King's College School

Opening of the New Buildings, 7 July 1899; four sketches of the Great Hall

A royal charter by King George IV founded the school in 1829 as the junior department of the newly established King's College, London. The school occupied the basement of the college in The Strand.

Most of its original eighty-five pupils lived in the city within walking distance of the school. During the early Victorian Era, the school grew in numbers and reputation. Members of the teaching staff included Gabriele Rossetti, who taught Italian. His son, Dante Gabriel, joined the school in 1837. The best known of the early masters was the water-colourist, John Sell Cotman. Nine of his pupils became practising artists and ten architects. By 1843 there were five hundred pupils and the need for larger premises eventually led to the move to Wimbledon in 1897.

The school was progressive in its curriculum in many areas and appointed its first science master in 1855, at a time where very few schools taught science. The first head master, John Richardson Major, served the school 1831–1866. 99 of the school's pupils from this period appear in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Until the 1880s, the school flourished. In 1882, only Eton College surpassed the total of thirty Oxford and Cambridge Board examination certificates obtained by pupils at KCS. But the school's teaching facilities were becoming increasingly inadequate as many competitor schools moved to new sites with modern facilities and large playing fields. In 1897, falling numbers of pupils prompted the move to the school's present site in Wimbledon, a fast-growing suburb well served by the railway lines from Surrey and south London. A separate junior school was opened on the same campus in 1912.

In World War I, many letters were written to the school, including some from the Battle of the Somme. During World War II, the school's Great Hall was damaged by bomb shrapnel, and some of the damage can still be seen on the outside of the hall.

The only remaining link between KCS and its former parent is that one of the KCS board of governors is nominated by King's College London.

Bannister Fletcher Great Hall 1897

Listed in The Sunday Times Parent Power 2019 (published in November 2018), King's College School was once again named the top-rated boys' or co-educational school in the UK. Retaining the title for the second consecutive year, this also followed on from being given the Sunday Times award for the top London independent secondary school in 2017. King's College School achieved the best combined A-Level, IB and GCSE results of any boys' or co-ed school in the whole of the UK.[3]

King's College School is one of the highest academically performing schools in the UK historically and to date, placing 2nd in The Times GCSE Results league table in 2019,[4] and 3rd in its results table for A-Level, IB, and Pre-U.[5]

All sixth-formers at King's currently study either the IB Diploma or the A-Level course. In the last five years, 53 IB pupils have achieved the maximum score of 45 points, equivalent to 7 A grades at A-Level.[6] All pupils take (I)GCSEs, an average of 83% of GCSE grades were A* or 9/8, and 97% were A*/A or 9/8/7 in the last three years (2017-2019).[7] The average score for the IB in the past five years was 41.5 points (world average: 30 points).[8]

GCSE summary: 2016-2019[9]

A level summary: 2016-2019[10]

International Baccalaureate Results: 2016-2019[11]

2014 was the last year that the school had a full cohort of students taking IB examinations. For comparison, in 2014 there were 190 students that sat the IB exams, whereas, in 2019, this figure fell to just 55 pupils. Roughly a third of pupils take the IB Diploma Programme.

Almost all pupils stay on into the sixth form and proceed to leave for university. In the past six years nearly 250 pupils have won places at Oxford and Cambridge universities, the rest to London University colleges or other universities. Increasing numbers are heading abroad – over 50 King’s students have been accepted into prestigious US universities in recent years, including Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, University of Chicago, and Duke.[12]

Oxbridge receiving offers 2015-2020[13]

A very high proportion of families live within a five-mile radius of the school, and many within three miles, but the school attracts many applicants from Kensington and Chelsea, Battersea and into Surrey. The school also has a small number of pupils from overseas.

At a recent count the school had around 600 applicants for 60 places available at 11+, 270 applicants for 30 places available at 13+ entry and 385 applicants for 55 places available at 16+. Scholarships and bursaries are awarded at each entry point.

The Telegraphs Independent Schools Guide recently said "The 20-acre campus has an enchanted air, helping to provide a harmonious learning environment."[14]

It is a member of the Eton Group of 12 leading independent schools, and of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Senior School fees are currently [2020-21] £20,790-22,995 per year.[15]

Jude Lowson is acting head. She has an MA in history from Cambridge and a diploma in management studies from Cambridge Judge Business School. She originally worked as a strategist at advertising agency BBH, later starting her teaching career at Whitgift where she rose to head of sixth form before moving to Putney High School as deputy head (academic). She joined King’s College School as deputy head (pastoral), later becoming principal deputy.

She is to be replaced by Anne Cotton in September 2022. She has a double first in classics from Christ Church, Oxford, where she later did MSt in classical languages and literature and DPhil. Her books, Platonic Dialogue and Education of the Reader, are published by Oxford University Press. She also has an MA in education. She started her teaching career in the maintained sector at The Henry Box School in Witney, later moving to Magdalen College School in Oxford, where she rose to deputy head.

The classroom block, opened 2016

The school occupies nearly 20 acres on the south side of Wimbledon Common and owns a further 24 acres of playing fields nearby, in addition to a boathouse on Putney Embankment.

The school has 20 science laboratories and a demonstration laboratory, alongside the 1st XV pitch. The buildings include the Q-block (based around the Quadrangle), College Court, South Hayes, the Cavan Taylor Wing, the new classroom block, the Reeve School of Art & Design, and the Sports Hall, as well as the Junior School, which has its own buildings, and Rushmere house. There are four rugby pitches on the main site for use by the Senior School, with Colman's field providing additional pitches for the Junior School. There are six tennis courts on site, three squash courts, two sports halls.

In 2010 the school began an extensive 10-year masterplan to enhance these facilities, completing the last project in 2019.[16]

There are two additional playing field sites, in Raynes Park and at Kingsway in Motspur Park. The sports pavilion at Kingsway was officially opened in 2011, alongside the school’s two all-weather pitches. The facility provides a fitting accommodation to home and visiting sports teams and includes changing rooms and a dining hall for post-game catering.[17] The school also uses the adjacent facilities of the Old King's Club.

In 2015 the area south of the Great Hall was redesigned to create a new quadrangle and several smaller courtyards. Beyond the quadrangle a new, much larger playing area was constructed. This space accommodates three netball courts, offering ample room for energetic activity during break times.[18]

In March 2016 Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education, opened a new classroom block incorporating a school hall, six new classrooms and science corridors that unify the existing buildings.[19]

The music school was opened in April 2018. This addition to the school campus includes four music and specialist classrooms, 16 individual practice rooms, performance spaces and a concert hall that can accommodate an audience of 200 alongside a 70-piece orchestra.[20] The building was awarded a Royal Institute of British Architects London Award in 2019.[21]

In 2019 an extensive infrastructure enhancement to the school’s sporting facilities was completed. As part of the project, the school opened a new sports centre that exists alongside the original sports hall on the main site. It includes a six-court sports hall measuring over 25m x 36m, a six-lane 25m indoor swimming pool, a gym, a strength and conditioning suite, an aerobics studio and an exercise area.[22]

There are six houses in the Senior School, each named after a previous headmaster or notable old boy. Boys wear a standard red and blue school tie until they achieve six house points, at which point they are awarded the right to wear a house tie of navy blue with thin stripes of the following colours. Girls and boys joining the school in the sixth form only need to reach four house points.

• Green: Alverstone house, named after Richard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone (barrister, politician and Judge, died 1915)
• Blue: Glenesk house, named after Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk (journalist, editor and newspaper proprietor, died 1908)
• Purple: Kingsley house, named after Henry Kingsley (gold prospector, mounted policeman, novelist, newspaper editor and war correspondent, died 1876)
• Red: Layton house, named after Walter Layton, 1st Baron Layton (economist, editor and newspaper proprietor, died 1966)
• White: Maclear house, named after George Frederick Maclear (the school's second head master, who served 1866–1880)
• Gold: Major house, named after John Richardson Major (the school's first head master, who served 1831–1866)

House points are awarded for participation in inter-house competitions throughout the school year.

Other ties include (in order of increasing seniority) the House Prefect's tie (bold stripes of dark blue and a house colour with a single red crest), School Colours (navy blue with a single red school crest), the School Prefect's tie (red with blue school crests), and the Senior Prefect's tie (blue with red school crests). Girls receive badges as an alternative to ties.

The Senior Prefects consist of the Captain and Vice-Captains of School and the Captain and Vice-Captains of each house. In addition, each house typically has about 8 School Prefects in addition to House Prefects.

Rushmere House

King's College Junior School (also known as KCJS) is the preparatory school for King's College School located in Wimbledon, London, is on the same campus as King's College Senior school. It was established in its own right in 1912, and educates boys from ages 7–11.[23]

The junior school admits about 85 boys each year in three groups:

• At 7+ it takes about 54 boys and has approximately 6 applicants for every place. Applicant numbers at this stage are increasing.
• At 8+ it takes about 14 boys and has approximately 14 applicants for every place. Applicant numbers at this stage are increasing.
• At 9+ it takes about 12 boys and has approximately 8 applicants for every place. Applicant numbers at this stage are steady.

The first two years (3-4) are collectively referred to as 'Rushmere' (as they are taught in Rushmere House), while the final two years (5-6) are called 'Priory'. 2021/2022 Fees are £6,425 per term for years 3–4, and £6,930 per term for years 5–6.[24]

As of September 2021 the headmaster is Ted Lougher.[25]

The uniform is a red blazer with the emblem in blue on the right chest pocket. Every boy wears a white shirt and grey shorts or trousers. The ties are similar to the Senior School ties, and prefects in the top year ("Upper Remove") wear Senior School ties.

All boys are allocated to one of the school's four houses when they join (siblings are placed into the same house):

• Norman (Black)
• Stuart (Green)
• Tudor (Blue)
• Windsor (Yellow)

China – King's supports Shanghai-based education provider Dipont in establishing schools in China. The first two schools, RDFZ King's College School Hangzhou and Nanwai King's College School Wuxi opened in September 2018. The educational concept brings together schools RDFZ Beijing (Hangzhou) and Nanjing Foreign Language School (Wuxi) from China and King's College School Wimbledon; both schools cater for local Chinese and international students aged 3–18.  

Thailand - King's College International School Bangkok opened in opened its doors in September 2020 to over 300 boys and girls aged two to ten. At capacity, the school will cater for 1,500 students from pre-school to Year 13 who will be prepared for IGCSE, A level and admission to leading universities. XET will own, manage and operate the school and King’s Wimbledon will provide guidance on the curriculum, pastoral care and co-curricular programme to ensure that the King’s ethos is closely replicated.[26]

Monaco - Founded in 1994, the International School of Monaco (ISM) is a co-educational school with approximately 670 students aged 3 to 18. There is a bilingual programme for English and French in its early years and primary school. In the senior school the medium of instruction is English, offering IGCSEs in years 10 and 11 and the IB Diploma programme in the sixth form. The ISM is seeking to become a leading international school in Europe, and King’s College School, Wimbledon, will work closely with their team in all areas of school life to achieve its goals. King’s will share its ethos and how it delivers academic excellence, outstanding pastoral care and a comprehensive co-curricular provision. King's will also provide staff training and on-going quality assurance. This new partnership will include exciting opportunities for students and staff at King’s and the ISM.[27]

The following have been head masters of King's College School:[28]

• Gary Butcher (sports coach, former first-class cricketer)
• Bob Hiller (mathematics teacher, former England international rugby union player)
• Shelley Williams (economics and social sciences teacher, Beijing 2008 Olympic fencer)

The principal society for former pupils of the school is the Old King's Club, which was founded in 1884.[34] The school promotes membership amongst recently departed pupils, for whom membership of the club is free.[35]

King's College School Lodge number 4257 is the masonic lodge associated with King's College School. It is governed by the United Grand Lodge of England and administered by the Metropolitan Grand Lodge. Meetings are held four times per year at the school.[36] The Warrant of the Lodge was issued on 23 February 1921 and it was consecrated at Freemasons' Hall, London, on 3 May 1921.[37]

• King's College School Boat Club
• List of independent schools in England

Wikimedia Commons has media related to King's College School.

• Official website
• School Sports Club Website
• King's College School Boat Club Supporters' Association Website
• KCS Theatre Company Website
• Old King's Club Website
• King's Old Boys Rugby Football Club Website
• King's Old Boys Football Club Website
• King's Minis and Juniors Rugby
• Profile at the Good Schools Guide
• The Rowans (affiliated Preparatory School)
• Wimbledon Common Preparatory School (affiliated Preparatory School)
• Accounts for KCS available from the UK Charity Commission
• Wimbledon Guardian: Former KCS boy killed in Afghanistan, June 2009
• Pathé newsreel of KCS winning the 1938 Ashburton Shield at Bisley