[1] King Edward VII School was formed in 1905 and named after the reigning monarch, when Wesley College was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School on the site of the former on Glossop Road.

The former buildings of Wesley College, now King Edward VII upper school, designed and built by the Sheffield architect, William Flockton in 1838, were Grade II* listed in 1973.

It can be traced directly to a Royal Charter granted in 1604 for the "Free School of King James", the result of a legacy of Thomas Smith who had died the previous year.

However, there are traces of the school as far back as the thirteenth century, like a number in other towns of mediaeval England (see Old Edwardians website for more details).

The upper school was refurbished in 2010–2012, with the addition of a sports hall and science block, as part of the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme; work began in July 2010 and finished in May 2012.