History

King's is the oldest choir school and the second oldest school in the world.

• King's is located in the centre of the historic city of Rochester, nestling amidst the tranquil setting of the Cathedral precincts, and in the shadow of a castle which boasts one of the finest Norman keeps in the country.
• The name of 'King's School' dates from the Reformation, when, in 1541, King Henry VIII reconstituted the Cathedral Foundation after the dissolution of the Monastery; although there has been a school on the Cathedral Foundation since 604 AD.
• King Henry appointed a Dean and Chapter, a full choral establishment and 'twenty scholars to be taught Grammar', together with a Headmaster and Undermaster of the Cathedral Grammar School.
• A turning point in the later history of the School occurred in 1842, with the appointment of the Reverend Robert Whiston as Headmaster. At the beginning of his term of office, a new school room was built which still survives as part of Main School. Whiston was a man of strong convictions and his campaign for the rights of King's Scholars led him into conflict with the Dean and Chapter of his day. The whole story formed the plot for Trollope's novel 'The Warden'.
• A scheme for the administration of the School was made and sealed at the Court of Windsor in 1877 and this, with its amendments, forms the current Instrument of Government of the School; thus the School took its place in the setting of nineteenth century Public Schools.
• In 1909, the Headmaster of the day was elected to the Headmasters' Conference, at which the School has been represented ever since.
• The last fifty years have seen the school grow in both size and stature: there are currently over 700 pupils from 3 - 18 years of age on the school roll.
• The School is part of the Cathedral Foundation. The Bishop is the Patron and the Dean and Chapter form part of the Governing Body.