Kimbolton School

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Kimbolton School is a Independent school in the village of Kimbolton, in rural Cambridgeshire. The main school is based in the grounds of Kimbolton Castle, and a preparatory school is based at the other end of the village. The school is the successor to the village grammar school, which existed in 1600 (the precise date of its founding is not known, but 1600 was adopted as a convenient figure for celebrating anniversaries).

There are around 600 male and female students in the main school (ages 11 to 18), in four Houses, named after the two founders and two previous teachers at the school: Balyes, Dawsons (which includes the 60 boarders), Gibbards, and Owens. A second house for boarders, Ingrams, was merged with Dawsons in the 1980s, and is now a separate house for all 1st and 2nd form pupils. These move into the senior houses at the start of the 3rd form. Ingrams compete in a separate house competition between classes, although they have many of the same events as the senior house competition. There are around 200 pupils in the preparatory school (ages 4 to 11), in four houses named after the families that owned the castle, Fitzpiers, Montagu, Stafford and Wingfield.

The castle is, mostly, used for 5th and 6th form teaching, as well as social and public events. Teaching and other activities take place in outlying buildings, including the castle's mews block and newer buildings. The boarders live in two houses in the High Street, Kim House and White House.

The School motto is spes durat avorum (the hope of our ancestors endures).

The school is rich in History. Although there are references to a school at Kimbolton as early as 1531 the generally accepted date for the foundation is 1600. In 1949 it was renamed from Kimbolton grammar School to Kimbolton School and the following year it brought the Castle from the Duke of Manchester.

The school has a tradition of Headmasters staying for a long time. William Ingram (whom the junior house is now named after) 1913-47, Cyril Lewis (who oversaw the movement of the school to the Castle and has the theatre named after him) 1947-73, David Donaldson (whom the Science block is named after and first admitted girls to the school) 1973-87, Roger Peel (whom the sports hall is named after) 1987-2002 and the current headmaster Jonathan Belbin.