The school started as a medieval cathedral school said to have been founded duringlate antiquity in AD 597, a century after theFall of the Western Roman Empire, byAugustine of Canterbury, considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church, thus making it arguably the world's oldest extant school. This is based on the fact that St Augustine founded an abbey (within the current school's grounds) where it is known that teaching took place.[3]
When theDissolution of the Monasteries took place, the school was re-founded byroyal charter in 1541. A Headmaster, a Lower Master, and fifty King's Scholars were established and the name "King's School" was used for the first time, referring toKing Henry VIII.Cardinal Pole moved the school to the Mint Yard and acquired the Almonry building, which was in use for over 300 years.
Throughout the next 100 years several former pupils achieved national recognition helping the school establish its reputation; these include the first headmaster,John Twyne, andChristopher Marlowe,William Harvey andJohn Tradescant the Younger. The buildings were improved and academic standards raised during the leadership ofJohn Mitchinson and around this time the school became a "public school" with a national reputation.[3]
When Canon John "Fred" Shirley became headmaster in 1935 the school was suffering from the effects of the depression. He managed the school's rapid expansion to around 600 pupils over the next 30 years, constructing further buildings in the precincts and helping the school survive the war-time evacuation. The school received a new Royal Charter from KingGeorge VI andQueen Elizabeth in 1946. During this time, the reputation of the school grew, helped by its academic and sporting successes.
The school was boys-only for almost 1400 years, until the early 1970s, when girls were admitted to the Sixth Form for the first time, and the school has been fully co-educational since 1990.[3] The school is also the oldest charity in the UK.[4]
In 2011, the school was rated as "Good" by Ofsted.[5] In 2017, the school was subject to its latest regular, independent inspection.[6] The inspection team praised the "outstanding academic results" and the pupils' integrity, self-assurance, and "generosity of spirit". According to theGood Schools Guide, the school is "highly successful, producing excellent results". TheGuide also stated, "You need to be creative, academically able and hard-working, as everything moves fast here."[7]
There are 16 houses at King's, 13 boarding and 3 day.[10] Most are named after past headmasters or people of interest in the school's history, with the exception ofSchool House,The Grange andCarlyon. The Houses of the School are:
School House: founded 1860 (boys boarding)
The Grange: founded 1928, moved to a new building in 2007 (boys boarding)
Walpole: founded 1935, (girls boarding). Named after the novelist SirHugh Walpole (KS 1896–98)
Meister Omers: founded 1936, (boys boarding).
Marlowe: founded 1936, (mixed day). Named after the poet and dramatistChristopher Marlowe (KS 1579–81)
Galpin's: founded 1952, (boys boarding). Named after The Reverend Arthur Galpin, Headmaster from 1897 to 1910.
Linacre: founded 1953, (boys boarding). Named afterThomas Linacre, founder of the Royal College of Physicians
Broughton: founded 1976, (girls boarding). Named afterWilliam Broughton (KS 1797–1804), the first Bishop of Australia
Tradescant: founded 1976, (boys boarding). Named afterJohn Tradescant (KS 1619–23), the distinguished gardener and collector.
Mitchinson's: founded 1982, (mixed day). Named afterJohn Mitchinson, Headmaster 1859–73 and co-founder of the Headmasters' Conference.
Jervis: founded 1992, (girls boarding). Named after Douglas Jervis OKS
Harvey: founded 1996, (girls boarding). Named afterWilliam Harvey physician, who first determined the systemic circulation of the blood (KS 1588–92)
Bailey: first founded 1990, (sixth form girls boarding). Named after Henry Bailey, second warden of St Augustine's College between 1850 and 1875 and an honorary Canon of the Cathedral
The inner of Mint Yard, with the Parry Block in the centre, built in 1881The Economics department is housed in the Priory block, which was originally built around 1100 as part of themedieval priory buildings, especially the brewery and bakehouse. It was taken over by the King's School in 1936.The Shirley Hall was built on the site of the tennis courts and opened by the Queen Mother in 1957. Assemblies, plays, concerts and public examinations all take place here. Underneath the Hall is the Pupils' Social Centre
The Beerling Hall: Music and Drama Facility, part ofthe 13th-century friary, endowed by the late Donald Beerling and the Cantiacorum Trust
Birleys Playing Fields: The School's sports grounds, located near the main site. A new pavilion was opened by David Gower on 17 September 2005
Lattergate: Religious Studies and Headmaster's office
The Malthouse: Victorian malthouse building now converted into a theatre, dance studio, dining hall, classrooms and rehearsal spaces
Maugham Library: Named in honour of dramatistW. Somerset Maugham (OKS), whose ashes were scattered on the lawn nearby.
Maurice Milner Memorial Hall: Fencing, Drama and Examination Hall
Mint Yard Classrooms: Mathematics, ICT
The Grange Yard Classrooms: three new classrooms built in 2017 in front ofShirley Hall. They are temporary buildings situated in a previously open space.
TheOld Synagogue at Canterbury: Music, Jewish Prayers. Built as a synagogue in 1847–8 by architect Hezekiah Marshall, the "Old Synagogue" is used as a recital hall by the music department and also used to host "Jewish Society". It is considered one of the finest buildings of the 19th centuryEgyptian Revival style.[11]
Palace Block: a medieval building containing the Modern Languages Department
The Pupils' Social Centre: under Shirley Hall with a tuckshop, cafe, stationery Shop and Careers Centre
The Recreation Centre: Gym, Hockey Pitches, Swimming Pool, etc. It is open to the general public on a membership basis.
The School Library: contains over 25,000 volumes and offers access to the School Intranet
Shirley Hall: School Assemblies and Examination Hall; formerly known as the Great Hall, renamed after the former headmaster,Fred Shirley
St. Mary's Hall: Drama, Theatre Studies
The Westbere Lakes: Sailing and Rowing
View of the Schoolhouse and The Norman Staircase
The school's Norman staircase is one of the most painted, photographed and admired sites in Canterbury. As its name suggests it dates back to the 12th century. For formal occasions, the School traditionally gathered here. Archbishops of Canterbury addressed the School from the Staircase during Visitations. KingGeorge VI, accompanied byQueen Elizabeth andPrincess Elizabeth, presented the School's Royal Charter to the Dean on 11 July 1946.
Purples: Until recently called "monitors", these are the school prefects, who are marked out by their distinctive purple gowns. Only those in the highest year at the school may be a purple. Each house generally has one purple (the Head of House). The purples are headed by the Captain of School and a Vice-Captain. A head scholar and two Vice-head scholars are also invited to become Purples.
Full Canterbury Dress: The name given to the school uniform, which consists of a white shirt with wing collar, black waistcoat, pinstripe trousers, black jacket, black socks, black tie and black shoes for the boys. Girls wear a white blouse, brooch, pinstripe skirt or trousers, black jacket, black tights and black shoes. When he came to the School, Fred Shirley, Headmaster (1935–1962), updated the school uniform to sports jackets but within a year, the boys had asked to revert to their traditional garb. He tried again after the War when the School returned to Canterbury, this time taking a vote on the matter but despite the difficulty in finding outmoded clothing in a time of clothes rationing, the boys once again decided to revert to tradition. In the mid-twentieth century, there were elaborate customs relating to such matters as buttons and the angle at which a boater was worn. The girls' version was introduced by Anthony Phillips, Headmaster.
Court Dress: Worn on "Commem Day", the last day of the school year, leavers wear court dress, consisting of white tie and black evening tailcoats, with breeches and black stockings. Purples wear their purple gowns and carry brown canes with gold handles while the Organ Scholars of the school wear black academic gowns over their court dress and carry black canes with Silver Handles.
King's Scholars: An academically-select group, marked by black jumpers with white trimmings that have recently replaced their distinctive black gowns, they process wearing surplices during school services in the Cathedral. To become a scholar, a pupil must take the Scholarship examinations at a standard approaching GCSEs prior to entry at the age of 12 to 14 (Exhibitioners may also be elected) or, in the case of honorary scholars, achieve exceptional GCSE results (9 A*s is usually the minimum) or AS Level results. King's Scholars are part of the Canterbury Cathedral Foundation and have a role in the Enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Scholars are admitted by the dean at the beginning of every school term; the scholars kneeling before the dean, who then touches their head and utters "Admitto Te", formally acknowledging them as a King's Scholar. King's Scholars in the Upper Sixth are permitted to wear a black gown.
Uniform Gating: A form of punishment that requires pupils to wear Canterbury Dress all day every day, while getting a form signed by someone in a position of authority (usually a teacher or a purple) at 15-minute intervals during their free time. This can prevent them from leaving the school at all for up to a week.
Monitors' Canes: A privilege given to School Monitors (Purples) and House Monitors. Purples are allowed black canes and House monitors are allowed wood coloured canes. The Head of theCCF is also allowed to carry apace stick.
View over the Tradescant boarding house and The School Library. Both were built by William Butterfield in 1848 as the main accommodation block and library for the students of St Augustine's Missionary College. The cloister was later converted into a boarding house with the addition of rooms and acquired by The King's School in 1976 when it became Tradescant, and the library was moved to this present location in 1990.
Matthew Parker, an important benefactor of the school
A festival of arts, held during the last week of the summer term, introduced byFred Shirley in 1952.[12] The week has featured over 100 events, ranging from classical concerts to theatre performances, held in locations around Canterbury. Events have been free to attend and required no booking and a number were broadcast live.[13]
The week has culminated in Commemoration day (known as "Commem") on the last day of the school year when the school leavers in 6a wore court dress of white tie and tails, with breeches and black stockings, or their national dress, and the whole school attended a service to commemorate the school benefactors; such benefactors includeMathew Parker, the firstArchbishop of Canterbury ofElizabeth I.[14]
In 2005, theOffice of Fair Trading (OFT) provisionally found that the school exchanged detailed information about prospective fee increases with approximately 50 other prominent UK independent schools, includingEton andSevenoaks.[15] The OFT stated that "regular and systematic exchange of confidential information as to intended fee increases was anti-competitive and resulted in parents being charged higher fees than would otherwise have been the case."
Peter Roberts retired as Headmaster at the close of the Summer Term on Thursday, 7 July 2022.[16] Elizabeth Worthington, Senior Deputy Head, was the interim head until September 2023 when Jude Lowson became the first female Head in the history of the School.[17]
The King's School has a feeder preparatory school, the Junior King's School (JKS), previously Milner Court Preparatory School. The school is a coeducational boarding and day establishment and currently has around 400 pupils aged 3 to 13. Whilst there are boarding facilities available, the majority are day pupils. JKS is now located at Milner Court inSturry, having been originally based in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral.
The current site was donated byLady Milner following the death ofAlfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner in 1925. The buildings on site were opened byRudyard Kipling in 1929, in his capacity as a close friend of Alfred Milner.[21]Wilfrid Oldaker was headmaster from 1945 to 1956 and was the last head to occupy the manor house as the headmaster's residence.[22] Further extensions include a sports hall (1999), aCDT block (1991) and a new music department (2016).
