Welcome to King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys

I would like to welcome you to look at our website as the very proud headteacher of this remarkable school.

This school is a diverse, happy and exciting place to study and to work in. Our pupils know that they are a part of a school which has existed since 1862 and they are proud of that heritage. They know that they too are making a valuable contribution to the school every day, and that they are judged as pupils of King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, when they are on the bus, tram or train on their way to and from school.

We have wonderful opportunities for our pupils which include over one hundred trips and visits each year. These range from local one day visits to places of historical and religious significance in the local area, to overseas trips to places as different as Texas in the USA, Rome, Berlin, and Belgium.

We also have a wide range of musical and sporting opportunities and our summer and winter concerts are a real celebration of our pupils’ musical talent, and are very well supported by their parents and teachers.

This school has a rich sporting heritage and we are proud that our school teams regularly compete in football, basketball and cricket fixtures, as well as providing recreational opportunities for our pupils to play other sports such as badminton and table tennis.

We have a talented and dedicated staff who are real experts in their subjects. They have decades of experience of teaching grammar school pupils and they know exactly what it takes to attain the highest results, but also to help to develop young people as model citizens, who are going to make a real contribution to their communities, both locally and nationally.

All of these things help our pupils grow into ambitious, aspirational and resilient lifelong learners who embody our school values of community, aspiration, respect, endeavour and service.  Our message for our pupils is clear, we want to provide them with the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to be able to make a positive contribution to society and be a force for good in the world.

Although we are a boys’ school from the ages of 11-16, we very much welcome female pupils to join us in the sixth form. Our female pupils bring a richness and maturity to our school and we are very proud of their achievements both in school and afterwards when they embark on successful and fulfilling careers.

In the Ofsted Report of 2017, we were graded as Outstanding in every category – overall effectiveness, effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare, outcomes for pupils and 16 to 19 study programmes. The HMI noted that our pupils enjoy coming to school, that they make excellent academic progress and reach high standards. Teachers have expert subject knowledge and high expectations of all pupils.

This Outstanding grading was confirmed in our most recent Ofsted Inspection in March 2022 and some of the highlights from the report comment that: “This is a school where pupils have a keen desire to do well. Pupils are inquisitive learners and thrive on the knowledge they gain from their lessons. They enjoy school and wear their uniform with pride.”  It also said: “Pupils behave exceptionally well. In lessons, they are highly attentive and engage fully with their learning.”

We recognise that choosing the right school is a difficult decision. I would encourage you to contact us and we would be delighted to welcome you to Handsworth Grammar School so that you can experience what we have to offer first hand.

Mr Tim Johnson

Headteacher