The King's School is a British

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

with academy status, in the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Grantham, Lincolnshire Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

, England. The school's history can be traced to 1329, and was re-endowed by

Richard Foxe Richard Foxe (sometimes Richard Fox) ( 1448 – 5 October 1528) was an English churchman, the founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, and became also Lo ...

in 1528. Located on Brook Street, the school's site has expanded over the course of its history, with some school buildings dating back to 1497. Today, King's remains an all-boys grammar school, with just over 1,000 pupils. King's and another Grantham grammar school,

Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School (KGGS) is a grammar school with academy status for girls in Grantham, Lincolnshire, established in 1910. It has over 1000 pupils ranging from ages 11 to 18, and has its own sixth form. History KGGS was fou ...

, share teaching resources for

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

study in certain subjects; since 2006–2007, timetables for this study have been co-ordinated between both schools. King's boys generally take ten to eleven General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations in Year Eleven (aged 15–16), and they have a choice of three or four A-levels in the sixth form. An Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspection in May 2008 graded The King's School as "outstanding". The majority of students go on to higher education following the completion of their A-levels at the end of Year Thirteen (aged 17–18), and it is common for several boys to gain Oxbridge offers.

History

The Original King's School Grantham DXO render 01

The King's School has an unbroken history on the same site since its re-endowment in 1528 by

, although its history can be traced back to 1329.

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, '' The Buildings of England'' ( ...

in his ''Buildings of England'', dates the original School building to 1497. Foxe was born and raised locally. He entered into the service of Henry Tudor, while Henry was in exile in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. When Henry took the

throne of England The Throne of England is the throne of the Monarch of England. "Throne of England" also refers metonymically to the office of monarch, and monarchy itself.Gordon, Delahay. (1760) ''A General History of the Lives, Trials, and Executions of All th ...

as Henry VII, Foxe became his secretary, and later founded

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

(1517) and

Taunton Grammar School The Municipal Buildings are historic buildings in Corporation Street, Taunton, Somerset, England. The buildings, which were the home of Taunton Grammar School before becoming the headquarters of Taunton Borough Council, are Grade II* listed. Hi ...

(1522). In the 16th century the School became known as the ''Free Grammar School of King Edward VI''. Scholars numbered perhaps a few dozen at foundation, and there were still fewer than one hundred until the 20th century.

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

was a King's School scholar between 1655 and 1660. As was customary in his time, he carved his signature on the wall of what is now the school library, although the signature has never been confirmed as authentic; visitors from around the world come to view this indication of Newton's education. A replica of the signature is on display in Grantham Museum. The school became a selective state

under the implementation of the

1944 Education Act Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Six ...

. By 1970, Kesteven County Council announced plans to turn its grammar schools into co-educational comprehensives for ages of 11–16 and leave Grantham College as the town's only sixth form. Other parts of Kesteven became comprehensive but responsibility for education passed to

Lincolnshire County Council Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, and King's remained a grammar school. On 1 August 2011 The King's School ended its long relationship with the local elected authorities and the town of Grantham, by converting to a selective academy. It remains a selective boys' school and has kept its name and logo. The novelist and eccentric

Frederick Rolfe Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...

('Baron Corvo') was briefly a teacher at the school. In 1988 an illustrated history of the School was published by a former King's School teacher: ''The King's School Grantham – 660 years of a Grammar School''.

Notable former pupils

Early scholars

* William Cecil (statesman) (1530s); *

Henry More Henry More (; 12 October 1614 – 1 September 1687) was an English philosopher of the Cambridge Platonist school. Biography Henry was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire on 12 October 1614. He was the seventh son of Alexander More, mayor of Gran ...

(philosopher) (ca.1620s); *

(scientist) (1655–1659); *

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

(playwright and

poetaster Poetaster , like rhymester or versifier, is a derogatory term applied to bad or inferior poets. Specifically, ''poetaster'' has implications of unwarranted pretensions to artistic value. The word was coined in Latin by Erasmus in 1521. It was fir ...

) (1682–1687).

20th century scholars

* Captain Albert Ball VC DSO MC (World War I Flying Ace) * Air Vice Marshal Gary Waterfall CBE (Senior RAF Officer, Chief of Staff (Operations) Permanent Joint Headquarters) * Jason Lai (Orchestral Conductor and TV Presenter) * Andy Bond, Former

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...

COO"Global retail giant's top bosses share Grantham connection"
''Grantham Journal'' 26 June 2008; retrieved 2 July 2009 * Andy Clarke, Former Asda CEO *

Brian Thompson Brian Earl Thompson (born August 28, 1959) is an American actor. His career began with a small role in the 1984 film ''The Terminator''. He played the villainous "Night Slasher" in the 1986 film '' Cobra''. His first named role was on ''Werew ...

(1938-2011), footballer and concert promoter *

Ben Everitt Benjamin William Everitt (born 22 November 1979) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Milton Keynes North since the 2019 general election. Early life and career Everitt was born in ...

(1978-), MP for Milton Keynes North.https://www.beneveritt.com/

References

External links

The King's School, Grantham

The King's School Old Boys' Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings School Grantham Educational institutions established in the 1520s Grammar schools in Lincolnshire 1528 establishments in England Boys' schools in Lincolnshire Schools in Grantham Academies in Lincolnshire