Independent Secondary Schools Guide – Kingston Grammar School

April 16, 2022

• Topical

Founded in 1561 by royal charter as a school to teach boys, today Kingston Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school in Kingston-Upon-Thames. Students can attend from ages 11 to 19. There are currently 856 students at the school as well as 256 students who attend the Sixth Form.

Students are arranged into one of the following houses when they first join the school: Lovekyn, Taverner, Walworth, Queen’s, and Stanley. The school arranges friendly interhouse competitions every year. The school also offers scholarships to students for 16+ study if they excel in a particular area including academics, art, music, sport, drama and design technology.

The school has numerous facilities including a library well stocked with books as well as iPads, laptops, and Chromebooks for the students to use. The Lovekyn Chapel is a free-standing building of the school that dates back to 1309 and is still used today. There is also a large arts centre which includes the Baxter Gallery used to showcase student artwork and a 200-seat theatre. In addition, the school has a 22-acre sports facility located opposite Hampton Court Palace which includes netball and tennis courts, hockey, cricket, and football pitches as well as an Astro turf. Students also have access to a boat house. Impressively, Kingston Grammar has an international reputation for its school sport teams.

In the most recent ISI inspection report, Kingston Grammar was praised for the excellence of its pupil’s achievements. This is reflected in their 2020 exam results with 71% of all GCSE examinations being a Grade 9-8. At A-level, 91% of students achieved grades A*- B with 36% of A-level results being a grade A*. Many of the students go on to attend higher education and 86% of students graduating in 2020 went to Russell group universities.