Wimbledon Common Prep School will become a co-educational community from 2027
We are delighted to be embarking upon one of the most significant developments in our history as Wimbledon Common Prep School becomes a co-educational community from 2027. This represents the first chapter of a move to full co-education throughout the Corporation of King’s College School, of which WCPS forms a part.
Lord Deighton KBE, Chair of the governing body
Dr Anne Cotton Head, King’s College School
Andrew Forbes Headteacher, WCPS
“I am excited at the prospect of welcoming girls and boys into Reception from September 2027. This historic move closely follows our successful ISI inspection where our inclusivity and diversity as a community were highlighted. Bringing girls into our community will further strengthen these aspects of our school, preparing all our pupils for their futures. We are delighted to welcome girls as well as boys to our warm, supportive and stimulating school environment.”
Andrew Forbes, Headteacher
“It has been a longstanding aspiration of the governors to offer our outstanding education to girls as well as boys and to enrich the experience of all our children.”
Lord Deighton, Chair of Governors
Why is WCPS becoming co-educational?
We are taking this step because we want to open our doors to any child who would flourish here at WPCS.
Our community is welcoming and inclusive, and the move to co-education at WCPS reflects our desire to ensure that excellence and opportunity for all are at the heart of school life. 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 – when the time comes – for their lives in the world beyond school.
It has been a longstanding ambition of our governors to enable girls as well as boys to access the nationally and internationally recognised quality of education we offer, and this long-term aim has been given fresh impetus by the Corporation’s recent acquisition of a new site on The Downs, located just a few minutes’ walk from the school, where a new, world-class campus for the King’s junior school will be built. This offers the Corporation scope to transform the campus so girls and boys can be welcomed into every year group at King’s. You can learn more about the educational vision for King’s in the World Beyond document.
When will WCPS become a co-educational community?
From September 2027, girls and boys will be admitted into Reception. This means that girls and boys will be able to apply to join the school through the 2025-26 admissions cycle, which will follow its usual timetable.
King’s will become a fully co-educational community in a carefully sequenced way over the coming years.
Will girls and boys be able to apply from WCPS to King’s College Junior School?
The junior school will welcome girls and boys 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. This means that girls and boys who join the Reception year at WCPS in 2027 and in subsequent years will be able to apply to join a co-educational Transition year (year 3) of the junior school.
Boys who join the Reception year at WCPS in 2026 will be able to apply to join a co-educational Transition year (year 3) at the King’s junior school in 2029.
It will continue to be necessary for every pupil who wishes to join the junior school to sit the 7+ entrance assessment, as they do now. We expect to continue to work in partnership with our parents to ensure that all WCPS pupils move onto excellent schools across London, including King’s, aligned to the needs of each child.
What makes a WCPS education special?
A WCPS education fosters curiosity and independence, and nurtures respectful, caring individuals. Situated by the green spaces of Wimbledon Common, within easy reach of one of the world’s great cities, we are connected to the internationally leading King’s College School, and its local and global network of partner schools.
In our recent Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspection in March 2025, WCPS received the highest recognition - an “area of significant strength”, highlighting the school’s exceptional support for pupil wellbeing, achieved through a well-integrated curriculum, strong pastoral care and a focus on fostering self-awareness and resilience. Inspectors praised the inclusive environment and the effective leadership that enables pupils to seek help with confidence and take responsibility for their learning.
The full inspection report is available to read here, or scan the QR code
Are single sex or co-educational environments more effective in supporting pupils’ academic progress?
We believe that it is the extraordinary educational environment offered by WCPS that supports our pupils to thrive inside and outside the classroom.
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’ outcomes and whether a school is single-sex or co-educational.
As we extend co-education through the school we are confident that girls will flourish at WCPS, supported by our outstanding teaching, dedicated pastoral care and wide-ranging enrichment and co-curricular programmes.
Will the school grow as it moves to co-education, and will there be an equal number of boys and girls?
We are planning a modest increase in the number of pupils who are able to join WCPS each year. Once co-education is fully established, our aim is to have equal numbers of boys and girls in each year group.
How will you support girls joining the school?
Warmth, welcome, care and support, are integral to the WCPS community, and our staff – many of whom have experience of working with girls – are exceptionally dedicated to supporting our young people. We are confident that their support will offer girls as well as boys an enriching and enjoyable adventure at WCPS and beyond.
How will the school’s facilities change and adapt over the coming years?
In preparation for the admission of girls to WCPS, facilities will be adapted to ensure that they meet the needs of all our pupils as part of the ongoing renewal and refurbishment of the learning environment at WCPS.
This forms part of a broader programme to transform the King’s campus over the coming years, through the addition of a new site on The Downs, located just a few minutes’ walk from WCPS and from King’s, where a new, world-class junior school is planned.
In turn, this will allow for the forward-looking development of the spaces on the King’s main site which will further enhance the school’s sector-leading academic, pastoral and co-curricular provision for all pupils.
You can read more about our school and about the excellent education we offer our pupils on our website, and we look forward to welcoming you in person at one of our open events.
Further information on applying to WCPS, along with dates for open events, can be found at:
www.wcps.org.uk/admissions.
