King Edward VI Five Ways - History

History

A boys' school established in 1883 as part of the King Edward VI Foundation, the school's original site was that of the former Edgbaston Proprietary School, on Hagley Road at its junction with Ladywood Road, at Five Ways, approximately 1 mile south-west of Birmingham city centre. The school opened for the first time on January 16, 1883. The original Headmaster was E.H.F. MacCarthy, who remained at his post until retirement in 1916 (who now has a building named after him at the Bartley Green site). Originally, school ended at 16, and the only way to go to Oxbridge was to go to the main King Edward's School, at the time in New Street. However, MacCarthy's successor, Mr Barker, introduced the idea of the Sixth Form as a way to get straight from Five Ways to university.

During the Second World War, the Headmaster at the time, Mr Dobinson, decided to evacuate the school to Monmouth, and boys from Five Ways attended Monmouth School. This meant that all of the staff and pupils moved to share accommodation in the town, and could only keep in contact with family via correspondence. Mr Dobinson was the only person from the school to frequent Birmingham at all during the war.

After the war, the school was becoming overcrowded as expansion began to take its toll. Due to expansion around the school there was no opportunity to build on the current grounds, so a new site was found. On April 23, 1958 the school opened at its current home in Bartley Green, a suburb on the extreme south-west of Birmingham. The new school was built on the site of the Bartley Farm, which had been purchased by the Foundation, next to Bartley Reservoir. The site was elevated, and in the winter a bleak place.

The relocation was not universally popular. The school Debating Society passed a motion regretting the move. Staff were concerned about the effect the relocation to such a distant suburb would have on the intake of the school, which because of its central location had previously drawn its intake from the whole city, and it is true that many boys who had joined the school at Five Ways, easily reached from all parts of the city, suddenly had considerably longer journeys to reach the school at its new, remote location. This undoubtedly affected admissions in later years. The school's corridors were considered too narrow, and whilst the playing fields were extensive the school buildings themselves were small and rather basic, with limited common areas.

The time since 1958 has seen the development of much improved facilities, largely due to Arminio, however. Buildings new to the Bartley Green site include the Eyles and Chowen Centres, the former and current home of the school's Sixth Form. A music block and technology block have been added, as well as a Sports Hall and the MacCarthy Block. There has also been the expansion of the Science Wing, and increased seating capacity in the hall with an annex. As well as the current building of the Fitness Suite and extension to the art rooms in the MacCarthy Block.

Five Ways was one of the first schools in the West Midlands to introduce computer technology in 1978. This was achieved with a communications link to use computing facilities at Aston University.

Girls were first admitted to Five Ways from 1988, firstly in the Sixth Form, and then into the main school ten years later. Today, Five Ways is the largest co-educational grammar school in the West Midlands, and one of the top five co-ed grammar schools nationally.