual changes. The furthest they have gone was one assembly which hypocritically told pupils to relax, and reminded them that their feelings are indeed abnormal and should be curbed. Before I continue, an important issue which receives no transparency whatsoever is that of fees. Throughout my time here, fees have risen by a total of about £3,000, well above the inflation rate. Please bear this in mind before coming here, because KEHS like to be very secretive about this annual fee rise. Ideals that are pushed on KEHS students relentlessly shine through in the demotivation, exhaustion, and depression that spreads round pupils like wildfire. As a consequence of burnout, students lose the desire to work as they go up the school. The biggest sense of community here comes from the mutual dislike of studying. There is no secure pastoral provision for the students, as work ethic is placed well beyond any other needs. Students are actively reprimanded by staff for not working in their allocated 'free' time. Despite promised changes to homework policies, KEHS has not budged. Multiple members of staff completely ignore the minimum two day deadlines, and a vast majority ignore the set time limits per subject. Pupils remain feeling hopeless and drained as they struggle to meet impossible deadlines. The bureaucracy at KEHS is unbelievable. Students are hounded for each missed registration, usually months after the event. In the vast majority of cases, these missed registrations end up being due to staff not actually taking the register. Even if students have some 'free' periods first thing in the morning, they are forbidden to come into school later; the reason the school provides for this is that pupils "should be working, not sleeping". Along with the aforementioned homework policies, this results in many students being heavily sleep deprived, leading to a vicious cycle of underperforming in lessons and consequently feeling compelled by the school to push themselves even harder. Small class sizes at A level is something that the school claims to offer and yet this year multiple subject groups have been collapsed. Thus, this claim made by the school is a lie. Lastly, the school's complete lack of provision for most subjects is astonishing. Recently in a school council meeting (which have regularly proven to be ineffective at getting upper management to listen to suggestions) introducing an A level in Government and Politics was proposed and instantly shot down despite pupils' enthusiasm. Technology appears to be something unknown to staff, and there are neither proper lessons, nor qualified teachers, for subjects such as computer science and design technology. KEHS is doing its students a major disservice by sticking to its small set of 'traditional academic subjects'. It is certain that you will leave KEHS knowing how to write a good essay and prepare a good report, holding an indubitably stellar academic record. You will also leave with poor self-esteem, a distaste for the school's regressive attitude, and the full knowledge that you would have been much happier elsewhere."