King Edward's School Home

Meet the Trustees

Katy Ricks, Chief Master

Dr Ricks suceeded Acting Chief Master Keith Phillips in the 2019-20 academic year to become the 33rd headteacher of the all-boys school and the first female Chief Master in its 466-year history.

On her appointment, Dr Katy Ricks said: "The three years I spent as an English teacher at King Edward's School remain memorable and were formative in my leadership today. The school's ethos - scholarly, clever, witty, hard-working, creative - has always stayed with me. The success of King Edward's School is critical to the fulfilment of the Foundation's broader mission: to provide the highest possible quality of education for the children of this great city.

"It is a great privilege to be appointed as Chief Master of King Edward's School and I look forward to becoming part of this very special community."

 

Keith Phillips                                                                                      

Keith Phillips is one of King Edward's longest serving staff members, with over 31 years' teaching experience under his belt (interrupted only with a brief foray to Wolverhampton Grammar School). For 20 years, Keith has been a linchpin of the School's senior leadership team and a regular presence at Old Edwardian events.

Keith's relationship with King Edward's is a real family affair; his son Ben is an Old Edwardian who has previously worked for  our Marketing and Development teams, and his wife Nicole is Director of Admissions, having welcome hundreds if not thousands of boys to King Edward's. 

A linguist, Keith teaches French. In his spare time, he is a fervent follower of school rugby and cricket, and a keen cyclist who is currently organising his fifth (and final) KES Land's End to John O'Groats cycle tour.

 

James Martin

James followed his younger brother Simon to King Edward's School in 1977 and in 1979 rather regretted that he had only been there for the sixth form.  They were full years including being captain of tennis, playing first team rugby, squash and athletics, and were followed by a similarly sporty three years at Exeter University reading Accountancy Studies.

In 1983 he joined Coopers & Lybrand in Birmingham, specialising in both corporate recovery and turnaround.  In 2002 he opened the Birmingham office of Begbies Traynor and was regional chairman of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals from 2008 to 2010.

James joined the OEA Committee in 2006 and was appointed as Chairman after Paul Thomson.

He is married to Clare and they live in Repton with their two children, whose interests in cricket, football, and horses provide plenty of variety.  A village community of friends encourages less energetic interests in wine and golf - and nowadays the sporting theme is enthusiastically maintained as an observer.

 

Adam Kendall

Adam attended King Edward's Sixth Form from 1988 to 1990, going on to study Geography at Keble College, Oxford.

He then went on to attend  Chester College of Law where he completed the Legal Practice Course before going on to train and qualify as a Solicitor at Wragge & Co LLP (now Gowling WLG) in Birmingham.

Adam is now a Partner at Bevan Brittan LLP, a national law firm working with clients across private, public, and third sectors. He is Head of Department for the firm's litigation, advisory, and regulation teams and is Chair of the firm's Management Board.

Adam is a member of the OEA Committee and lives in Birmingham with his wife and four children two of which are currently attending King Edward's and King Edward VI High School for Girls. Adam's brother, Mark, also attended King Edward's.

Adam is non-executive Director of a packaging business as well as a Trustee of The Arthur Thomson Trust which provides grants and bursaries for students of both Birmingham Medical and Dental School. In his spare time Adam enjoys spending time with his family; mountain walking and, when he can, skiing with friends and family.

Obaid Choudhry

Bio to follow

Wasim Rehman

Bio to follow