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.
We are thrilled that, as one of the world’s leading schools, we are now in a position to take this important step. A King’s education is about the whole person and their future: as we support young people to grow in Mind, Spirit and Heart, to become thinkers and leaders who are ready to lead extraordinary lives and to make a purposeful contribution in the world, we want girls and boys to be able to take up this opportunity.
In the pages that follow, we offer information about the context and practical implementation of this important development for the whole King’s community.
“It has been a longstanding aspiration of the King’s governors to offer our outstanding education to girls as well as boys. We are delighted that with the addition of our new site this is now possible.”
Lord
Deighton, Chair of Governors
“This is an enormously exciting new chapter for King’s. As we embark upon our third century as a school, I am delighted that we are now able to welcome into our community any child who will thrive here.”
Dr Anne Cotton, Head
“Extending co-education through the community will further enrich the experience of all our children, and I am very much looking forward to welcoming girls as well as boys into our junior school.”
Ted Lougher, Junior School Headmaster
Why is King’s becoming fully co-educational?
We are extending co-education throughout King’s so that we can offer a King’s education to any young person who will thrive here.
We believe that, in a co-educational community, we will be able to enrich the educational experience of all our pupils and the preparation we offer them for their lives in the world beyond school.
King’s is a dynamic, inclusive and forward-looking seat of learning. Founded as the junior department of a university, a forward-looking and progressive spirit is our heritage – rooted in academic tradition, yet always evolving.
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.
Stage 1:
We are planning a new world-class campus for our junior school pupils on our site at The Downs, located seven minutes’ walk from our main site. This will be a modern, inclusive and welcoming space for all our pupils, and we look forward to welcoming girls as well as boys to this fantastic facility for the first time in 2029. At the same time, junior school pupils will be able to access the extensive facilities on our main site. We are committed to a continuous educational experience for pupils as they move through the school, and we will preserve extensive collaboration between the different sections of the school, as pupils progress from the junior school through to the sixth form.
Stage 2:
The relocation of our junior school will create opportunities to enhance our main campus. We will undertake a comprehensive master planning exercise, so that we can best use the space to improve our facilities, to enact our vision for the education of our pupils and to extend our contribution to our communities. As part of this process, we will prepare to welcome girls as well as boys throughout the senior school, ensuring that our facilities meet the social, academic, pastoral and co-curricular needs of all pupils. We look forward to keeping our community updated as plans progress.
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.
Is financial assistance available?
We offer means-tested bursaries and financial assistance to support any child who would not otherwise be able to join our senior school, as well as to families who face hardship during the course of their child’s education with us.
We have recently established a Foundation to grow the financial assistance we can offer families, so that we can open our doors to any child who would benefit from a King’s education.
We offer financial assistance of up to 100% of fees, as well as support for additional costs such as uniform, travel, equipment, trips and lunch.
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.