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Kingswood School is a coeducational, public day and boarding school in Bath, Somerset, England. The school owns the Kingswood Day Preparatory School, the Upper and Middle Playing Fields, and other buildings.
History
Kingswood School was founded by John Wesley in 1748 in Kingswood near Bristol and was established for the education of the sons of the itinerant ministers (clergy) of the Methodist Church. Woodhouse Grove School was founded soon afterwards and was linked with Kingswood as a prep school for much of the nineteenth century.
The 1862 book How it was done at Stow School written by Theophilus Woolmer seems to have been based upon the author's own experiences at Kingswood (rather than Stowe School which was not yet established) under the notorious headmaster Crowther who enforced harsh discipline in the school in the 1820s.
Kingswood School moved to its present location on the northern slopes of Bath in 1851. Its site is in the midst of 218 acres (0.88 km2) of the former Lansdown estate of the famous nineteenth-century millionaire eccentric, William Thomas Beckford.
Sons of lay people were first admitted to the school from 1922.
During World War II Kingswood was used by the government for military planning. For these years the school operated from Uppingham School. It is said that the Mulberry harbours of World War II were named after the Mulberry Bush that still exists outside the formerly named Moulton Hall of the school, but this has now been discounted. The Moulton Hall was named after old boy Lord Moulton but has recently been remodelled as a library/learning resources area, and is now called the J O Heap library following a generous bequest by another Old Boy.
Girls were first admitted in 1978.
Organisation
Like other public schools, Kingswood pupils are divided into Boarding Houses for both living convenience and sporting competitiveness.
The houses are known as:
- Upper (day boys)
- Middle (day and boarding boys)
- Hall (day and boarding boys)
- School (day girls and sixth form girl boarders)
- Summerhill (day and boarding girls)
- Fonthill (day and boarding girls)
Between the ages of 11 and 13, both boys and girls reside within one house called Westwood. Prior to 1999 girls and boys between the ages 11 and 13 were housed within two separate houses, Westwood for boys and Beaconfield for girls.
Chapel attendance is compulsory at least once a week although due to the recent expansion of the school the weekly Whole School Service is now held in the Kingswood Theatre. The theatre is also rented out to local performance groups and has hosted many plays in recent years.
Sport
Kingswood has a reputation for encouraging sports, with boys playing rugby, hockey and cricket. Kingswood competes with all other public schools in Somerset and most Kingswood boys consider King Edward's School, Bath as their main rivals due to its close proximity and history of rivalry. Sporting achievements within the school are awarded by the presentation of "Colours", first by a special tie and then a special blazer.
Model United Nations
Kingswood hosts the largest school Model United Nations conference in the United Kingdom with delegates attending from schools worldwide. The conference is organised by teachers and sixth-form pupils and chaired by pupils. Kingswood is a participant in other conferences achieving many awards. The conference is known as the Bath International Schools Model United Nations (BISMUN).
Eco-schools
Kingswood School is greatly involved with ecology, and has implemented a number of projects to promote the importance of the environment and reduce waste at the school. Kingswood was one of the first schools in the area to adopt the Eco-schools project and be awarded its Green Flag. It has since begun outreach work with other local schools, including Batheaston Junior School.
A website has been set up to document the work being carried out by the school [1].
Notable Old Kingswoodians
- See also the category Old Kingswoodians.
- David Blow (influential British biophysicist)
- Jeremy Bray (British Labour politician, former Government Minister and Member of Parliament)
- Richard Cork (art historian and critic)
- Sir Kenneth Cross (Air Chief Marshall, Air Officer Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command)
- Tim Curry (English actor, singer and composer)
- Hugh Sykes Davies (English poet, novelist, communist)
- Arthur Lee Dixon (mathematician) (see MacTutor)
- Alan Fitch (British Labour politician, Member of Parliament, Member of the European Parliament)
- Rev Joseph Horner Fletcher founding Principal Wesley College, Auckland and President Newington College
- Antony Flew (philosopher)
- Arthur Lucas headmaster Newington College and Sydney Grammar School and Professor of Mathematics University of Tasmania
- Jonathan Lynn (English actor, comedy writer, and director)
- Francis Sowerby Macaulay (mathematician)
- Rev James Egan Moulton (founding Headmaster Newington College and Tupou College and President Newington College)
- John Fletcher Moulton (politician, weapon designer, Lord Justice)
- Rev Dr Charles Prescott (founding Headmaster Wesleyan Ladies College and Headmaster and President Newington College)
- George P. Sanderson (author and Superintendent of Elephant Keddahs, India)
- Johann Wilhelm Ernst Sommer (German Clergyman)
- Edward J. Thompson (poet, novelist, Oxford academic, and writer on Indian history and Bengali literature and language)
- E.P. Thompson (Marxist historian and peace campaigner)
- Anthony Thwaite (poet and writer)
- Alan Watson, Baron Watson of Richmond (Lib Dem peer)
- Arthur Way (academic)
- David Wilshire (Conservative M.P)
- Hugh Wright, headmaster of Gresham's, Chairman of the HMC
- A son of Prince Makonnen of Ethiopia
- James Charles Gerrish, Cricketer
Literature
- A.H.L. Hastling; W. Addington Willis; W.P. Workman (old boys), The History of Kingswood School (1898)
- A. G. Ives, Kingswood School in Wesley's Day and Since (1970)
- John Walsh (ed.), A.B. Sackett: A Memoir (1979)
- Gary Best, Continuity and Change, Kingswood School through the Ages (1998)
See also
External links
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