King's College School

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For other uses, see King's College (disambiguation) and King's School.
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
Religion Church of England
Head Master Andrew Halls
Visitor The Archbishop of Canterbury ex officio
Chairman of Governors J.M. Jarvis QC
Founder King George IV
Location Wimbledon Common
London
United Kingdom
Students 1200 (approx) (~750 Senior School, ~450 Junior School)
Gender Boys and Girls in Sixth Form (from 2010)
Ages 7–18
Houses Alverstone     
Glenesk     
Kingsley     
Layton     
Maclear     
Major     
Colours Blue and Red         
Former pupils Old King's
Website www.kcs.org.uk

King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is one of Britain's leading independent schools in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school 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. It is a member of the Eton Group of schools. In September 2010, KCS admitted girls into the sixth form for the first time.[1] Starting September 2013 it will be offering both The International Baccalaureate and A-Levels[2].

Contents

[edit] 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.


[edit] Today

King's College School is one of the most prestigious and highest academically performing schools in the UK historically and to date, coming second in the country's league table of independent schools in 2007, with a high Oxbridge offer rate. Traditional rivals include Eton College, St. Paul's School and Westminster School.[3]

All sixth-formers at King's currently study the IB Diploma, but from September 2013 pupils joining the Sixth Form will have the choice of studying either the International Baccalaureate or A-Levels. 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.[4] In 2009 the average score for the school was 40.0 with 10 pupils obtaining the maximum 45 points.[5] 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.[6] In 2007, it came third in the country in The Times' rankings for A levels, again due to its International Baccalaureate.[7] King's was also named Sunday Times IB School of the Year in 2010.[8]

In GCSEs, in 2011 over 70% of the Upper Fifth earned 10 or more A*s and As while an astonishing 24 pupils achieved 11 or more A*s. Overall, in 2011 93.6% of grades were at A* or A, with over 65.0% of grades at A*. Many of the year also took the rigorous Additional Mathematics examination in addition to their GCSEs. 82% of these boys gained an extra A (the top grade in Add Maths) for this. [9]

Typically over 28% of the year group gain admission to Oxbridge;[10]in 2011 29 pupils gained places at Oxford or Cambridge, and previously in 2010 34 pupils achieved places.[11]

The majority of 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".[12] 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 [2011-12] £17,520 per year.[13]

The last headmaster (Mr ACV 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".[14] The school is currently under the headship of Mr AD Halls, who succeeded Tony Evans in January 2008. He too received Tatler's best headmaster of a public school award in 2011[15]

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 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 Taylor Wing, 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 4 rugby pitches on the main site for use by the Senior School, with Coleman's field providing additional pitches for the Junior School. There are 6 tennis courts on site also, along with 4 squash courts, a 33m swimming pool and a 25 metre shooting range. There are two additional playing field sites, in Raynes Park and on West Barnes Lane, which provide two fully lit astroturf pitches as well. A new pavilion was opened at West Barnes Lane in September 2011 to replace the old changing rooms.

[edit] Sport

The main sport during the Autumn Term is Rugby, where the school fielded 13 sides during the 2009-10 season. The fixture list for 2009-10 included Cranleigh, St. Paul's, Reed's, Dulwich, Eton, Harrow, Wimbledon College, Whitgift, RGS Guildford, King's Canterbury, St. John's Leatherhead and Tiffin. The First XV and the U15As enter the Daily Mail Cup, and reached the Quarter Finals of the U19 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, winning every game.

In football the school reached the Final of the Trinity School's Cup in 2010, and plays a fixture list that includes Hampton, Dulwich, and Latymer. There are football tours every few years to Ireland, and preseason training takes place at Bisham abbey during the Christmas holidays. In Hockey the school also competes at a high level, playing schools like RGS, KGS, and Caterham. There are hockey tours every three years, with the next tour probably happening in 2011. King's College School Boat Club is also a success, with an 11th place in the Champ 8s competition of the School's Head of the River in 2010. There is an annual training camp in Banyoles, Spain, during the February half term.

In the summer, the main sport is cricket. The school plays cricket against schools in 2009 that included Whitgift, Dulwich, Winchester, St. Paul's and St. John's Leatherhead. The success of the cricket teams has suffered slightly due to the early nature of the school's IB exams in comparison to other schools who do A-levels, meaning fewer players in the U6th play, with resulting knock on effects in lower teams. The school's cricket team also tours around every three years, the last tour being to Barbados in 2008. Tennis is also played during the summer.

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 2009. The 1st VIII also race in the National Schools Regatta. Boats also participate in the Long Distance Nationals, and have achieved a J148x+B gold medal. Individual sports are also of high importance. The school plays regular matches and tournaments in squash, badminton, fencing, basketball, water polo and tennis.

[edit] Houses

There are 6 houses in the Senior School named after previous headmasters and notable old boys of the school. 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:

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

[edit] 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.[16] 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 year 4 where there are three classes. Fees for the Junior School are currently [2010-12] £4,660 per term for years 3-4, and £5,260 per term for years 5-8.[13] The headmaster is Dr G A Silverlock.[17]

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 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 Townshend-Warner Competition for History and had twelve pupils qualify for the UK Junior Mathematics Olympiad.

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

[edit] Head Masters of King's College School

The following have been Head Masters of King's College School [18]:

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

[edit] Noted Old King's

See also: Category:People educated at King's College School, Wimbledon

[edit] 19th Century births

[edit] 20th Century births

 This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability or notability policies. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources cited within this article showing they are notable and alumni or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (May 2011)

[edit] Victoria Cross Holders

Five Old King's have been awarded the Victoria Cross.[20]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ High-flying UK boys' school to take girls Financial Times
  2. ^ http://kcs.org.uk/node/3208
  3. ^ Best Schools, The Top 100 Senior Schools by UCAS Tariffs
  4. ^ International Baccalaureate Diploma Results 2008 KCS Website
  5. ^ KCS Website News Autumn 2009
  6. ^ The International Baccalaureate takes the honours Times Online, 26 August 2006
  7. ^ A-Level and GCSE Results Times Online
  8. ^ Asthana, Anushka. The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/parentpower/schools_of_the_year.php?p=international_baccalaureate. [dead link]
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ [2]
  11. ^ [3]
  12. ^ Good Schools Guide
  13. ^ a b "Fees and Finance". King's College School, Wimbledon. http://kcs.org.uk/content/fees-finance. Retrieved 24 May 2010. 
  14. ^ Tony Evans
  15. ^ [4]
  16. ^ Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)
  17. ^ King's College Junior School, Merton ISBI Schools
  18. ^ Frank Miles and Graeme Cranch King's College School: The First 150 Years. London: King's College School, 1979.
  19. ^ The Victorian Web: The University of London and Its Boys' Schools
  20. ^ T. Hinde A Great Day School in London: a history of King's College School pg 132 James and James Publishers 1995 ISBN 0-907383-610

[edit] External links


Coordinates: 51°25′18″N 0°13′32″W / 51.42155°N 0.22551°W / 51.42155; -0.22551

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