King's College School

King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's or KCS Wimbledon, is a selective independent school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 as the junior department of King's College London and had part of the school's premises in Strand, prior to relocating to Wimbledon in 1897.

For the University in London, see King's College London. For the school in Cambridge, see King's College School, Cambridge. For other uses, see King's College (disambiguation) and King's School (disambiguation).

King's College School, Wimbledon
Location
Wimbledon Common
,
London
,
SW19 4TT

United Kingdom
Information
TypePublic school
Independent school
MottoSancte Et Sapienter
(Latin: With Holiness and Wisdom)
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
Established1829
FounderKing George IV
Local authorityLondon Borough of Merton
Department for Education URN102684 Tables
Chairman of GovernorsLord Deighton
Head MasterAndrew Halls OBE
VisitorThe Archbishop of Canterbury ex officio
GenderBoys
Coeducational (Sixth Form)
Age7 to 18
Enrolment~850 Senior School
~450 Junior School
Houses  Alverstone
  Glenesk
  Kingsley
  Layton
  Maclear
  Major
Colour(s)Blue and Red   
Former pupilsOld Kings
Websitehttp://www.kcs.org.uk/

It is a member of the Eton Group of schools. King's is predominately a boys' school with it accepting girls into the sixth form.[1] In the sixth form pupils can choose between The International Baccalaureate and A-Levels.[2]

History
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 Period, 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 Major, served the school 1831–1866. Ninety-nine 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.

Today
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. In fact, 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 5th in The Times GCSE Results league table in 2014, and 3rd in its results table for A-Level, IB, and Pre-U.[4] In the 2015 edition of Tatler Schools Guide, it was commented on that "No wonder Oxbridge loves KCS pupils: more than 150 places in the past three years."[5] On 21 November 2014, King's won the title of Sunday Times Independent Secondary School of the Year.[6]

All sixth-formers at King's currently study either the IB Diploma or the A-Level course. In 2015 14 pupils obtained the maximum IB score of 45 points, equivalent to 7 A grades at A-Level. All pupils take (I)GCSEs, with 85% of all grades attaining A* in 2015.[7] In the last year of all-IB, 2014, 86.9% of higher level grades were at 6 or 7, with 53% of grades at 7. Out of 190 students, 116 pupils scored 40 points or more. In the Daily Telegraph and the Times - when gauging success in A level, IB, and Pre-U results all together placed King's as the second highest ranking sixth form in the UK in 2012. King's was also named Sunday Times IB School of the Year in 2009 and 2012.[8]

GCSE summary: last five years[9]

YEAR %A* %A*A %A*AB
2018 81.7 96.4 99.5
2017 83.4 96.8 99.4
2016 77.9 96.1 99.7
2015 85.4 97.7 99.7
2014 76.7 96.8 99.6

A level summary: since reintroduction in 2014[10]

YEAR %A* %A*A %A*AB
2018 45.6 78.6 95.0
2017 46.0 85.8 97.2
2016 32.3 72.9 94.5
2015 40.0 76.6 93.4

International Baccalaureate Results: last five years*[11]

YEAR %7 %7/6 %7/6/5
2018 60.7 94.1 99.6
2017 67.3 95.2 99.4
2016 63.3 88.5 98.2
2015 67.1 91.3 99.5
2014 52.5 87.0 95.7
  • 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 2017, this figure fell to just 55 pupils. Roughly a third of pupils take the IB Diploma Programme.

Exit

Almost all pupils stay on into the sixth form and proceed to leave for university – 58 places at Oxbridge were offered to students in 2015-16 - the rest to London University colleges or other universities, e.g. Durham, Bristol and Bath. Increasing numbers are heading abroad – including Harvard, Stanford and Princeton.[12][13]

Oxbridge offer statistics are as follows:

The quadrangle

Number and Percentage of each year receiving offers from Oxbridge: last few years[14]

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
39 34 29 42 55 54 53 58
28% 23% 20% 24% 30% 28% 27% 30%

Pupils

The majority of pupils come to the school from southwest London, north Surrey and neighbouring areas. 64% of the Year 9 entry consists of boys who continue from the King's College Junior School, 34% enter from other preparatory schools and about 2% come from overseas. At a recent count around 450 applied for the 60 places available at 13+ entry. The Good Schools Guide described the school as "an inspiring place to be," adding, "Boys work and play very hard in this wonderful school community".[15] 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] £22,335 per year.[16]

Headmaster

Tatler's current review observes: What really sets KCS apart is head Andrew Halls's forward-thinking leadership.[17] Since joining King's from Magdalen College School, where he was Master until 2007, Andrew has introduced a highly successful co-educational sixth form, he reintroduced A levels as an option to complement the International Baccalaureate diploma programme, and in 2014 he announced plans to open a school in China.[18] Most recently he announced the opening of a new lower school for pupils aged 11, with a clear focus on widening access, supported by a fundraising drive to expand bursary opportunities.[19] Like his predecessor, Tony Evans, he received Tatler's best headmaster of a public school award in 2011.[20]

Facilities
The new classroom block, opened 2016

The school is located on Southside, Wimbledon Common, on a 24-acre (97,000 m2) site, with the main building being the 19th century Great Hall. The site recently has undergone a redevelopment with new buildings.[21] 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, a new six-lane 25m swimming pool and two sports halls.

There are two additional playing field sites, in Raynes Park and at Kingsway in Motspur Park, which provide two fully lit astroturf pitches as well which can also serve as tennis courts. A new pavilion was opened at Kingsway in September 2011 to replace the old changing rooms. The school also uses the adjacent facilities of the Old King's Club. The school has transformed the on-site sporting facilities with the construction of a second sports hall, a new 25m six lane swimming pool and an enhanced fitness suite. Overall, the sporting facilities have been increased by 50%[22][23]

In March 2016 the Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education opened a new classroom block incorporating a school hall, six new classrooms and much needed science corridors that unify the existing buildings.[24] The construction of a new music school, including a 200-seater auditorium[25] was completed in May 2018.

Sport

The main sport for the boys during the autumn term is rugby, in which the school fielded 13 sides during the 2015–2016 season. The fixture list for 2015-2016 included St. Paul's, Reed's, Dulwich, Eton, Wimbledon College, Berkhamsted, RGS Guildford, Skinners, Reeds, St George's Weybridge, St. John's Leatherhead and Tiffin. The 1st XV and the U15As enter the National NatWest Cup, and reached the Quarter Finals of the U18 (Formerly Daily Mail) Cup in 2006 and 2007 and the semi-finals of the U15 Vase in 2008 and 2009. The school went on a tour to South Africa in 2010, 2013 and regularly head to France, and this year Portugal for a pre-season training camp. The 1st & U16 VII also play a number of sevens tournaments in the spring term. In 2014, the 1st VII narrowly lost in the final of the Rosslyn Park Festival. A good number of boys have represented the county, Independent School Lambs and divisional teams.

The school is always well represented in the Varsity match at Twickenham, with a significant number of Old Boys turning out for Oxford or Cambridge in recent years. Most recently, Matt Janney (Captain of School, 2009) was victorious in 2015 having been matched up in the centre against Wales and British & Irish Lion Jamie Roberts. The school were lucky enough to have Jonny Wilkinson run an outstanding guest session with one of the teams in November 2015 and has also been visited by the likes of England players Toby Flood and Jason Leonard in recent years. Alongside this, King's regularly benefits from expertise of premiership players and coaches from Harlequins, London Irish and Wasps.

Football at the school continues to flourish with the school fielding 18 sides in 2016. The most notable success in recent years was when the school reached the Final of the Trinity School's Cup in 2010. However, the teams also enjoy much success on a strong fixture list that includes Hampton, Dulwich, Wilson's, Wimbledon School, Epsom College and Latymer. Football also enjoys a successful touring programme and in 2014 they headed to Brazil and Argentina during the summer holidays.

The Spring term also sees the boys compete, playing schools including nationally recognised hockey schools such as RGS Guildford, Kingston Grammar School, Reeds and Trinity. The 1st XI side use their tour of Barcelona at Christmas each year as a pre-season. The superb new astroturfs at the off-site Kingsway facility are also shared by 2014-2015 Premiership Hockey Champions Wimbledon Hockey Club. The school has also benefited from having current and former international players on their staff including Ben Marsden (GB and England), Richie Dawson-Smith (England Indoor) and Dirkie Chamberlain (South Africa Women).

In the summer, the main sport is cricket with 13 teams representing the school in 2015. The 1st and 2nd XI play their cricket in the 50 over South London Schools League against Hampton, RGS Guildford, Reeds, Tiffin, Trinity, St Paul's and St George's. The 1st XI still manage over 20 scheduled fixtures a season despite the pressures of examinations. The remaining fixtures consist of teams including Dulwich, The MCC, visiting touring sides, St John's Leatherhead, Trinity, Reigate Grammar School and Epsom College. The past two tours have been to Sri Lanka (2012 and 2015) with two sides enjoying much success in difficult conditions.

Cricketing figure Sir Viv Richards visited the boys in 2012 and gave the cricketers some valuable advice. A number of boys represent Surrey County Age Group sides each year and Ruari Crichard and Alex Hunt played for Cambridge at Lords in the Varsity Match in 2015, the former also making his 1st Class debut for the same side in the 2015 season in fixtures against Northamptonshire CCC and Leicestershire CCC.

Wimbledon has a reputation for tennis and with the school situated approximately a mile from the Wimbledon Club the sport continues to thrive. Old Boy Ross Hutchins (formerly in the GB Davis team) opened the new courts and Martina Navratilova came to the school to deliver an assembly for the boys and girls in 2012. The School competes at a high level of tennis including cups, leagues and local derby matches against Reeds. The players prepare for the season with an annual training camp to Majorca.

Rowing is a popular sport throughout the year. The boat club races in the regatta season, culminating with Henley Royal Regatta, where it reached the second round of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014. The 1st VIII also race in the National Schools Regatta, having won the Child Beale Cup in 2004 and 2012, with silver in the same category in 2015, and reaching the final of the Championship 8s category in 2013 and 2014. Boats also participate in the School's Head of the River Race, achieving a gold medal in 1st 8+s in 2013, and the National Junior Sculling Head.

The school boathouse is used by the Cambridge University Boat Club in their preparation for and participation in the University Boat Races. In 2016 Charlie Fisher (2013 Leaver) helped Cambridge win the race. In the Autumn of 2015 the boat club toured the USA having been invited to race in the Head of the Charles, Boston. King's rowers have also represented Great Britain at a Junior level and Director of Rowing Patrick Duggan was flown out to Rio to help coach the GB youngsters in 2015.

Since girls joined the school in September 2010, the girls' sport has gone from strength to strength. The girls follow a programme of hockey, netball, rounders and tennis and play on a competitive fixture list with regular midweek and weekly Saturday fixtures. The girls have recently had representation a national level from pupils in hurdles and Under 18 National Age Group (NAGS) hockey. Fixtures consist of strong local opposition including Cranleigh, Epsom College and St George's Weybridge. The girls have also made progress on the river and are supported and coached throughout their two years in the sixth form.

Other team and individual sports are also played. The school plays matches and tournaments in squash, badminton, fencing, basketball, water polo, athletics, cross-country and table tennis. 2014 leaver Max Mondelli arguably the most notable recent athlete, who won an Athletics Scholarship to train and study at Harvard.

Houses

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 6 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 arriving in the sixth form only need to reach 4 house points.

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.

King's College Junior School
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 7–13.[26]

King's College Junior School

In 2019 enrollment in the junior school totalled 436 boys, divided into six-year groups. The first two years are collectively referred to as 'Rushmere' (as they are taught in Rushmere House), while the final four years are called 'Priory'. Fees were £6,250 per term for years 3–4, and £6,730 per term for years 5–8 in 2019–20.[27] The headmaster is Dr G A Silverlock.[28]

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.

The Junior School has featured in national competitions too - they were National Rugby Champions at U13 level in 2009. In the same year the Junior School ran away with the team prize on its return to the national Townsend-Warner Competition for History and had twelve pupils qualify for the UK Junior Mathematics Olympiad. They went on to win the Townsend-Warner Prize again in 2010 and 2011.

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

King's College School overseas

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 School Wimbledon has signed an agreement with Thai partner to establish King's College International School Bangkok. King's College International School Bangkok will be situated in the Ratchada-Rama 3 area of Bangkok, with easy access to the financial district and the city centre. The facilities will include a sports complex with an Olympic size swimming pool (50 metres) designed with natural light and shade, a 600-seat auditorium and specialist science, music and art resources.  The school will cater for local Thai and international pupils aged 2–18 and will open in August 2020. Their webpage is www.kingsbangkok.com.

Head Masters of King's College School

The following have been Head Masters of King's College School:[29]

NameYears as Head Master
The Revd John Richardson Major1831–1866
The Revd George Frederick Maclear1866–1880
The Revd Dr Thomas Henry Stokoe1880–1889
Charles Bourne1889–1906
Douglas Smith1906–1910
Herbert Lionel Rogers1910–1934
Hubert John Dixon1934–1960
Frank Shaw1960–1975
Christopher Wightwick1975–1980
Robin Reeve1980–1997
Tony Evans1997–2008
Andrew Halls2008 – present

Other notable masters
  • Gary Butcher (sports coach, former first-class cricketer)
  • Bob Hiller (mathematics teacher, former England international rugby union player)

Notable Old Kings

19th-century births

20th century births

Victoria Cross holders

Five Old King's have been awarded the Victoria Cross.[34]

Alumni associations

The principal society for former pupils of the school is the Old King's Club, which was founded in 1884.[35] The school promotes membership amongst recently departed pupils, for whom membership of the club is free.[36]

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.[37] The Warrant of the Lodge was issued on 23 February 1921 and it was consecrated at Freemasons' Hall, London, on 3 May 1921.[38]

See also

References
  1. High-flying UK boys' school to take girls Archived 22 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine Financial Times
  2. "King's College School". kcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  3. Power, Alastair McCall, Editor, Parent (26 November 2017). "Best secondary schools in London". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  4. "School Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  5. "Tatler Schools Guide 2015". Tatler. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014.
  6. "King's crowned top school by the Sunday Times". King's College School. 21 November 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  7. "King's College School Wimbledon: GCSE/IGCSE Results 2015 Vn 17/09/15" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  8. "Sunday Times Parent Power". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014.
  9. "King's College School Wimbledon Combined AL and IB results Summer 2018 (U6 cohort)" (PDF). Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  10. "King's College School Wimbledon AL results Summer 2017 (U6 cohort)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  11. "King's College School". www.kcs.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  12. "University Destinations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  13. "King's College School". www.kcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  14. "King's College School". www.kcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  15. Good Schools Guide
  16. "King's College School". www.kcs.org.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  17. "King's College School". Tatler Schools Guide 2016. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  18. Roberts, Elizabeth (3 November 2015). "Top London college partners with China to open three British schools". Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  19. "Leading independent school welcomes primary state pupils in bursary scheme". Wimbledon Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  20. "King's College School". www.kcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  21. https://www.kcs.org.uk/useful-information/the-school-campus/
  22. https://www.kcs.org.uk/useful-information/the-school-campus/sports-centre
  23. "Merton Design Review Panel Tuesday 26th January 2016" (PDF). Merton government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  24. "King's College School". www.kcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  25. "School to build £10m music complex designed by Olympic Velodrome architects". Wimbledon Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  26. Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) Archived 26 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  27. "Fees and Finance". King's College School, Wimbledon. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  28. King's College Junior School, Merton Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine ISBI Schools
  29. Frank Miles and Graeme Cranch King's College School: The First 150 Years. London: King's College School, 1979.
  30. The Victorian Web: The University of London and Its Boys' Schools Archived 29 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  31. "Obituary". British Medical Journal. 1 (4489): 119–120. 18 January 1947. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.4489.119. PMC 2052432.
  32. "Star Studded Swan Song". kcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013.
  33. Plunkett, John (1 September 2014). "BBC World Service chief to step down". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  34. T. Hinde A Great Day School in London: a history of King's College School pg 132 James and James Publishers 1995 ISBN 0-907383-61-0
  35. "Old King's Club". Old King's Club. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  36. "Old King's Club". King's College School, Wimbledon. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  37. "King's College School Lodge 4257" Archived 4 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, kcslodge.org.uk, Retrieved on 9 March 2017.
  38. W. Bro. J.G. Amos."United Grand Lodge of England; Warrant Date and Consecration Date Chart", freemasonry.london.museum, 6 October 2016. Retrieved on 6 March 2017.

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