 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2025) |
| King's School, Bruton | |
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| Location | |
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Plox , , BA10 0ED England | |
| Coordinates | 51°06′37″N2°27′16″W / 51.1103°N 2.4544°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public school Private day and boarding |
| Motto | Latin: Deo Juvante (With god’s help) |
| Religious affiliation | Church of England |
| Established | 1519, re-founded 1550 Edward VI |
| Founder | Richard FitzJames |
| Department for Education URN | 123905 Tables |
| Headmaster | Matt Radley |
| Chaplain | George Beverly |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 13to 18 |
| Enrolment | 360 |
| Houses | New, Blackford, Lyon, Priory, Arion, Wellesley |
| Song | Carmen Brutoniense |
| Publication | The Dolphin |
| Former pupils | Old Brutonians |
| Website | http://www.kingsbruton.com/ |
King's Bruton is an independent HMC co-educational boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Bruton, Somerset. [1] It was founded in 1519 by Richard FitzJames, making it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom and since the Dissolution of the Monasteries, has been in continuous operation for over 470 years. In 1550 the school received royal foundation status during the reign of Edward VI.
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King's School was officially founded on 29 September 1519 by Richard Fitzjames, Bishop of London; Sir John Fitzjames, the Attorney General; and the Abbott of Bruton Monastery, William Gilbert.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the school was re-founded by a Royal Charter from King Edward VI. A board of governors was set up, making it the first school in England to have a school board.[ citation needed ]
Old House was the original school building, in 1872 New House was built as an extension for school rooms and Old House became the headmaster's house. Later, Blackford and Lyon were built, funded by beneficiaries Lord Blackford and James Lyon. The school honoured the Old Brutonians who died in the Great War by laying the foundation stone for a new School Hall on Corpus Christi Day in 1919, and what became the Memorial Hall was officially opened in 1924, later adding old Brutonians from other wars
King's School Bruton once owned a copy of Magna Carta dating from 1297, which first came to light in the 1930’s when Mr Tremlett, the Head of History at King’s, found it in the School records. He hid the document under a bed during the Second World War. It later resurfaced in 1950 at an exhibition of the History of the School, Lord Blackford sold the copy in 1952 to the Australian government for £12,500 (the equivalent of £316,136.77 today), where it is on display in Parliament House, Canberra. [2]
The School has a Site of Special Scientific Interest. A section of fossiliferous strata that runs through Bruton station to Hyde playing field and runs up through top field to an embankment where a rare orchid grows. It is of international importance for helping to identify and date sequences of rock.
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 equipped with an observatory and classrooms for science and cooking. The school has a purpose-built theatre, sports hall, fitness suite, 17 hectares of pitches for rugby and cricket as well courts for tennis and netball as and 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. [3]
On 29 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, equipped with a Mac room, recording studios, practice rooms and the Hauser & Wirth Recital Hall, a dedicated recital venue used for concerts and choir practices. [4]
