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Coordinates: 51°24′37″N 0°17′47″W / 51.4103°N 0.2965°W / 51.4103; -0.2965
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{{Unreferenced|date=March 2007}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="320px" align= "right">
{{Infobox school
<caption>'''Kingston Grammar School'''</caption>
| name = Kingston Grammar School
<tr><td bgcolor="#efefef" align="center" colspan=2>
| image = Kingston Grammar School.svg
[[Image:kgs.gif]]
| motto = ''Bene Agere ac Lætari''<br>("Work well and be happy")<ref>Official translation as seen on the school website</ref>
</td></tr>
| established = c. 12th century<br />1561 ([[royal charter#United Kingdom|royal charter]] granted)
<tr><td bgcolor="#efefef" >Headmaster</td>
| type = [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|Private]] [[day school]]<br/>[[Grammar school]]
<td bgcolor="efefef">Duncan Baxter MA (Oxon)</td></tr>
| head_label = Head Master
<tr><td bgcolor="#efefef" >Principal Deputy Head</td>
| head = Stephen Lehec
<td bgcolor="efefef">Michael Hall BA (Liverpool), MA (Educ)</td></tr>
| address = London Rd
<tr><td bgcolor="#efefef" >Second Deputy Head</td>
| city = [[Kingston upon Thames]]
<td bgcolor="efefef">Sarah Pownall BA (Manchester)</td></tr>
| country = England
<tr><td bgcolor="#efefef" >School type</td>
| postcode = KT2 6PY
<td bgcolor="#dfefff">Independent</td></tr>
| local_authority = [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames|Kingston upon Thames]]
<tr><td bgcolor="#efefef">Founded</td>
| dfeno = 314/6067
<td bgcolor="#dfefff">[[1561]]</td></tr>
| enrolment = 837 (2018/19)
<tr><td bgcolor="#efefef" >Location</td>
| gender = Coeducational
<td bgcolor="#dfefff">[[Kingston upon Thames]], [[United Kingdom]]</td></tr>
| lower_age = 11
| upper_age = 18
| houses = {{color box|#8800bc}} Lovekyn <br />{{color box|#1189ff}} Queen's <br />{{color box|#c3c3c3}} Stanley <br />{{color box|#a94300}} Taverner <br />{{color box|#00cf0d}} Walworth
| colours = Red and Grey {{color box|#ff0000}}{{color box|#9a9a9a}}
| publication = ''The Kingstonian''
| free_label_1 = Former pupils
| free_1 = Old Kingstonians
| coordinates = {{coord|51.4103|-0.2965|type:edu_region:GB-KTT|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map = United_Kingdom London_Kingston upon Thames#United_Kingdom Greater_London#United_Kingdom England#United_Kingdom
| website = {{url|http://www.kgs.org.uk}}
}}


'''Kingston Grammar School''' is a [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private]] co-educational day school in [[Kingston upon Thames]], [[England]]. The school was founded by [[royal charter]] in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.<ref name="hist">[http://kingstongrammar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=171&Itemid=203 History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313060541/http://kingstongrammar.com/index.php?id=171&itemid=203&option=com_content&task=view |date=2016-03-13 }}</ref> It is a [[Charitable organization|registered charity]] under English law.<ref>{{EW charity|1078461}}</ref> It was a boys' school from its foundation until 1978, when the first girls were admitted.
</td>

</table>
In 2018, the [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] results recorded 85% of grades were A*/A or 9–7, and at A-level 62.7% of all grades were A or A*.<ref>[http://www.kgs.org.uk School website]</ref> In 2008, the ''[[Good Schools Guide]]'' described the school as "An academic school with a modern edge".<ref>[http://goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/kingston-grammar-school.html Good Schools Guide] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020062047/http://goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/kingston-grammar-school.html |date=October 20, 2008 }}</ref>
'''Kingston Grammar School''' is an independent and highly selective co-educational school in [[Kingston upon Thames]], [[Greater London]]. It is noteworthy for being able to trace its roots back to at least the [[13th century]], and has an outstanding academic record, with 2006 being one of the best years for [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] results; 68.8% of all grades being A or A*, and is known as a first class sports school, offering hockey and rowing with consistently good competition results. The hockey set-up at the school is of particular note having won several National Championships over the last decade, and the "Old Kingstonians Hockey Club" is highly respected in sporting circles.


==History==
==History==
[[File:The Lovekyn Chapel, Kingston - geograph.org.uk - 1273936.jpg|alt=the Lovekyn Chapel|thumb|Lovekyn Chapel]]
The school's history is traceable into the [[Middle Ages]], where there are references to schoolmasters like Gilbert de Southwell in 1272, described as "Rector of the Schools in Kingston", and to Hugh de Kyngeston in 1364 "who presides over the Public School there". Notable in the school's history are the founding and endowing of the Lovekyn Chapel by [[John Lovekyn|John]] and then Edward Lovekyn in [[1309]]-[[1352]] and later by [[William Walworth]] in [[1371]]. The chapel is still used by the school, and one of the few remaining [[chantry|chantry chapel]]s in England.
The school's history is traceable into the [[Middle Ages]], where there are references to schoolmasters like Gilbert de Southwell in 1272, described as "Rector of the Schools in Kingston", and to Hugh de Kyngeston in 1364 "who presides over the Public School there". Notable in the school's history are the founding and endowing of the Lovekyn Chapel by [[John Lovekyn|John]] and then Edward Lovekyn in 1309–1352 and later by [[William Walworth]] in 1371. The chapel is still used by the school.<ref>[http://kingstongrammar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=171&Itemid=203&limit=1&limitstart=1 Lovekyn Chapel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313131548/http://kingstongrammar.com/index.php?id=171&itemid=203&limit=1&limitstart=1&option=com_content&task=view |date=2016-03-13 }}</ref>


After the dissolution of the chantries in 1547, the chapel fell to the [[The Crown|Crown]] and was deconsecrated. It, and by now its substantial related endowments, fell to a court favourite, [[Richard Taverner]]. He preserved the chapel so when in [[1561]] the bailiffs of Kingston petitioned [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]] for a royal grammar school, the building was still usable.
After the dissolution of the chantries in 1547, the chapel fell to the [[The Crown|Crown]] and was deconsecrated. It, and by now its substantial related endowments, fell to a court favourite, [[Richard Taverner]]. He preserved the chapel so when in 1561 the bailiffs of Kingston petitioned [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]] for a royal grammar school, the building was still usable. The Queen granted the school a [[royal charter]] in 1561.<ref name="hist"/>
So when Elizabeth granted the school a [[Royal Charter]] in [[1561]], this provided several endowments, including the chapel and the various lands and buildings then attached to it. Because the chapel had housed a school prior to its dissolution by [[Henry VIII]], historians have said that it is probable Elizabeth was doing no more than giving life to something which her father had brought to an untimely end.


The school became a [[direct grant grammar school]] in 1946<ref>{{cite hansard | url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1946/may/31/grammar-schools-direct-grant-status | title=Grammar Schools (Direct Grant Status) |house=House of Commons | date=31 May 1946 | column_start=234W | column_end=234W }}</ref> as a result of the [[Education Act 1944]] and became independent in 1978 after the scheme was abolished by the [[Labour Government 1974–1979|1974–79 Labour Government]].<ref>{{cite hansard | url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1978/mar/22/direct-grant-schools |title=Direct Grant Schools |house=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] | date=22 March 1978 | column_start=545 | column_end=545 }}</ref> In the same year, the first girls were admitted.
In [[1926]] the school accepted [[Grammar schools in the United Kingdom#Grammar Schools in the Tripartite System|direct grant]] status, but has long since reverted to full independence as a day school for boys and girls between the ages of ten and nineteen and is represented on the [[Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference]]. The school has remained true to its Grammar School heritage by offering a high proportion of academic and sporting scholarships as well fee assisted places.


It celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of its charter in 1961 with a visit from [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]].
KGS celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of its founding charter in 1961 with a visit from [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]. In 2005, she opened the new Queen Elizabeth II Building, where she unveiled a plaque, met with students of Music and Geography and watched an excerpt of the play "Smike" after which the new Recording Studio was named.


On 1 May 1965, the school opened its new playing fields at Thames Ditton, alongside which was built its boathouse, donated by [[R. C. Sherriff|R.C Sherriff]]. Prior to this it had shared [[Kingston Rowing Club|Kingston Rowing Club's]] boathouse, and had owned much smaller playing fields at Ditton Road, Kingston.<ref>[https://sport.kgs.org.uk/SportHistory.asp?Id=3732 Sport history]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709150508/https://sport.kgs.org.uk/SportHistory.asp?Id=3732|date=2018-07-09}} and {{cite book|title=Chantry Chapel to Royal Grammar School, The History of Kingston Grammar School 1299-1999|publisher=Gresham Books|publication-date=2000|last1=Ward|first1=David|last2=Evans|first2=Gordon|pages=110, 185}}</ref>
The school celebrated the opening of the newly finished Queen Elizabeth the Second building (a.k.a. the QEII Building) with a visit from [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] in 200x, where she unveiled a plaque and met with a small class of students.


==Houses==
The school honours its rich history through the naming of its four [[House system|houses]] after Queen Elizabeth (Queens house), William Walworth (Walworth house), Richard Taverner (Taverner house) and Edward Lovekyn (Lovekyn house). It also celebrates the school's founders once a year with a day of Commemoration in March.
There are five [[House system|houses]], named after [[Medieval]] and [[Elizabethan]] figures connected with the school and the city of London, with the exception of [[Stanley Shoveller]], an Old Kingstonian who played international hockey in the early 20th century.


{| class="wikitable"
==Facilities==
|-
The school is on London Road, and there are three main buildings:
! House !! Named after !! Symbol !! Colour(s) !! Founded
*The Science, Modern Languages, History and Politics, Economics and Psychology departments are housed in the Fairfield Building.
|-
*Geography, English, Religious Studies, Latin, Maths, Music and Drama departments are housed in the recently opened Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Building.
| Lovekyn || [[John Lovekyn|John]] and Edward Lovekyn, benefactors || Eagle || {{color box|#8800bc}} || 1914
*The main London Road Building, which connects to the Finlay Gallery which contains the D.T. and Art departments.
|-
The school's sports ground, with several acres of playing fields and a boathouse on the [[Thames]], is at [[Thames Ditton]], opposite [[Hampton Court Palace]].
| Queen's || [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]] || Crown || {{color box|#1189ff}} || 1914
|-
| Walworth || [[William Walworth]], former [[Lord Mayor of London]] || Tiger || {{color box|#00cf0d}} || 1914
|-
| Taverner || [[Richard Taverner]], Bible translator || Bear || {{color box|#a94300}} || 1921
|-
| Stanley || [[Stanley Shoveller]], Old Kingstonian and Olympic hockey gold medalist || Stag || {{color box|#c3c3c3}} || 2016
|}
<ref>[http://kingstongrammar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=171&Itemid=203&limit=1&limitstart=3 Houses] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311105551/http://kingstongrammar.com/index.php?id=171&itemid=203&limit=1&limitstart=3&option=com_content&task=view |date=2016-03-11 }}</ref>


==Extracurricular activities==
==Notable alumni==
The school has a sporting programme, with the main sports being football, netball, tennis, hockey, rowing and cricket.
*[[James Cracknell]] &mdash; Olympic rowing gold medallist

*[[Richard Dodds]] &mdash; captain of Great Britain Olympic 1988 gold medal hockey team
Hockey, rowing and cricket are the school's performance sports with hockey and rowing having achieved successes at national level, including three national hockey titles in 2019.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
*[[Simon Fieldmouse]] &mdash; Great Britain rower

*[[Neil Fox]] (better known as Dr. Fox), &mdash; Radio DJ
The '[[R. C. Sherriff|R.C. Sherriff]]' rowing boathouse is on the Thames at [[Thames Ditton]], [[Surrey]].<ref>[http://kingstongrammar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=185 Rowing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313075525/http://kingstongrammar.com/index.php?id=156&itemid=185&option=com_content&task=view |date=2016-03-13 }}</ref> Students may take up rowing beginning in Third Form (Year 9) and participate in local and national regattas, including [[The National Schools Regatta]] and [[Henley Royal Regatta]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kingston Grammar School BC|url=http://www.britishrowing.org/clubs/kingston-grammar-school-bc|publisher=[[British Rowing|britishrowing.org]]}}</ref>
*[[Michael Frayn]] &mdash; playwright and novelist

*[[Edward Gibbon]] &mdash; author of ''[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]''
The school has produced professional and international athletes, most commonly in hockey and rowing but also more recently in football and cricket.
*[[Neil Mullarkey]] &mdash; actor, writer and comedian

*[[R. C. Sherriff]], &mdash; playwright, who donated a rowing "eight" (named "Journey's End" after one of his plays) to the school boat club in the 1960s
==Notable former pupils==
*[[Howard Stoate]] &mdash; MP for Dartford
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2022}}
{{see also|Category:People educated at Kingston Grammar School}}
* [[Alexander McLean (activist)|Alexander McLean]] &mdash; activist, humanitarian, and lawyer, founder of Justice Defenders which seeks to improve the lives of people imprisoned in Africa.
* [[Christopher Bryan]] &mdash; international football player, Turks and Caicos
* [[Paul Butler (bishop)|Paul Butler]] &mdash; [[Bishop of Durham]]
* [[William Gilbert Chaloner]] &mdash; paleobiologist, Royal Holloway
* [[Richard Cheetham]] &mdash; Bishop of Kingston upon Thames
* [[James Cracknell]] &mdash; 2000 and 2004 Olympic rowing gold medallist, adventurer
* [[Philip Crosland]] &mdash; journalist
* [[Richard Dodds]] &mdash; International hockey player: Captain of the Great Britain Olympic 1988 gold medal hockey team
* [[Ian Dyson]] &mdash; Commissioner of the City of London Police
* [[Michael Edwards (literary scholar)|Michael Edwards]] &mdash; poet & academic, first Briton elected to the [[Académie Française]]
* [[Brett Garrard]] &mdash; international hockey player
* [[Sarah Haycroft|Sarah Evans]] &mdash; international hockey player
* [[Neil Fox (broadcaster)|Neil Fox]] &mdash; DJ and television presenter
* [[Michael Frayn]] &mdash; playwright and novelist
* [[Edward Gibbon]] &mdash; author, ''[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]''
* Air Marshal [[Gerald Gibbs (RAF officer)|Sir Gerald Gibbs]] &mdash; RAF officer
* [[Tanya Gold]] &mdash; ''[[The Guardian]]'' journalist
* [[Sophie Hosking]] &mdash; 2012 Olympic Rowing gold medallist
* [[Jonathan Kenworthy]] &mdash; sculptor
* [[Francis Maseres]] &mdash; lawyer, mathematician, Attorney-General of Quebec
* [[Leif Mills]] &mdash; author and former trade unionist
* [[Neil Mullarkey]] &mdash; actor, writer and comedian
* [[Jonathon Riley (British Army officer)|Jonathon Riley]] &mdash; Director General and Master of the Armouries
* [[R. C. Sherriff]] &mdash; playwright, who donated five rowing [[Eight (rowing)|eight]]s (named after his plays: "Journey's End", "White Carnation", "Home at Seven", "Long Sunset" and "Badger's Green") to the school boat club in the 1960s and 1970s
* [[John Spiers (entrepreneur)|John Spiers]] &mdash; entrepreneur
* [[Denis Spotswood|Sir Denis Spotswood]] &mdash; [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]], 1971-1974
* [[Howard Stoate]] &mdash; formerly MP for Dartford
* [[Zachary Wallace]] &mdash; international hockey player

==See also==
* [[List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*''Chantry Chapel to Royal Grammar School: the History of Kingston Grammar School 1299-1999'' by The Rev David Ward and Gordon W. Evans

==Sources==
*Ward, The Rev David; Evans, Gordon W. (2000). ''Chantry Chapel to Royal Grammar School: the History of Kingston Grammar School 1299–1999''. Gresham Books. {{ISBN|978-0946095360}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.kgs.org.uk/ Official website]
*{{Official website|http://www.kgs.org.uk/}}
*[https://www.isc.co.uk/schools/england/surrey/kingston-upon-thames/kingston-grammar-school/ Profile] on the [[Independent Schools Council]] website
*[http://www.kingston-grammar.surrey.sch.uk/isis_report.htm Link to the school's recent ISIS inspection report]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/04/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/314_6067.stm BBC school report]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/04/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/314_6067.stm BBC school report]


{{Schools and colleges in Kingston upon Thames}}
[[Category:Independent schools in London]]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1561 establishments]]

[[Category:Members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference]]
[[Category:Schools with Combined Cadet Forces]]
[[Category:1561 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in the 1560s]]
</font>
[[Category:Private co-educational schools in London]]
[[Category:Private schools in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames]]
[[Category:Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference]]
[[Category:Schools with a royal charter]]

Latest revision as of 22:51, 3 September 2024

Kingston Grammar School
Address
Map
London Rd

,
KT2 6PY

England
Coordinates51°24′37″N 0°17′47″W / 51.4103°N 0.2965°W / 51.4103; -0.2965
Information
TypePrivate day school
Grammar school
MottoBene Agere ac Lætari
("Work well and be happy")[1]
Establishedc. 12th century
1561 (royal charter granted)
Local authorityKingston upon Thames
Head MasterStephen Lehec
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 18
Enrolment837 (2018/19)
Houses  Lovekyn
  Queen's
  Stanley
  Taverner
  Walworth
Colour(s)Red and Grey   
PublicationThe Kingstonian
Former pupilsOld Kingstonians
Websitewww.kgs.org.uk

Kingston Grammar School is a private co-educational day school in Kingston upon Thames, England. The school was founded by royal charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.[2] It is a registered charity under English law.[3] It was a boys' school from its foundation until 1978, when the first girls were admitted.

In 2018, the GCSE results recorded 85% of grades were A*/A or 9–7, and at A-level 62.7% of all grades were A or A*.[4] In 2008, the Good Schools Guide described the school as "An academic school with a modern edge".[5]

History

[edit]
the Lovekyn Chapel
Lovekyn Chapel

The school's history is traceable into the Middle Ages, where there are references to schoolmasters like Gilbert de Southwell in 1272, described as "Rector of the Schools in Kingston", and to Hugh de Kyngeston in 1364 "who presides over the Public School there". Notable in the school's history are the founding and endowing of the Lovekyn Chapel by John and then Edward Lovekyn in 1309–1352 and later by William Walworth in 1371. The chapel is still used by the school.[6]

After the dissolution of the chantries in 1547, the chapel fell to the Crown and was deconsecrated. It, and by now its substantial related endowments, fell to a court favourite, Richard Taverner. He preserved the chapel so when in 1561 the bailiffs of Kingston petitioned Queen Elizabeth I for a royal grammar school, the building was still usable. The Queen granted the school a royal charter in 1561.[2]

The school became a direct grant grammar school in 1946[7] as a result of the Education Act 1944 and became independent in 1978 after the scheme was abolished by the 1974–79 Labour Government.[8] In the same year, the first girls were admitted.

KGS celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of its founding charter in 1961 with a visit from Queen Elizabeth II. In 2005, she opened the new Queen Elizabeth II Building, where she unveiled a plaque, met with students of Music and Geography and watched an excerpt of the play "Smike" after which the new Recording Studio was named.

On 1 May 1965, the school opened its new playing fields at Thames Ditton, alongside which was built its boathouse, donated by R.C Sherriff. Prior to this it had shared Kingston Rowing Club's boathouse, and had owned much smaller playing fields at Ditton Road, Kingston.[9]

Houses

[edit]

There are five houses, named after Medieval and Elizabethan figures connected with the school and the city of London, with the exception of Stanley Shoveller, an Old Kingstonian who played international hockey in the early 20th century.

House Named after Symbol Colour(s) Founded
Lovekyn John and Edward Lovekyn, benefactors Eagle   1914
Queen's Queen Elizabeth I Crown   1914
Walworth William Walworth, former Lord Mayor of London Tiger   1914
Taverner Richard Taverner, Bible translator Bear   1921
Stanley Stanley Shoveller, Old Kingstonian and Olympic hockey gold medalist Stag   2016

[10]

Extracurricular activities

[edit]

The school has a sporting programme, with the main sports being football, netball, tennis, hockey, rowing and cricket.

Hockey, rowing and cricket are the school's performance sports with hockey and rowing having achieved successes at national level, including three national hockey titles in 2019.[citation needed]

The 'R.C. Sherriff' rowing boathouse is on the Thames at Thames Ditton, Surrey.[11] Students may take up rowing beginning in Third Form (Year 9) and participate in local and national regattas, including The National Schools Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta.[12]

The school has produced professional and international athletes, most commonly in hockey and rowing but also more recently in football and cricket.

Notable former pupils

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Official translation as seen on the school website
  2. ^ a b History Archived 2016-03-13 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Kingston Grammar School, registered charity no. 1078461". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  4. ^ School website
  5. ^ Good Schools Guide Archived October 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Lovekyn Chapel Archived 2016-03-13 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Grammar Schools (Direct Grant Status)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 31 May 1946. col. 234W–234W.
  8. ^ "Direct Grant Schools". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 22 March 1978. col. 545–545.
  9. ^ Sport historyArchived 2018-07-09 at the Wayback Machine and Ward, David; Evans, Gordon (2000). Chantry Chapel to Royal Grammar School, The History of Kingston Grammar School 1299-1999. Gresham Books. pp. 110, 185.
  10. ^ Houses Archived 2016-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Rowing Archived 2016-03-13 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Kingston Grammar School BC". britishrowing.org.

Sources

[edit]
  • Ward, The Rev David; Evans, Gordon W. (2000). Chantry Chapel to Royal Grammar School: the History of Kingston Grammar School 1299–1999. Gresham Books. ISBN 978-0946095360
[edit]