The King's School, Chester, is a co-educational private day school for pupils aged 4 to 18. It is one of the seven 'King's Schools' established (or re-endowed and renamed) by King Henry VIII in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It is situated outside the city of Chester, England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school comprises an Infant school (years 4–7), a Junior school (years 7–11), a Senior school (years 11–16) and a Sixth form (years 16–18) in which the students choose their A-level subjects.

History

An ancient foundation, attached to a monastery that King Henry VIII had dissolved, it still served a purpose teaching grammar to potential ordinands. It was reconstituted in 1541 as a joint church state enterprise and operated for 400 years in the former monks' refectory. It was one of seven schools in this category, the others being Canterbury, Rochester, Peterborough, Worcester, Gloucester, and Ely. In 1869 new school buildings were constructed and they were formally opened by Gladstone. The school motto is "Rex dedit, benedicat Deus” (The King gave it, may God bless it), which was given by John Saul Howson, Dean of Chester. John Saul Howson was the chief instrument in the building and endowing of the King's School, and in its reorganization on a broader basis.

Description

Since 1960, The King's School has been based at its Wrexham Road site on the outskirts of Chester. It has a Sixth Form Centre, a library (the Wickson Library) and a music school (the Tim Turvey Music School). Sports facilities include a swimming pool, all-weather sports pitches, grass sports pitches, a cricket pavilion, and a boat house on the River Dee.

Academia

In September 2011, King's adopted a new curriculum alongside its shift from an eight-period to a five-period day. This involved substantial changes, introducing 'enrichment' lessons and replacing the GCSE courses with IGCSE.

Extra-curricular activities

The school's pupils engage the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. The King's School's Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a voluntary contingent within the CCF. It consists of the mandatory Army Section, with an additional RAF Section. The King's School has also been successful in the F1 in Schools competition, sending a team to the global finals in 2016.

Publications

The Herald is the school's magazine and is published on a termly basis for parents and pupils. Its articles are about current pupils, teachers and former pupils.

Sports

Hockey

In 2011, King's appointed hockey coach Simon Egerton, who is a member of the England hockey team.

Rowing

The King's School Rowing Club has been in existence since 1883 with the school's boat house situated on the River Dee in the centre of Chester and is affiliated to British Rowing. Rowing is offered as part of the sports curriculum from the third year onwards. The King's rowers often compete in the top levels of school's competitions, and count numerous ex-Boat-Race crew members alongside National and Olympic squad members amongst it Old King's Scholars Alumni including seven Olympians, three in the London 2012 games. Gold and silver medallists – two gold and one silver Olympic medallists. Olympic Finalists – three in 2012. 14 x Oxford and Cambridge Blues. 47 x GB Senior World Championship representatives – since 1960 and 36 x GB Junior International representatives – since 1970.

Headmaster

The school's headmaster (since 2017) is George Hartley. He has an undergraduate degree in geography and an postgraduate degree in Environmental Sciences. He has previously been the headmaster/principal of two other British schools.

Previous headmasters

A full list of previous headmasters are engraved on a board displayed in the school.

Notable alumni

Post-1900

Pre-1900

The Chester Association of Old King's Scholars (CAOKS), founded in 1866, exists to maintain links between former students. It is one of the longest established alumni associations in the country. The school has recently established OAKS (Organization of Alumni of The King's School) to maintain relations with former pupils. OAKS is free to join and open to all alumni.