Kings' School
Encyclopedia
Kings' School is a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...

 in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...

, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

. The last Ofsted inspection (March 2009) returned an overall outstanding classification, with 30 out of a possible 31 sections of the report being considered as outstanding. Kings' School currently has Specialist
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...

 status as a Business and Enterprise College
Business and Enterprise College
Business and Enterprise Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields...

 and a Languages College. Kings' is a large school with about 1,650 pupils.

History

Kings' was formed in 1985 by the merging of Danemark girls school and the Winchester Boys' Secondary Modern or Montgomery of Alamein School. These schools could trace their roots back to the Wesleyan Day School (1889), St Thomas's School (1893), St Mary's School (1900) and Danemark Central School (1912).

Academic achievement

In recent years between 85 and 95% of 15 year olds have achieved five or more GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...

 grades A to C, 80-90% including Maths and English.
According to the BBC league tables, Kings' is one of Hampshire's top state schools.

Catchment area

Kings' has a large catchment, inside Winchester, but stretching south to the surrounding villages. It also takes in students from out of catchment from as far north as Andover
Andover, Hampshire
Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18.5 miles west of the town of Basingstoke, 18.5 miles north-west of the city of Winchester and 25 miles north of the city of Southampton...

, and as far south as Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 in a fleet of yellow buses. Unusually for a State Comprehensive, Kings' also features a boys' boarding house, Kings' School House.

Criticism

In November 2008, allegations were raised that the school was not treating pupils fairly, after a girl was informed she would be taught in isolation as a result of dyeing her hair.

Later in the same month, several parents claimed that new restrictions regarding the colour of underwear were unfair and claims of checks that intruded on pupils privacy. The school has stated the Year 10 assembly was simply guidance, and has been misunderstood.

Former pupils

  • Albert Booth
    Albert Booth
    Albert Edward Booth was a British Labour Party politician.Booth was educated at Marine School, South Shields and Rutherford College of Technology . He was a design draughtsman. He served as a councillor on Tynemouth Council 1962-65.Booth contested Tynemouth in 1964...

    , politician (as St Thomas's School).
  • Jack Dee
    Jack Dee
    James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...

    , stand-up comedian, actor and writer (as Montgomery of Alamein School).
  • Colin Firth
    Colin Firth
    SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...

    , film, television and stage actor (as Montgomery of Alamein School).
  • Wayne Bridge
    Wayne Bridge
    Wayne Michael Bridge is an English footballer who plays as a left back for Manchester City.A graduate of the Southampton Academy where he made his debut in 1998, he has also played for Chelsea and Fulham during his Premiership career....

    , footballer.
  • Anthony 'Budge' Pountney
    Budge Pountney
    Anthony Charles Pountney is the former Director of Rugby at Northampton Saints rugby union club. He formerly played at flanker for Northampton and Scotland...

    , Scottish rugby player, now director of rugby at Northampton Saints
    Northampton Saints
    Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....

    .

External links

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