King's School, Bruton

King's School, Bruton
Address
Map
Plox

, ,
BA10 0ED

England
Coordinates51°06′37″N 2°27′16″W / 51.1103°N 2.4544°W / 51.1103; -2.4544
Information
TypePublic school
Private day and boarding
MottoDeo Juvante
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
Established1519; 505 years ago (1519)
HeadmasterIan Wilmshurst
GenderMixed
Age13 to 18
Enrolment360
HousesNew, Blackford, Lyon, Priory, Arion, Wellesley
Former pupilsOld Brutonians
Websitehttp://www.kingsbruton.com/

King's Bruton is an independent fully co-educational secondary boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Bruton, Somerset, England.[1] It was founded in 1519 by Richard FitzJames, and received royal foundation status around 30 years later in the reign of Edward VI. It is a member school of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

Girls have attended the school's sixth form since the 1960s before King's became fully co-educational in the late 1990s. It has six houses: Wellesley, Priory and Arion for girls, with New, Blackford and Lyon making up the boys' houses.

In September 1999, the Hobhouse Science centre was opened with a fully equipped observatory. The school has a purpose-built theatre, sports hall and fitness suite and sports surfaces for rugby, netball, tennis and cricket as well as two all-weather astro-turfs for hockey.

The Basil Wright Building was opened in 2009 and houses the Headmaster's, Bursar's and Registrar's offices.[2]

King's School Bruton once owned a copy of Magna Carta dating from 1297, which it sold to the Australian Government in 1952 for £12,500.[3]

Old House was the original school building, later New House was built as an extension for school rooms and Old House was the headmaster's house. The Memorial Hall was built in the 1920s to commemorate the members of the school who died in World War I. Blackford and Lyon were built and were funded by beneficiaries such as Lord Blackford and James Lyon.

On 28 March 2019, to mark the school's quincentenary, King's hosted Queen Elizabeth II during a wider Royal visit to the West Country. During the visit the Queen opened a new music school named in her honour.[4]

  1. ^ "What it's like to live in Bruton, Somerset". The Times. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. ^ "History of King's". King's School Bruton. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  3. ^ Harry Evans, Bad King John and the Australian Constitution
  4. ^ "Queen Elizabeth spends an equestrian day in western England". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. 28 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.