Kingston Grammar School 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 ...

co-educational day school in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The school was founded by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.History
It is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

under English law. It was a boys' school from its foundation until 1978, when the first girls were admitted. In 2018 the

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

results recorded 85% of grades were A*/A or 9-7, and at A-level 62.7% of all grades were A or A*. In 2008 the ''

Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and cont ...

'' described the school as "An academic school with a modern edge".

History

The school's history is traceable into the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, 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 John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and then Edward Lovekyn in 1309-1352 and later by William Walworth in 1371. The chapel is still used by the school. After the dissolution of the chantries in 1547, the chapel fell to the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

and was deconsecrated. It, and by now its substantial related endowments, fell to a court favourite,

Richard Taverner Richard Taverner (1505 – 14 July 1575) was an English author and religious reformer. He is best known for his Bible translation, commonly known as Taverner's Bible, but originally titled . Life and works Taverner was born at Brisley (ab ...

. He preserved the chapel so when in 1561 the bailiffs of Kingston petitioned

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

for a royal grammar school, the building was still usable. The Queen granted the school a

in 1561.History
The school became a

direct grant grammar school A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...

in 1946 as a result of the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Historians ...

and became independent in 1978 after the scheme was abolished by the 1974–79 Labour Government. 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 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. 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.

Houses

There are five houses, named after

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

figures connected with the school and the city of London, with the exception of

Stanley Shoveller Stanley Howard Shoveller MC (2 September 1881 – 24 February 1959) was a field hockey player, who won a gold medal with the England team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. Twelve years later, when Antwerp hosted the 1920 Summer O ...

, an Old Kingstonian who played international hockey in the early 20th century.

Extracurricular activities

The school has a sporting programme, with six 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. The '

R.C. Sherriff Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play ''Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many nove ...

' rowing boathouse is on the Thames at

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. Students may take up rowing beginning in Third Form (Year 9) and participate in local and national regattas, including

The National Schools Regatta National Schools' Regatta is the largest rowing regatta for junior rowers in Great Britain. Held annually in May, the three day regatta offers events for junior rowers between the categories J14 and J18. History The regatta was first raced in 19 ...

and

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thr ...

. The KGS Veterans Boat Club is exclusively for alumni, parents and staff of the school. 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

* Alexander McLean — activist, humanitarian, and lawyer, founder of Justice Defenders which seeks to improve the lives of people imprisoned in Africa. *

Christopher Bryan Christopher Bryan (born 17 November 1960) is a former association football player who played as a defender for the Turks and Caicos Islands national team. He was educated at Kingston Grammar School, Kingston-upon-Thames, England. Between 1999 ...

— international football player, Turks and Caicos * Paul Butler (bishop) —

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

William Gilbert Chaloner William Gilbert Chaloner FRS (22 November 1928 – 13 October 2016) was a British palaeobotanist. He was Professor of Botany in the Earth Sciences Department at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Visiting Professor in Earth Sciences ...

— paleobiologist, Royal Holloway *

Richard Cheetham Richard Ian Cheetham (born 18 August 1955) is a retired Church of England bishop and former teacher. He served as the area Bishop of Kingston in the Diocese of Southwark, 2002–2022. Early life He was educated at Kingston Grammar School. ...

— Bishop of Kingston upon Thames * James Cracknell — Olympic rowing gold medallist, adventurer *

Philip Crosland Philip Crosland (30 July 1918 – 14 July 2012) was "one of the last of a group of British journalists to make a career working in the Indian national press." Life Philip William John Crosland was born in Guildford, Surrey, eldest of four chil ...

— journalist *

Richard Dodds Richard David Allan Dodds OBE (born 23 February 1959) is an English former field hockey player. He was captain of the gold medal-winning Great Britain squad in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Four years earlier, he won Bronze at the 1984 ...

— International hockey player: Captain of the Great Britain Olympic 1988 gold medal hockey team *

Ian Dyson Ian Christopher Dyson, (born 26 October 1960) is a retired senior British police officer, having previously been the Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner of the City of London Police Early life and education Dyson was born on 26 October ...

— Commissioner of the City of London Police * Michael Edwards — poet & academic, first Briton elected to the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

* Brett Garrard — international hockey player * Sarah Evans — international hockey player * Neil Fox — DJ and television presenter *

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the M ...

— playwright and novelist *

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, i ...

— author, ''

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...

'' * Air Marshal Sir Gerald Gibbs — RAF officer *

Tanya Gold Tanya Gold (born 31 December 1973) is an English freelance journalist. Career Gold has written for British newspapers, including ''The New York Times'' ''The Guardian'', the ''Daily Mail'', ''The Independent'', ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Su ...

— ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' journalist * Sophie Hosking — Olympic rowing gold medallist *

Jonathan Kenworthy Jonathan Martin Kenworthy (born 23 June 1943 in Windermere, Westmorland) is a British sculptor and Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. Biography Aged eleven Kenworthy attended the Royal College of Art in London under the tutelage ...

— sculptor * Francis Maseres — lawyer, mathematician, Attorney-General of Quebec * Leif Mills — author and former trade unionist * Neil Mullarkey — actor, writer and comedian * Jonathon Riley — Director General and Master of the Armouries *

R. C. Sherriff Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play ''Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many nove ...

— playwright, who donated five rowing eights (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) — entrepreneur * Sir Denis Spotswood — Chief of the Air Staff, 1971-1974 *

Howard Stoate Dr Howard Geoffrey Alvan Stoate (born 14 April 1954) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dartford constituency in Kent from 1997 to 2010. Early life He went to the independent Kingston Grammar ...

— formerly MP for Dartford * Andy Sturgeon — garden designer, journalist and broadcaster * Zachary Wallace — international hockey player

References

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.

External links

*
Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busi ...

website
BBC school report
{{Authority control 1561 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1560s Independent co-educational schools in London Independent schools in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Schools with a royal charter