King’s College School, Wimbledon
Co-education
King’s will become a fully co-educational community over the next decade
We are delighted to be embarking upon one of the most significant developments in our history as we extend co-education throughout the King’s community over the next decade.
As we approach our 200th anniversary in 2029, we are taking this step so that we can open our doors to any child who will flourish here. It is our belief that, as a co-educational community, we will enrich the educational experience of all our pupils and the preparation we offer them for their lives in the world beyond school.
Girls have long played an integral role within the King’s community and for many years it has been an ambition of our governors to be able to offer a King’s education to any young person who would thrive here. Over the coming years, we look forward to welcoming girls and boys in every year group of the King’s junior and senior schools and Wimbledon Common Prep School, a development made possible by our new site on The Downs.
Situated by the green spaces of Wimbledon Common, within easy reach of one of the world’s great cities, and connected to an international network of leading partner schools, we are nationally and internationally recognised for the quality of the education we offer. As one of the world’s leading schools, we want to open up King’s to any child who will thrive here.
Our longstanding ambition to extend co-education throughout our school has been given fresh impetus by our recent acquisition of a new site on The Downs: located just a few minutes’ walk from the school, this offers us scope to transform our campus so that we can welcome girls and boys in every year group.
Our community is welcoming and inclusive, and in recent years we have extended our work to make King’s more accessible, including through our bursaries programme. Our move to full co-education is a natural extension of this ethos and reflects our desire to ensure that excellence and opportunity for all are at the heart of school life.
When will King’s become a fully co-educational community?
King’s will become a fully co-educational community in a carefully sequenced way over the next decade.
Girls and boys will be admitted to the Reception year at Wimbledon Common Prep School (“Squirrels”) in September 2027.
Girls and boys will be admitted to the junior school at year 3 (known as Transition) at 7+ from September 2029, and at 8+ and 9+ in subsequent years, transferring to the senior school without a further examination as they do now. It will continue to be necessary for every pupil joining our junior school in year 3 to sit the 7+ entrance assessment, as they do now.
Girls and boys will be admitted to year 7 of the senior school at 11+ from September 2033.
Girls and boys will be admitted to year 9 (fourth form) of the senior school at 13+ from September 2035.
Girls and boys will continue to be admitted to the lower sixth (year 12) at 16+, as they are now.
Are single sex or co-educational environments more effective in supporting pupils’ academic progress?
Our sixth form has been co-educational for 15 years, and academic outcomes have been consistently exceptional. King’s was the top ranked independent coeducational day school and named International Baccalaureate School of the Year in The Sunday Times Parent Power 2025.
Educational research suggests that school culture and context are the most significant factors in determining pupils’ academic performance, and that there is no significant link between pupils’ academic outcomes and whether a school is singlesex or co-educational.
It is our belief that it is the extraordinary educational environment offered by King’s that supports our pupils to thrive inside and outside the classroom and in the world beyond school. As we extend co-education through the school, we are confident that girls as well as boys will flourish in all year groups at King’s, and we look forward to offering all our young people the best possible preparation for their futures in the world beyond school.
How will you support girls joining the school?
For the last 15 years, girls have played an integral role at King’s. We welcomed girls into our sixth form for the first time in 2010, and we currently educate around 150 sixth form girls each year.
The presence and impact of our sixth form girls extend throughout the school, through their participation in co-curricular activities spanning year groups, their contribution as leaders and mentors, and their involvement in our vertical House and pastoral tutoring systems – and they have forged successful futures in the world beyond school.
We will build on this experience as we become a fully co-educational community. We are preparing to welcome girls throughout the school in a carefully sequenced way over the next decade, to ensure a smooth transition as we continue to offer an outstanding education for all our pupils.
Warmth and welcome are integral to the King’s community, and our staff – among whom there is extensive experience of working with girls – are exceptionally dedicated to our young people. We are confident that, with their guidance and care, girls throughout the school will be supported to thrive at King’s.
How
will the school’s facilities change and adapt over the coming years?
Our campus will be transformed over the coming years, through the addition of our new site on The Downs, as well as through the forward-looking development of the spaces on our main site, further enhancing our sectorleading academic, pastoral and co-curricular provision for all pupils.
Will the school grow as it moves to full co-education, and will there be an equal number of boys and girls?
The significant developments to our campus will allow for a modest increase in the number of pupils who are able to join both the junior and senior schools over the coming years.
Once co-education is fully established, our aim is to have equal numbers of boys and girls in every year group.
How
can my son or daughter apply to join King’s?
Our timeline for moving to full co-education is set out above.
Our admissions processes will follow their usual timetable, and further information – including how to register – can be found on our website here:
www.kcs.org.uk/admissions.
Our admissions teams can be contacted at jsadmissions@kcs.org.uk (junior school) and admissions@kcs.org.uk (senior school).
You can read more about the education we offer our pupils on our website, and we look forward to welcoming you in person at one of our open events.
If my child is already at King’s, how will the move to full co-education affect them?
The transition to full co-education will take place in a carefully sequenced way, over more than a decade. Girls will not join the year group of any pupil who is currently at King’s or any pupil who has already accepted a place to join the school before they enter our sixth form which is already co-educational, as it has been for the past 15 years.
From 2029, girls as well as boys will be able to join year 3 (Transition) of the junior school, and from 2033, girls as well as boys will be able to join year 7 of the senior school.
Over the coming weeks, there will be opportunities for pupils and parents to engage in discussion about this development and ask any questions they may have.
How do you plan to develop the education you offer King’s pupils over the next decade?
As we look forward to welcoming girls as well as boys throughout the school over the coming years, we remain focused on offering an outstanding education for all our young people.
Our plans for the years ahead, as we prepare to celebrate our 200th anniversary and to enter our third century, are set out in our World Beyond vision.
How can I find out more?
We actively welcome the engagement of our community, and as always, parents are encouraged to be in touch with our head, junior school headmaster, and bursar.
We will be holding information events for current parents and parents of pupils who will soon join our community, to explain more about moving to full co-education at King’s. We will be writing to parents with information about how to register for these events.
We welcome prospective families to the school through our usual schedule of open events, and details are available on our website here: www.kcs.org.uk/admissions.
If you have further enquiries about our move to full co-education, please contact us at coeducation@kcs.org.uk.