King's College School Cambridge
Encyclopedia
King's College School is a mixed private preparatory school
in Cambridge
, England
, situated on West Road
off Grange Road
, west of the city centre. It is an integral part of and receives some funding and its name from King's College
, a college of the University of Cambridge as it was founded to educate the choristers in the King's College Choir
. It was opened to non-choristers some time later. In the late 1970s it accepted girls as well, and as the school expanded, it brought in a pre-preparatory department. The school now has 400 boys and girls aged 4 - 13.The headmaster of the school is Nicholas Robinson.
The school has a strong reputation in music, and there are a number of extracurricular activities, including drama and sports. It is twinned with Dikkumbura Sri Siddhartha’ south of Galle
, in Sri Lanka
.
The school has a number of distinguished alumni, including mathematicians Andrew Wiles
and Timothy Gowers, numerous distinguished musicians such as the composer Bob Chilcott
along with the UK Liberal party leadership candidate, John Pardoe
.
The Times Educational Supplement reported that the inspection had found serious issues requiring correction, specifically in the recruitment of staff, and that the Inspection "described its anti-bullying, child protection and discipline policies as "inadequate in various areas". In particular, the school's child protection officer had left the school without bothering to pass on these important duties to someone else. The article was also critical of King's College for withholding information, being unreasonable and not carrying out proper internal reviews. The headmaster and the governors were criticized by the inspectors for not being sufficiently diligent.
The Provost of King's College now admits that his letter was misleading and in a letter to all parents, stepped down as Chair of Governors on April 1, 2011. The Provost also confirmed to one parent that the "headmaster didn't take the failed inspection as seriously as he should have done". The Provost has since apologised to the parents of one family for the suffering caused to them by the headmaster and has confirmed that their treatment at the hands of the headmaster was wrong and should not have happened. Some parents are now asking why the headmaster is still employed by the school, having caused it so much damage and disgrace.
In an email to a Cambridgeshire MP, Nick Gibb MP, Minister for State (Schools) Education, in response to a parliamentary question, confirmed that the ISI "rarely makes unannounced visits".
Having been given six months to put its house in order, it received a "glowing" inspection report in 2010 from the Independent Schools Inspectorate.
2009 Freedom of Information Act Ruling
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, situated on West Road
West Road, Cambridge
West Road is located in western Cambridge, England. It links Grange Road to the west with Queen's Road to the east. The road is north of Sidgwick Avenue and the Sidgwick Site, a major site of the University of Cambridge, currently under redevelopment...
off Grange Road
Grange Road, Cambridge
Grange Road is a long straight road in western Cambridge, England. It stretches north–south, meeting Madingley Road at a T-junction to the north and Barton Road to the south....
, west of the city centre. It is an integral part of and receives some funding and its name from King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, a college of the University of Cambridge as it was founded to educate the choristers in the King's College Choir
Choir of King's College, Cambridge
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great British choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the...
. It was opened to non-choristers some time later. In the late 1970s it accepted girls as well, and as the school expanded, it brought in a pre-preparatory department. The school now has 400 boys and girls aged 4 - 13.The headmaster of the school is Nicholas Robinson.
The school has a strong reputation in music, and there are a number of extracurricular activities, including drama and sports. It is twinned with Dikkumbura Sri Siddhartha’ south of Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
, in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
The school has a number of distinguished alumni, including mathematicians Andrew Wiles
Andrew Wiles
Sir Andrew John Wiles KBE FRS is a British mathematician and a Royal Society Research Professor at Oxford University, specializing in number theory...
and Timothy Gowers, numerous distinguished musicians such as the composer Bob Chilcott
Bob Chilcott
Robert "Bob" Chilcott is a British choral composer, conductor, and singer, based in Oxford, England.Born in Plymouth, Chilcott sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, both as a boy and as a university student. He performed the Pie Jesu of Fauré's Requiem on the 1967 recording. In 1985 he...
along with the UK Liberal party leadership candidate, John Pardoe
John Pardoe
John Wentworth Pardoe is a retired British businessman and Liberal Party politician.-Education:Educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, he was active in the famous Footlights Society; one critic of their 1955 revue panned future comedian Jonathan Miller whilst predicting a bold comedic...
.
2009 Failed ISI Inspection
In 2009 the school had a rare (according to Nick Gibb MP) emergency unannounced Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspection following concerns from parents relating to the conduct of the headmaster in connection with a complaint from parents. On 30 October 2009, the School was served with a Statutory Notice to produce an Action Plan and the school was issued with a letter warning that it might be struck of the register of independent schools. In November 2009, the Provost wrote a highly misleading letter to all parents claiming that the unannounced inspection was due to a change in inspection regulations and that a few deficiencies were found. In fact, over three pages of failings were found. Furthermore, there have been no changes in inspection regime to allow unannounced, emergency inspections. The Department of Education, through the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) have always had the right to make unannounced inspections at schools where there is good reason for concern.The Times Educational Supplement reported that the inspection had found serious issues requiring correction, specifically in the recruitment of staff, and that the Inspection "described its anti-bullying, child protection and discipline policies as "inadequate in various areas". In particular, the school's child protection officer had left the school without bothering to pass on these important duties to someone else. The article was also critical of King's College for withholding information, being unreasonable and not carrying out proper internal reviews. The headmaster and the governors were criticized by the inspectors for not being sufficiently diligent.
The Provost of King's College now admits that his letter was misleading and in a letter to all parents, stepped down as Chair of Governors on April 1, 2011. The Provost also confirmed to one parent that the "headmaster didn't take the failed inspection as seriously as he should have done". The Provost has since apologised to the parents of one family for the suffering caused to them by the headmaster and has confirmed that their treatment at the hands of the headmaster was wrong and should not have happened. Some parents are now asking why the headmaster is still employed by the school, having caused it so much damage and disgrace.
In an email to a Cambridgeshire MP, Nick Gibb MP, Minister for State (Schools) Education, in response to a parliamentary question, confirmed that the ISI "rarely makes unannounced visits".
Having been given six months to put its house in order, it received a "glowing" inspection report in 2010 from the Independent Schools Inspectorate.
Freedom of Information Act
Following a landmark ruling by the Information Commissioner in October 2010, the school is now subject to the Freedom of Information Act. This is believed to be the first case where a private school has been subject to the Freedom of Information Act.External links
King's College School, Cambridge2009 Freedom of Information Act Ruling