The King's School, Rochester

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The King's School
Established	604
Type	Public (cathedral school)
Religious affiliation	Anglican
Headmaster	Dr. Ian Walker
Chairman of the Governors	The Dean of Rochester
Founder	(refounded) Henry VIII
Location	Boley Hill Rochester Kent England
Students	700
Gender	Co-educational
Ages	3 to 18
Houses	5
Former pupils	Old Roffensians
School Song	Carmen Roffense.
School Chaplain	Father John Thackary
Website	www.kings-school-rochester.co.uk

The King's School, Rochester is a public school in Rochester, Kent. It is a cathedral school, and being part of the foundation of Rochester Cathedral, the Dean of Rochester Cathedral serves as the chair of the school's governing body. It was founded in 604 AD, and is the second-oldest school in the UK.^[1]

1 History
- 1.1 Foundation
- 1.2 The Whiston matter
2 Organisation
3 Sporting rivals
4 Old Roffensians
5 Former headmasters
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

The school was founded in 604 AD, at the same time as the Cathedral, and refounded by Henry VIII during the Protestant Reformation when the monastery at Rochester was dissolved.^[1] It is the oldest choir school and the second-oldest independent school in England and second-oldest school in the United Kingdom, second only to The King's School, Canterbury.^[1]

[edit] The Whiston matter

The Rev. Robert Whiston MA, was Clerk in Holy Orders and Headmaster of the Cathedral Grammar School (King's School), Rochester. An instrument of amoval was issued by the Dean and Chapter of Rochester, 19 October 1849.^[2] Having failed to rectify perceived anomalies in the cathedral's statutes through the Dean and Chapter, the bishop and at law, Whiston published a pamphlet deemed libellous by the Dean and Chapter, leading to his dismissal. Following a second court case in which the dismissal was deemed illegal as there had been no disciplinary hearing, this new instrument formally ejected Whiston from his post after a hearing. A subsequent appeal to a local ecclesiastical panel secured his reinstatement in 1852. Whiston retired in 1877. The famous Whiston Matter inspired Anthony Trollope's book The Warden, written between 1852 and 1853.^[1]

[edit] Organisation

The school is housed in a variety of buildings around the Cathedral precincts including Old St. Margaret's, which houses the Maths Department.

The School's administrative offices are housed in Satis House, which gained its name from a comment by Queen Elizabeth I who stayed there as a guest of its owner, Richard Watts. As she left, Watts asked his queen if she had been comfortable during her stay. She replied: "Satis".

Within the school there are five houses: - Crick, Parker, Storrs, Whiston and School House. In the Preparatory school, there were previously five houses but now there are only four: - St. Williams, St. Nicholas, St. Andrews and St. Peters house, the fifth one was St. Margarets. These houses compete annually in sports, including Rugby, Hockey, Swimming, Athletics and Rowing. A cup is awarded to the winner of each of these events excluding rowing.