King Edward VI Academy

Awful school, do not send your kids there there is no mental health support, the staff are rude , disrespectful and show no empathy or passion towards the students and their jobs, students are treated like people in a juvenile detention and have no way of expressing themselves or having any fun , the behaviour system is also to harsh and petty and ruins students future careers and relationships at home because the teachers punish the students for very petty reasons , my child once got a C2 detention for eating an oreo at the start of a lesson before the lesson had begun and got excluded for posting a picture in there school uniform

I was badly bullied, uniform ripped, school wouldn't admit it was going on! One of the bullies even apologised to my mum so she had proof. If I was stuck on my homework was just put in BSU and classed as not doing it. School bus late, put in BSU do I need to go on? The school needs a big overhaul or shutting down, pupils are at risk of harm

I came here during 2016-2021 and when I was shown round me and my father was told about how 99.9% of the time students left with 4s and 5s (C's and B's I think but don't take me on this one).

I have always been part of senco due to learning difficulties, for example diagnosed dyslexia, and I was shocked when my learning difficulties was neglected. During my GCSE's I was told that I was not entitled to any exam requirements because no proof of diagnosis had been brought in dispite the fact that there had been, including a copy of my medical file as we had to tell the school about my genetic disease. And the fact my dyslexia being on record and ensured that I'd been given requirements. Credits to my exam invilators that saw me struggling and saw that on record in was down for a aqua coloured exam (the only support I was given willingly even then I had to fight for my overlay) ,a reader absolutely 30 minutes extra time for all written exams.

Don't get me started on the treatment of us pupils. We'd constantly be yelled at for asking to go to the toilet. And if you're female (like myself) God forbid that time of the month cause unless you're confident enough to scream "I'm on my cycle let me go to the toilet" you're normal left to bleed through. Unless you came across the teachers who actually cared.

Not to mention mental health, they don't give a damn. I myself had a major panic attack that deemed myself at risk and the one if the heads of subject walked by and saw me in that state and commented "stop being immature and get back to class" thankfully my performing arts teacher got them to leave (pA left the same year as my group did)
Don't come here if you have bad mental health (or good)

The food was average. But the dinner ladies were definitely overworked and exspolioited.
The reception staff, I found were very unapproachable and took out there anger on the poor student that was sent to do whatever teacher favor they we're given

I hated just about every minuite I went through at that place. The senior leadership team has fallen apart. It is now the senior leadership downfall. I'm glad I left when I did. I would never recommend going there for the sake of your mental health and even your parents. Constant emails explaining new rules and the implications if you break them. I honestly think that they couldn't give a monkeys about our education. Mark Wilkinson, Andy Carrington and most others just want complete control over everyone. There is no gap for defending yourself when you may get into trouble for forgetting your second pencil. I personally saw friends and other students break down over certain staff, kids or other issues. You would be given the gift of a tissue then sent right back into the cage.

As a transgender person, I never felt comfortable coming out publicly during my time at kevi other than a few close friends. There were other trans people there who were brave enough to come out who were heavily bullied. That's what put me off from coming out. If you are as straight as a roundabout like me, it isn't a safe place for you. I saw people's experiences there being lgbtq+ and they were not good at all. The kids, and the teachers were all so homaphobic it made my stomach turn.

Amy Everton, Samuel Lake, Daniel Williams, Michael Irving, Anthony Willetts, Christene Hill, Sally Smith, Darren Kay, Penny Prince, Kerry Milligan and Kaye Davis... you are too good for this dump. You are too talented for it. You should be at schools that deserve you. Kevi doesn't deserve you guys. You were the few teachers who I felt comfortable talking to. These are the unsung heroes of kevi. They were the only sanity in the staff. All the others can do one. The others put the curriculum above our mental health. I might have forgotten a couple teachers in that list. The rest of them should know who they are and what they are doing is wrong.

Mark Wilkinson. Since you joined in September 2021, the school went completely downhill. Your grasp of control got over your head. You gave yourself a head teacher title when the other principle mysteriously disappeared. When you showed us this bogus PowerPoint stating that your grade equals your income made not only my blood boil, but most of the year group. You kept saying that we were taking our 'lifechanging' exams and thar our grades would decide how well we would do in our future. A thing you need to realise is that in today's society the richest people have been either expelled or didn't get good grades. In business you have to break the rules to make money. I am soon starting an amazon company that I was told would never work by 'your' staff and I was told to get a 'real job'. How is that right??? I still work a full time job, because I genuinly enjoy it. I am doing everything I was told not to do because it is 'too risky'. I will be making more than your salary in a week.

I know I went off track there and had a rant about a complete a$$hole but my point is ie that he will do anything for control. He will do anything to make your mental health and wellbeing go down the drain.

The place itself is unsafe. A guy ran in and jumped the fence covered in blood and high on drugs. The police were never called and they didn't sound the lockdown alarm as an exam was on. They put an exam above 600 peoples safety.

Never go there. Never go through the mental and physical pain. Go somewhere else that is not a dret school. DRET is a broken system run by a billionair profiting from your bogus education. I know the education system is a scam but they bring it to a whole new level.

Don't go there. Please.

This school was the worst thing for my mental health and my peers. Not just mental health, but physical health too. The workload was way to much for a mainstream school. Their figures are more important than our mental health.

It is a corrupt environment on the SLT. It is a group of staff who all want the head teacher role. Mark Wilkinson is a patronising and a horrible little man. Since he came, he made the school go down hill along with Andrew Carrington. Both of them were handfuls. David Ross doesn't spend the adequate amount of money to fund for basic needs. It is mainly charity's who is funding the music department and sports department. Whilst he is sitting in his multi million pound mansion with a private pool and opera house, there are children and families under the clockwork of him.

It is a Breeding ground for bullying. If your kid is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, do not send them there at all as there is zero help available when they get bullied. The only way you can not get bullied is if you are very naughty. They don't punish them enough, but when you don't have your second pencil, it is an instant detention. They punish the wrong people. One teacher called a trans girl by her old name and there is only a couple of teachers who I could trust. The teachers are overworked and stressed. Some of the staff are too good for that place. Whereas some are perfect. When they take two hours off for a doctors appointment, £30 gets taken off their salary. They don't even make £15 and hour. Far from it.

When I was there, I would cry most evenings after being bullied by staff and students. Leaving the gates for the last time was the best feeling ever, knowing that I would not have to be under them again.

When inspectors came, we would have to put on fake smiles and the said if we misbehave then we could face expulsion. The only good parts was when I would spend time with mates away from staff.

The only thing that place deserves is either a new SLT or to shut the gates for ever, flatten the place and build a housing estate or something. It is a sh*thole. Don't go there. Please. You deserve more.

few teachers care about mental health, bullying and things that actually matter. their main goal seems to be, to make students feel miserable and pressurised to live up to unrealistic expectations. uniform rules are absolutely over the top and the lunch queues are chaotic and unnecessarily long. the food is alright but sparse, meaning that when you get a lunchtime detention; you miss out on actually getting any food. as i said, nothing is taken seriously; unless it means your attendance goes below expected, your uniform isnt perfect or your homework isnt done in time. most slt members are terrible, and dont understand mental health issues. a few times i have been experiencing panic attacks to the point of almost passing out due to mental health and have ended up being dragged by the arm into a busy classroom or to the behavioural support unit. the first aid is terrible, the most they will do is give you an ice pack or wet paper towel. if you have a time out card for any reason, theres a maximum of times you can use it. ive been targeted by a teacher because my hair was 'too long', i was pulled up infront of a class because the teacher had looked through the window on the classroom and had seen me, so decided to shout at me and tell me that if i was seen with my hair down, that i would be sent to isolation for the day. if youre caught eating outside of class times, the food is taken off of you and you will be left hungry. i left the school this year and now attend an amazing school that does way more than the b are minimum, unlike king edward academy. if youre thinking of sending your child/children here, please think again.

I just finished year 11. This school is appalling. The teachers do not care about students opinion despite the very fact that the students opinion is the very thing allowing the school to be kept open. Bullying is not taken seriously and the bullies are favouretised by many of the teachers. Being transgender meant when I was being bullied the teachers often said there was nothing they could do about it. When I had been struggling with severe mental health issues the teachers would punish me for having panic attacks, something I cannot help. The school teachers are just as disrespectful and snot nosed as the rude students who are not addressed properly. if you want your child to have a happy secondary school education experience, DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE. - sincerely a year 11 who will forever remember the torment I was put through.

I went to this school a couple years ago so this might not reflect the current school, but I’m writing my experiences nonetheless.

The school itself is set within some beautiful buildings of 1950s vintage. They are clearly not fit for purpose and have only been modified once in their life (by that I mean making the classrooms smaller and removing the food rooms) The field is of a good size as well, and it has a tree on it.

If you ever wondered what live under the Soviet Union was like, this school is perfect for you, they ignored the big problem and focused on petty issues. Especially the headteacher, who would focus on the absolute smallest things and would typically just be a total draconian about things, like I’m not doing National Service, I’m at an overcrowded school. Most teachers are okay, but the PE staff aren’t and PE is a core subject so it drags ratings down.

The school culture is absolutely amazing and if you go to KEVI (or send your child), do it for the culture, it’s the best part about it and should actually be experienced. In fact, the right people will sort bullying quicker than the teachers (excommunication of students does that)

Everything else I cannot remember about, so it’s probably awful, especially the food queues

All in all, it’s actually really terrible. I wouldn’t send your children there, I wouldn’t even send my cat or dog or hamster there. Good luck if you have no choice though.

It is very bad. This is because you are told off for no reason and it is too strict. The headmaster loses his rag at everything and when you try to explain something, your opinion falls on deaf ears Most of the teachers are very strict and you aren’t even allowed to use your own school bags, even though it costs £10 for a school bag and mine broke a month later. The school does not take bullying seriously at all and often turns a blind eye to actual concerns to focus on the most pettiest of things.

Very bad not happy! Went there with my child and there is no social distancing very unhygienic no track and trace the Pupils are very rude and do not respect personal space the teaches just stand there and let it happen..