News

There were a number of successes for our pupils during the Northfield Festival of Music and Speech which took place on 11th and 12th May.

16-year-old pianist Lauren Zhang from Birmingham has been named the winner of BBC Young Musician 2018. The Grand Final of BBC Young Musician 2018 took place today (Sunday 13 May) at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

On 2nd and 3rd May, 27 KEHS and KES students performed in the Middle School Production of 'Blue Stockings' an interesting and thought provoking play which raises the question of women's rights to education and the historical need for women to choose love or knowledge. In a world where some women and girls still ...

​Huge congratulations to Lauran in U5H who was revealed as the Keyboard Category winner of this year’s BBC Young Musician when the Keyboard Final was televised last Friday. As a result of winning the category, Lauren will go on to compete in the Semi-Final of the whole competition....

On Wednesday 25th April, music students from the Upper Fourth to the Lower Sixth visited Birmingham Hippodrome to watch the spectacular musical Wicked. It is safe to say that everyone, teachers included, enjoyed the evening greatly and were pleasantly surprised by the moving story and melodious voice of the singers.

We are nearing the end of our 2017-2018 series of Lunchtime Recitals. Yesterday’s featured Jieyi (flute) and Ivy (violin), both of whom stunned the audience with their virtuoso performances. Jieyi opened the recital with Albert Franz Doppler’s Fantasie Pastorale Hongroise, performing with energy and flair ...

During the Easter holidays, members of the Lower Fifth and the Sixth Form spent a week in Córdoba, southern Spain. Living with Spanish families, they were able to experience Spanish culture first-hand, as well as practise their Spanish, aided by intensive language lessons in the morning with teachers...

​On Monday 23rd April, nearly 400 musicians from KEHS and KES took part in our Summer Concert which is held biannually in Symphony Hall, Birmingham. We spent the afternoon rehearsing, and then the concert opened with Handel’s The King Shall Rejoice, performed by a Massed Choir of over 200 pupils

Congratulations to Naomi, in the Upper Fifth, for achieving first place in the Chopin and Impressionism classes, as well as winning the overall trophy for piano at the Newcastle-under-Lyme Festival for Music, Speech and Drama on 23rd and 24th March!​

​On Monday, we welcomed Marc Alner from Loughborough University’s student recruitment team to talk about Student Finance. Marc broke down the different areas, speaking about tuition fees and the student loan, and talking through the process of obtaining finance.

​This week, the RPAC has seen the colourful extravaganza that is the annual Dance Production. Over 140 girls took part in ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling!’ from Thirds right up to the Upper Sixth. The show started with the excitement of life as a child and progressed through the highs and lows of growing up.

The Ruddock Hall was the setting for our annual Choral and Orchestral Concerts last weekend. On Sunday 11th March, following a rousing start by Symphony Orchestra, Daniel took to the stage, wowing the audience with a stunning performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

​The Instrumental Evening on Monday 5th March in the Ruddock Hall featured piano and vocal solos from pupils in both schools. Alisha, Farzeen, Mia, Anushka, Lucia and Jieyi all sang expressively, accompanied by Miss Sanders, while Naina, Bronagh and Natalie performed piano solos.

Old Edwardian Hiba Abuelgasim (Class of 2015), is a member of the oldest student acapella group in the UK, the Oxford Alternotives! Formed in 1993 as an alternative to the traditional Oxford choirs, the Alternotives consists of students from colleges across the university, from Brasenose, to Christchurch...

​On Thursday 15th February, Lower Fourth students went on a trip to the Hippodrome to see Birmingham Royal Ballet’s ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ to support our topic, ‘Music for Dance.’ The music which accompanied the ballet was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky...

Congratulations to pianist Naomi (U5K) who had huge success at the Bromsgrove Young Musicians’ Platform last weekend. The competition is open to instrumentalists aged 14-17, and Naomi won first prize in the Senior Section of the competition.​

Isabel, Naomi and Melissa all performed to a very high standard in last week’s lunchtime recital in the Ruddock Hall. Isabel, accompanied by Peter Bridle, gave an exciting rendition of the Allegro moderato from Schubert’s Sonata in A minor.

Congratulations to Samantha in U4E who has been awarded a Diploma in Music Performance on the violin from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

Last week’s Instrumental Evening featured Woodwind and Brass players from both schools. Chloë, Lucy and Abigail opened the concert as part of the Recorder Ensemble and there followed solo performances by Rosie, Tara, Jiali, Saffron, Chloe, Lucy, Gauri and Grace.

​This term’s Performers’ Platform featured two chamber ensembles as well as several solo items. Rhea (oboe), Lydia (oboe) and Nikita (bassoon), with supporting continuo from Nathan, opened the evening with a Trio Sonata by Zelenka.

​Training String Orchestra, conducted by Michelle Sanders, began this week’s Instrumental Evening by showcasing some traditional music from the British Isles; The Bells of Aberdyfi and The Star of County Down. They played with gusto and it was a real celebration of their term’s work.

​Congratulations to Lauren and Alice whose piano trio came third in the Intercollegiate National Piano Trio Competition which was held on Sunday 4th February at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

​Rhea, Renee and Lauren performed in yesterday’s well-attended lunchtime recital in the Ruddock Hall. Rhea (accompanied by Miss Sanders) displayed brilliant technical versatility in her renditions of Bozza’s Burlesque and the final movement of Saint-Saëns’ Sonata for Bassoon and Piano.

On Monday 29th January, GCSE Spanish students, accompanied by Señora Atkins and Señorita Rixon, travelled to Solihull School to watch a play by Firewalk Theatre. The Spanish novella 'Lazarillo de Tormes' was published anonymously in 1554, and follows the life of Lázaro, a pícaro.