King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys

Grove Lane,
Birmingham
B21 9ET

Tel: 0121 554 2794

enquiry@handsworth.bham.sch.uk
www.handsworth.bham.sch.uk

July 2023

Dear Parents/Carers

The end of the summer term and the end of the academic year is imminent. However, as we have moved
through this academic year a real sense of normality has resumed in full with in person exams, trips, visits and
in person events such as Open Evening. This has been wonderful! HGS feels like HGS again as we celebrated
our 160th Anniversary year.

We wish all our Year 11 and 13 Students the very best of luck with their August GCSE and A Level examination
results. There were 106 examinations held totalling over 408 hours and 4752 papers. Information outlining
the details for Exam Results Day on August 17th and 24th respectively was distributed earlier this month and is
available on our website and Teams for reference. We look forward to the summer holiday and a period of
well-earned rest. It has been another extremely busy and successful term for King Edward VI Handsworth
Grammar School. The recently published Summer Newsletter and Bridge magazine clearly demonstrate how
exciting and varied our community is, and the positive impact the school has on so many different aspects of
it.

We say farewell and thank you to Mr S Campbell who is embarking upon a well-earned retirement. We say
farewell and thank you to Mr Dubay who is leaving on promotion. We say goodbye to Mr Ahmed who is taking
up a post with Ernst and Young. We also say farewell to Ms Ling who is taking up a post at another school. We
welcome Mrs Ahmed, Mr Lloyd, Ms Sohal, Mrs Griffiths and Mr Ahmed. Dr Tepe becomes Head of English and
Mr Organ Second in the English Department as Ms Brown steps back from this role.

The Autumn term begins on Wednesday 6th September for students with a staggered start as follows:

Year 7 will start at 8.35 am and Year 12 external students will start at 8.35 am. Year 12 internal students will
start at 9.00 am. All other Year groups will start at 11 am. Year 12 will have a 2 day Induction programme so
will start their lessons on Friday 8th September.

Half term begins at 3.05 pm on Friday 27th October with the second half of term starting at the usual time on
Monday 6th November. The Autumn term finishes at 12 Noon on Friday 22nd December.

I have made this point many times before but it needs to be stated here again for the sake of absolute clarity
– family holidays, extended leave and the statutory threshold of ten school days have all been removed from
the regulations. The Government states that Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term
time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please also note that leave of absence should be requested
in advance in such circumstances and not assumed that it can be granted.

Please ensure that your children attend school punctually – remember that they should be on site by 8.30 am
at the latest and ready for Registration every morning at 8.35 am. We will take a very firm line with repeat
offenders and we expect your full support – after all a student cannot learn effectively if they are missing vital
time at school.

Headmaster: Dr S.N. Bird BA (Hons), DipEd, MA (Oxon), EdD (Warwick), NPQH, FRGS, FRSA

King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham a charitable company limited by guarantee. Registered No. 10654935.
Registered Office: Foundation Office, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham B15 2UD. Registered in England and Wales.
We would also ask for your full support over uniform. It is worth noting that the correct uniform must be worn
by all our students all of the time.
• No hoodies, tracksuit tops, fashion jackets, boots, pumps, trainers (other than for PE/Games), hats
(including baseball caps) should be worn.
• Only dark blue, grey or black over coats should be worn – no designer jackets or jackets with logos are
allowed.
• Hair should be neat and tidy with no extremes of colour (including 2 or more deliberate colours) or
design including shaved designs (grade 1 haircuts are the minimum allowed).
• Ties should be done up properly as should top buttons and shirts should be tucked in.
• The wearing of earrings and jewellery is not allowed.
• The correct PE/Games kit should be worn at all times. Sixth Formers must wear plain black tops and
tracksuit bottoms for all sports activities.
• Our uniform policy and procedures are very clear and our students’ appearance should not invite
adverse comment nor be detrimental to the reputation of the school. We should all be proud of our
school uniform. Please use the summer holiday to check and if necessary update your child’s uniform.
Please plan ahead for the winter and ensure that your child has an appropriate over coat.

Mobile phones and other personal, high value items where possible should not be brought to school and if it
is necessary that they are brought to school are done so at the owner’s risk and the school will not and cannot
take responsibility for loss or damage to them. Mobile phones must be switched off and kept out of sight when
on the school site at all times. The exception to this is when they are used in a classroom for the purposes of
learning and under the supervision of a member of staff. I cannot emphasise these points enough – I am
concerned when I see our students entering and leaving the school site with expensive gadgets on show.

The traffic in and around the area of school is busy and dangerous at all times so please ensure that your child
crosses the road safely, sensibly and securely via the Pelican crossing. Please ensure that you do not park
(including dropping off or picking up) on the gold zig zag and double yellow lines on Dawson Road.

King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School enjoys a fine tradition of excellence and achievement. We are
proud of our Grammar School ethos, traditions and culture. Yet we are forward thinking, innovative and
creative in our approach. We are rich in our multi-cultural community and proud of our inclusive approach to
all we do. As I have said before: We celebrate the diversity of our school community; aim for better mutual
understanding as we learn from each other’s stories; and pledge to stamp out any form of racism in our school
and to strive for inclusion and equity in our world. Benjamin Zephaniah’s wonderful poem, The British Poem,
which describes the recipe for our British melting pot, ends, “Note: All the ingredients are equally important.
Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste. Warning: An unequal spread
of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all.” These are wise words indeed.

We have a hard working and committed Staff and we expect that all of our Students are hardworking and
committed too. Our students have a fantastic opportunity in studying here – they must seize that opportunity
and be proud of their school, their uniform and themselves. We want to help shape and develop Independent
Lifelong Learners who are accepting of each other, compassionate, polite and respectful of all in the
community – please continue to support us in this endeavour.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated Staff, Governors and Charity Trustees for their
unfailing support, hard work and commitment over the past year. The American poet, Robert Frost, wrote, “In
three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It Goes On”. In these frenetic last few days of the
academic year, when there is so much to be done and the School is such a busy place, may those three words
spur us on to the finishing-line and into the joy of the Summer holiday that lies ahead for us all.

Headmaster: Dr S.N. Bird BA (Hons), DipEd, MA (Oxon), EdD (Warwick), NPQH, FRGS, FRSA

King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham a charitable company limited by guarantee. Registered No. 10654935.
Registered Office: Foundation Office, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham B15 2UD. Registered in England and Wales.
Please do check our website regularly for all our news and updates at: www.handsworth.bham.sch.uk

I hope you all enjoy the summer holiday – we all need and deserve a rest. I look forward to welcoming back
the school in September.

With best wishes.

Yours sincerely

SN Bird (Dr)

Headmaster: Dr S.N. Bird BA (Hons), DipEd, MA (Oxon), EdD (Warwick), NPQH, FRGS, FRSA

King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham a charitable company limited by guarantee. Registered No. 10654935.
Registered Office: Foundation Office, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham B15 2UD. Registered in England and Wales.