The King's High School (also called simply ''King's High'' or KHS) is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

day school for

girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

on the Banbury Road,

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, England. One of its main feeder schools is Warwick Preparatory School, which takes

from the ages of 3 to 11 and boys up to the age of 7.

History

Plans for a girls' school in

were drawn up as long ago as 1875, but the school could not get underway until 1879. In this year boys from The King's School, Warwick, later to become known as

Warwick School Warwick School is a selective, independent day and boarding school in Warwick, England in the public school tradition. Known until about 1900 as King's School, Warwick, it is believed to have been founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 914 AD ...

, who were being taught in Landor House, the modern site of the girls' school and the birthplace of the poet Walter Savage Landor, finally moved to their new buildings south of the River Avon. KHS, The Squirrels (the nickname of the Prep School) and Warwick School now form the Warwick Schools Foundation. The King's High School for Girls has suffered throughout its history from being very short of space, and, since its foundation, has taken over the buildings of two neighbouring schools. The premises of one of them, the former King's Middle School (which was only in existence from 1875 to 1906), caught fire in 1970. There are now brand new buildings, including a new

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 ...

building, completed in 2006, on the former Middle School site. It was opened in December 2006 by Dame

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

, new Art, Music and DT facilities, and new refurbished dining room. The school no longer has the lease on the former St Peter's Chapel, known as the Eastgate, situated at the top of Smith Street. There is an

astroturf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has ...

pitch and over of playing fields on land adjoining Warwick School's own playing fields half a mile to the south. Increasing levels of co-operation between Warwick School and King's High School for Girls has led to the joint teaching of certain AS Level and

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

subjects from September 2004, for example drama, physical education and most recently politics. Girls have been also admitted since 2003 to the Warwick School

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...

, founded in 1948. In the same year a former sixth former and former head girl, Alice Woodhouse, received Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year. A group of girls, also, successfully swam across the

English channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

in 2012. In September 2016 it was announced that the school would move to a new £30 million development adjacent to Warwick School and the Prep School on Myton Road. The school was named West Midlands Independent Secondary School of the Year 2019 by the ''Sunday Times Parent Power School Guide''. The school opened its doors at the new site in September 2019.

Headmistresses/Head Masters

*1879–1895 M Fisher *1896–1913 M Lea *1913–1921 E M Edgehill *1921–1922 G Gargner *1922–1944 V E L Doorly *1945–1947 G M Wiseman *1948–1970 W Hare *1970–1987 M Leahy *1987–2001 J M Anderson *2001–2015 E S Surber *2015–2020 R Nicholson *2021–present S Burley

Notable former pupils

* Dr

Barbara Ansell Barbara Mary Ansell, CBE, FRCP, FRCS (30 August 1923 – 14 September 2001) was the founder of paediatric rheumatology. Ansell was notable for outstanding contributions to the advancement of paediatric knowledge, specifically defining chronic jo ...

(1923–2001), UK founder of

pediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

rheumatology Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...

. * Catherine Bott (b. 1952),

Soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

Singer and Radio Presenter * Dr

Helen Castor Helen Ruth Castor (born 4 August 1968 in Cambridge) is a British historian of the medieval and Tudor period and a BBC broadcaster. She taught history at Cambridge University and is the author of books including '' Blood and Roses'' (2005) and ' ...

(b. 1968), historian, author and formerly a lecturer at

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

*Professor Emma Dench, the McLean professor of ancient and modern history,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Kim Hartman Kim Lesley Hartman (born 11 January 1952) is an English actress, best known for her role as Private Helga Geerhart in the BBC television sitcom Allo 'Allo!'' (1982–1992). She was educated at The King's High School for Girls, Warwick. an ...

(b. 1952), actress, most notably

Private Helga Geerhart This is a list of all main and recurring characters of BBC television's sitcom Allo 'Allo!'' that ran from 1982 until 1992 and 85 episodes. Overview René Artois René Francois Artois (Gorden Kaye) – The local café proprietor who, whil ...

'Allo 'Allo! ''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a Fre ...

. *

Nadia Parkes Nadia Sofia Parkes (born 31 December 1995) is an English actress. Early life Parkes grew up in Leamington Spa. She attended The King's High School for Girls. She went on to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), graduatin ...

(b. 1995), '' The Spanish Princess'' and ''

Domina (TV series) ''Domina'' is a British-Italian historical drama television series created and written by Simon Burke for Sky Atlantic (Italy) and Sky Atlantic (UK). Starring Kasia Smutniak as Livia Drusilla, it examines the power struggles of Ancient Rome fr ...

'' actress *

Lucy Rose Lucy Rose Parton (born 20 June 1989) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who performs as Lucy Rose. Her debut album, '' Like I Used To,'' was released in 2012. Rose released her second album, ''Work It Out'', in 2015 on Columbia Recor ...

(b. 1989), Indie/folk singer-songwriter * Professor Dame Julia Slingo DBE (b. 1950),

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelop ...

Chief Scientist *

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...

(b. 1947), Folk singer * Sophie Turner (b. 1996), ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

'' actress * Gemma Whelan (b. 1981), ''Game of Thrones'' actress * Elizabeth Walker (b. 1972), Circuit Judge and Designated Family Judge for Coventry and Warwickshire.

References

External links

The King's High Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings High School For Girls Girls' schools in Warwickshire Independent schools in Warwickshire Organisations based in England with royal patronage Buildings and structures in Warwick Educational institutions established in 1879 1879 establishments in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association *