The King's School, Gloucester

Infobox UK school
name = The King's School, Gloucester


size =
latitude =
longitude =
dms =
motto =
motto_pl =
established = 1541
approx =
closed =
c_approx =
type =
religion = Christian
president =
head_label =
head = Alistair Macnaughton MA
r_head_label =
r_head =
chair_label =
chair =
founder =
founder_pl =
specialist =
street = 19 Pitt St
city = Gloucester
county = Gloucestershire
country = ENG
postcode = GL1 2BG
LEA = Gloucestershire
ofsted =
staff =
enrollment =
gender =
lower_age =
upper_age =
houses =
colours =
publication =
free_label_1 =
free_1 =
free_label_2 =
free_2 =
free_label_3 =
free_3 =
website = http://www.thekingsschool.co.uk/
website_name = www.thekingsschool.co.uk

The King's School, Gloucester is an independent school in the United Kingdom, taking students from the ages of 3-18, with around 500 students.

Origins

The current school was officially founded in 1541, during the English Reformation, by a direct royal proclamation by King Henry VIII. However, prior to that date, there was a school on the grounds of Gloucester Cathedral even since it first opened as the Abbey of St. Peter around the year 1100. This would make King's one of the longest continuous running schools in the world.

The School

The school is based around Pitt Street in the centre of Gloucester. It is near Gloucester Cathedral and has assemblies there every morning in which all the school attends. Most public examinations are held in the Chapter House. The school is based around several buildings - The Palace, the Mathematics Centre, Little Cloister House (the oldest part of the school, containing the oldest functioning classroom in the world), 6th form centre Dulverton House, (the former residence of the Bishop of Tewkesbury), the Gym (formerly the main school building), the Art, Textiles and Design Technology department buildings, the Science block, the music school, Wardle House (the Nursery) and the Anniversary Building (Junior School).

The school is divided into 3 age specific sections:
* The nursery, for 3-5 year olds
* Junior school, for ages 6-11
* Senior school, for ages 11-18

Pupils are divided into Houses, in Senior School they are Laud, Wheeler and Serlo. There are House competitions all year round, including in the Michaelmas term Drama, Debate, Hockey (girls), Rugby (boys), and quiz, in the Lent term inter-house swimming gala, Music, Hockey (boys), Netball (girls), and in the Trinity term Cricket (boys), Rounders (girls), and the Inter-House Athletics, held at the Prince of Wales stadium in Cheltenham. Also House points can be won by for academic commendations and Combat of the Pen nominations (sixth form only), in addition to this a system has recently been introduced to reward high standards of personal appearance with house points. Supplementing these larger and more general events are once weekly activities held in the second half of a lunch break, the make-up of which changes from term to term, and which vary from table tennis to bridge. However, in recent years though these lunchtime activities have not diminished they have moved away from their house competition orientation, leaving only the main house events, music, drama, sport,and academic.

Archdeacon Meadow

The school owns Archdeacon Meadow, which was given as a gift to the school by the people of Gloucester. Archdeacon Meadow is used as a sports field for rugby, some hockey and cricket for the boys, and rounders in the summer for the girls. House cross-country running is also usually held there. The Meadow is also the home to the annual Gloucester Cricket Festival.

Notable Alumni

Button Gwinnett: mid 18th century; On behalf of Georgia signed the United States Declaration of Independence. With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, he became the President and Commander-in-chief of the state of Georgia. He died shortly afterwards when he somewhat foolishly challenged one of his political enemies to a duel, the injuries resulted in his death a few days later.

John Stafford Smith: late 18th century; wrote the tune for "To Anacreon in Heaven". In 1814 Francis Scott Key would set his poem to this piece and was named Star Spangled Banner, the National Anthem of the United States.

Ivor Gurney: A 20th century composer and poet; famous for poetry volumes "Severn and Somme" (1917) and "War's Embers" (1919), and well known songs such as "Severn Meadows".

F. W. Harvey: 'The Laureate of Gloucestershire' a 20th century English poet, known for poems composed in prisoner-of-war camps that were sent back to England during World War I. While at the King's school together Gurney and Harvey formed a close friendship, later in his life Harvey claimed that it was at King's that 'he learned to love music and "how" to learn'.

External links

* [http://www.thekingsschool.co.uk The King's School, Gloucester website]
* [http://www.ofchoristers.net/Chapters/Gloucester.htm A history of the choristers of Gloucester Cathedral]