Co-education at King's

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.

Our longstanding ambition to offer a King’s education to any young person who would thrive here 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 considerable potential for the future development of our campus. Now, we have decided that, with the addition of this space, we will extend co-education through the school.

Please click here for our co-education at King’s FAQ document which contains more information about the context for this development and information about its practical implementation.

Girls have long played an integral role within the King’s community. In the year 2000, our governors agreed that it was their long-term aspiration for King’s to become fully co-educational once this was practically possible. We welcomed girls into our sixth form for the first time 15 years ago, and we currently educate around 150 sixth form girls each year, whose presence and impact extend throughout the school. Over the coming decade, 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.

Our timetable for admitting girls throughout our community will dovetail with the development of our site and take place in a carefully sequenced way. At The Downs, we intend to create a new, world-class educational campus for our junior pupils. Once our new junior school is complete, it will welcome girls and boys. The relocation of our junior school will then allow us to enhance our main site for the benefit of all our pupils. As part of this work, we will prepare to open our doors to girls and boys in all year groups within the senior school.

Accordingly, our timeline for moving to full co-education will be as follows:

• Girls and boys will be admitted into the Reception year at Wimbledon Common Prep School (Squirrels) in September 2027.
• Girls and boys will be admitted to year 3 in the junior school (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 an entrance assessment, as they do now.
• Girls and boys will be admitted to year 7 of the senior school at 11+ from September 2033, and to year 9 (fourth form) of the senior school at 13+ in September 2035.
• Girls and boys will continue to be admitted to the lower sixth (year 12) at 16+, as they are now.

The head, Dr Anne Cotton, has commented: “This is an enormously exciting new chapter for King’s, and one of the most significant developments in the school’s near 200-year history. 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.”