King’s was founded by royal charter in 1829 as the junior department of King's College London, and was originally located in Strand. During the early Victorian period, the school grew in numbers and reputation and many early pupils became eminent in public affairs. Teachers included the artist John Sell Cotman and the poet Gabriele Rossetti, who taught Italian (his son, the famous Dante Gabriel Rossetti, joined King’s in 1837). Needing space to expand, the school moved to Wimbledon in 1897 and was separated constitutionally from the College by a 1908 Act, which created the present governing body. The junior school was established as a separate school in 1912. 

King's was progressive in its curriculum and appointed its first science master in 1855, at a time where very few schools taught science. The first head master, John Major, served the school between 1831 and 1866, and during this time 99 King's pupils appear in the Dictionary of National Biography.

The archive collects and preserves records relating to the school’s history from its foundation to the present day. In 2019, it was renamed the Bryan Stokes Archive, in recognition of the ex-teacher and long-serving school archivist who was a member of the King's community for over 60 years.

Access to the archive

The archive is open to visitors. If you would like to consult material, please make an appointment by contacting the school’s archivist, Lucy Inglis (archive@kcs.org.uk). Alternatively, enquiries can be dealt with remotely; please contact the archive providing as much background information as possible. Depending on their age, some records may be closed or have access restrictions if they contain personal or other confidential information.

The archivist is always happy to carry out research on your behalf. There is no fee for this but if you would like to donate to the school's bursaries programme, you can do so online on the King's website.

Donations to the archive

The school archive continues to grow thanks to generous donations of relevant material. We always welcome items connected to the history of the school, senior and junior, and are particularly interested in documents from the 1960s to the present day. Should you wish to make a donation, please contact the archivist (archive@kcs.org.uk).