King Edward VI School – Our History
We began life a long time ago. There was almost certainly a school in Bury St Edmunds from the 10th century. In 903 the body of King Edmund was laid in the priests’ college, of which the school was a part.
King Canute established a Benedictine Monastery in Bury and paid from the royal purse for boys of promise, even freed sons of slaves, to attend school. In 1550 lands were given to provide funds for a “scole ther to be founded by the kinges Maiestie in the like manner as the school at Sherbourne”.
King Edward 6th, Bury St Edmunds (Roy Margerum)
The second King Edward VI School
King Edward VI School is, therefore, the second King Edward VI School in the country, and in 2000 it had been founded for 450 years. Bury was privileged to have a Royal School. The charter with Edward’s seal is in the Public Records Office together with documents and books from the early years of the school’s existence.
Originally a grammar school for boys
Originally a grammar school for boys, who studied Greek, Latin and religious instruction, King Edward VI School have moved to various different sites in the town all of which are marked with plaques donated by the Old Burians’ Association of past students.
The sites are in Eastgate Street, Northgate Street, Vinefields and (since 1971) Grove Road, when the grammar school merged with the Silver Jubilee School to form a comprehensive upper school
In 2016 the school underwent another transition, becoming a full 11-18 high school of around 1700 students.
schola buriensis
Its motto remains ‘schola buriensis’ – the school of Bury – and we are just as committed to helping all our students, whatever their backgrounds, to reach their potential in the classroom and in the unrivalled range of extra-curricular activities on offer.
