Edward VI of England church property that had begun under Henry VIII resumed under Edward—notably with the dissolution of the chantries—to the great monetary advantage of the crown and the new owners of the seized property. Church reform was therefore as much a political as a religious policy under Edward VI. By the end of his reign, the church had been financially ruined, with much of the property of the bishops transferred into lay hands. The religious convictions of both Somerset and Northumberland have proved elusive for historians, who are divided on the sincerity of their Protestantism. There is less doubt, however, about the
King Edward VI High School, Stafford Paul’s, St. Leonard’s and Cooper Perry. The school was formed by merging the long established selective schools, King Edward VI Boys’ Grammar School and Stafford Girls’ High School, in 1977. The selective element was removed in order to create the comprehensive school taking pupils of all abilities. The premises of the Girls’ High School were enlarged and the school was based there. The closure of the old grammar school led to the creation of the independent fee-paying Stafford Grammar School. The Free Grammar School of King Edward VI was first established in Stafford in 1550 to provide free education to