Jump to bottom

Contents

See also King's College School, Cambridge, England King's College School
KCSWimbledonLogo.jpg

Motto Sancte Et Sapienter
(Latin: With Holiness and Wisdom)
Established 1829
Type Independent School (UK)
Head Master Andrew Halls
Chairman of Governors J.M. Jarvis QC
Visitor The Archbishop of Canterbury ex officio
Founder King George IV
Location Wimbledon Common
London
England England
Students 1200 (approx)
Gender Boys and Girls (Sixth Form from 2010)
Ages 7 to 18
Colours Blue and Red         
Former pupils Old King's
Website www.kcs.org.uk

King's College School in Wimbledon, south-west London, commonly referred to as King's, KCS or KCS Wimbledon, is a leading selective independent day school for pupils of high academic abilities. The school is a member of the elite Eton Group and was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to Wimbledon in 1897. From September 2010, King's will admit girls into the sixth form.[1]

History

A Royal Charter by King George IV originally 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. 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 between 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.

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

King's College School is one of the highest academically performing schools in the UK historically and to date, coming 2nd in the country's league table of independent schools in 2007, with a high Oxbridge offer rate.[2]

King's was one of the first schools in the United Kingdom to abolish A-Levels in favour of the International Baccalaureate and is currently the world's leading school for the IB Diploma. In 2008 13 pupils obtaining the maximum IB score of 45 points, equivalent to 7 A grades at A-Level – a score achieved by only 72 pupils worldwide that year.[3]. In 2009 the average score for the school was 38.8 with 10 pupils obtaining the maximum 45 points [4]. KCS came second in the country for 2006 in The Times' rankings for A-Levels, mainly due to the inclusion of its International Baccalaureate results. [5] In 2007, it came third in the country in The Times' rankings for A levels, again due to its International Baccalaureate. [6]. King's was also named Sunday Times IB School of the Year in 2009.[7]

In GCSEs, in 2008 34 boys gained 10 or more straight A*s, with 17 of these gaining 11 or more. Overall, in 2008 88% of all GCSE grades were at A or A*, which rose to 94% in 2009.[8].

Pupils come to the school from south west London, north Surrey and neighbouring areas. Sixty four per cent of the Year 9 entry consists of boys who continue from the King's College Junior School, thirty four per cent enter from other preparatory schools and about two per cent come from overseas. 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".[9] 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 [2007-08] £4,775 per term.[10]

The last headmaster (Mr AC Evans) won the best headmaster of a public school category at the annual Tatler School Awards 2005. Mark Palmer, editor of the Tatler School's Guide, said that he "thought it was about time it was recognised for being an all-round, academically excellent school", he added, "That has a lot to do with the professionalism and integrity of Tony Evans". [11] The school is currently under the headship of Mr AD Halls, who succeeded Tony Evans in January 2008.

Houses

There are 6 houses in the Senior School named after previous headmasters and notable old boys of the school. Boys wear a red and blue school tie until they achieve 6 house points, when they are awarded a house tie of navy blue with thin stripes of the following colours:

Other ties include (in order of increasing seniority) the Prefect's tie (Red with navy blue school crests), School Colours (Dark blue with a single red school crest), and the Senior Prefect's tie (Navy blue with red school crests).

In 2003-04, a group of Upper Sixth Formers from the International Baccalaureate cohort (and some teachers) were seen to sport specially commissioned IB Colours. Designed by IB students at the time, the tie featured a hybrid School/IB crest, emblazoned with the slogan 'Cogito Ergo IB'.

King's College Junior School

King's College Junior School (also known as KCJS) is the preparatory school for King's College School located in Wimbledon, London. It was established in its own right in 1912, and educates boys from ages 7-13.[12] It occupies the same campus as the senior school.

As of the November 2005 Independent Schools Inspectorate inspection report, enrollment in the junior school totaled 444 boys, divided into six year groups with four classes of about 20, except in "Rushmere" (years 3 and 4) where there are three classes. Fees for the Junior School are currently [2007-08] £3,815 per term for years 3-4, and £4,300 per term for years 5-8.[10] The headmaster is Dr G A Silverlock.[13]

The uniform is a red blazer with the emblem in blue on the top 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 very strongly in national competitions too- they are current (2009), National Rugby Champions at U13 level. Also, the Junior School ran away with the team prize on its return to the prestigious Townshend-Warner Competition for History and had twelve pupils qualify for the UK Junior Mathematics Olympiad in the same year.

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

Head Masters of King's College School

The following have been Head Masters of King's College School [14]:

Name Years as Head Master
Revd John Richardson Major 1831-1866
Revd George Frederick Maclear 1866-1880
Revd Thomas Stokoe 1880-1889
Charles Bourne 1889-1906
Douglas Smith 1906-1910
Herbert Lionel Rogers 1910-1934
Hubert John Dixon 1934-1960
Frank Shaw 1960-1975
Christopher Wightwick 1975-1980
Robin Reeve 1980-1997
Tony Evans 1997-2008
Andrew Halls 2008-Present

Noted Old King's

19th Century births

20th Century births

Victoria Cross Holders

Five Old King's have been awarded the Victoria Cross[16].

   
Main | Help | Report problem