| Motto | Spes Durat Avorum (Latin: "Let the hopes of our forefathers endure") |
|---|---|
| Established | 1600 (Earliest references from 1531) |
| Type | Private School |
| Religion | Inter-denominational |
| Head Master | Jonathan Belbin |
| Deputy Head Masters | Mark Eddon and Sue Hutchinson |
| Founders | Henry Balye and William Dawson |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 4–18 |
| Houses | 4 in prep school, 5 in senior school(Ingrams for the first two years then split up into 4 different houses from the 3rd year) |
| Colours |
Purple, White and Black |
| Publication | The Kimboltonian |
| Former pupils | Old Kimboltonians/OKs |
| Website | www.kimbolton.cambs.sch.uk |
Kimbolton School is a British HMC co-educational public day and boarding school located in the village of Kimbolton, in rural Cambridgeshire, educating approximately 950 boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 18, with boarding starting at age 11. The school is located in Kimbolton Castle, the former seat of the Dukes of Manchester.
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Kimbolton School has had a strong role within the village of Kimbolton since its foundation in the 16th century. The school originally occupied buildings within the Churchyard, but moved to new premises in Tilbrook Road in the late 1800s.
Kimbolton Castle is reported to be haunted by Catherine of Aragon who died there in 1536 after several years of imprisonment. It is rumoured that her ghost walks upon the original floor levels which have been altered in modern times, such that her ghost appears as legs and lower body projecting from the ceiling on one floor with head and upper body gliding along the floor above. Another former inhabitant of the Castle, Sir John Popham, reputedly threw his baby child out of a castle window into the courtyard. It is said that the stone upon which the baby landed glows red annually on the anniversary of this event. A third ghostly legend of similarly dubious provenance describes a female spectre periodically walking in a field north-east of the castle, on the gentle slope below Warren House.
Charles Edward Montagu, the 4th Earl who was created Duke of Manchester in 1719, had many works of reconstruction carried out between 1690 and 1720. Sir John Vanbrugh and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor redesigned the facades of the castle in a classical style, but with battlements to evoke its history as a castle; the portico was later added by Alessandro Galilei. The Venetian painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini redecorated some of the reconstructed rooms in 1708, including the main staircase and the chapel. Rich, gilded furnishings in a Louis XIV-inspired style were commissioned from French upholsterers working in London.
Robert Adam produced plans for the castle gatehouse and other garden buildings, including an orangery. Only one of these buildings, the gatehouse, was constructed in around 1764. Mews buildings were added to provide stables, and an avenue of Giant Sequoias was planted in the 19th century.
The senior school is based in the grounds of the castle, and its preparatory school is based at the other end of the village, but is connected to the senior school via 'The Duchess Walk', a tree-lined pathway. The grounds total over 190 acres (77 ha). The school is the successor to the village grammar school; 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 bought the Castle from the Duke of Manchester.
The School's Latin motto is Spes Durat Avorum (may the hope of our forefathers endure).
The school has a tradition of Headmasters staying for a long time. William Ingram (after whom the junior house is now named) 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 (after whom the Science block is named and who first admitted girls to the school) 1973-87, Roger Peel (after whom the sports hall is named) 1987-2002 and the current headmaster Jonathan Belbin, 2002 onwards.
The Vanbrugh Library at the Senior School holds over 12,000 books, DVDs and periodicals, It also houses a suite of 22 PCs. The award winning library is modern and is a popular and well-used resource. It is open throughout the day for Sixth Form private study, class use and individual research. At other times, pupils may use the library to study, work on homework, choose resources or relax and read. The schools online library programme encourages pupils to make the most of their library and of the wider world of information through a structured approach to the teaching of information skills.
Regular visits from authors provide workshops for pupils of all ages. Such activities serve as a catalyst for creativity and help to inspire pupils to further explore the world of literature.
Recent author visits include Sir Terry Pratchett, Alexander McCall Smith, Malcolm Rose, Nicola Morgan, Alan Gibbons, Adisa and Mark Robson.
The castle is, mostly, used for 4th, 5th and 6th form teaching, as well as social and public events. It is also often used for weddings and other functions and is used as a TV/film location from time to time. Teaching and other activities take place in outlying buildings, including the castle's mews block and newer buildings.
There are around 627 male and female students in the senior 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 was reborn as 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 320 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 boarders live in two houses in the High Street: Kimbolton House and White House.
The main sports are football, hockey, netball, tennis, rounders and cricket. The school competes regularly against other public schools such as Oundle School, Oakham School, The Leys, Eton College, Rugby School and Culford School.
Kimbolton prides itself on the variety of sports and activities available to its pupils. Those who hope to apply their skills on the competitive games field, enjoy the challenge of water based activities or who simply wish to pursue a hobby can do so in a safe and supportive environment.
The Prep School houses a modernised gymnasium, tennis courts, cricket nets, cricket pavilion and changing facilities. There is a modern sports centre at the Senior School containing a large multi-purpose sports hall, a gymnasium, a fitness centre, two squash courts, indoor and outdoor changing facilities.
Both the Prep and Senior Schools use the new 25m swimming pool, three astroturf pitches, extensive playing fields, athletics track, six outdoor cricket nets and two hard court netball and tennis areas.
A wide range of sports is on offer including: athletics, badminton, basketball, canoeing, circuit training, climbing, girls football, fitness, golf, gymnastics, pilates, sailing, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, swimming, water polo and horse riding. These activities are offered to pupils in various age groups during Games sessions or within the extra-curricular programme.
Games lessons take place every afternoon, with each year participating in either one or two sessions. First and Second Forms have Games together on a Monday and as individual year groups on Friday and Thursday respectively. The Third and Fourth Forms have Games on a Tuesday while Senior Games, for the Fifth and Sixth Forms, takes place on a Wednesday.
There are many opportunities to play further afield in all the major sports, yearly foreign sports tours are undertaken such as netball and cricket tours to South Africa and Sri Lanka, as well as hockey and football tours to Malaysia and Australia.
The school has a Combined Cadet Force (CCF) Contingent made up of Navy, Army and RAF sections. It was named in 2010 by Country Life Magazine as one of the top three in the country. On average, at least 2 members of each year group go on to join one of the British Armed Forces; the school has a long-standing tradition of inviting one of these Old Kimboltonians back to the take the salute on Remembrance Sunday each year as the Contingent marches through Kimbolton. Over 220 pupils opt to participate in CCF training each Thursday afternoon and many also join in with the extra courses and activities at weekends and during the holidays. Each year, all of cadets participate in Field Weekend, a 3 day training period at a local military or adventure training site. also offer places at week long Single Service residential camps during some of the holidays.
Members of the CCF are able to participate in Ministry of Defence run cadet courses including leadership, parachuting, first aid and scuba diving. Thursday afternoon training taking place on the school's campus takes advantage of its location close to Grafham Water for RN sailing, RAF Wyton for flying and its onsite range for target shooting.
The Annual General Inspection is a highlight of the year, attracting much national attention and many honourable reviewing officers including HRH The Duke of Gloucester in 2011. General Sir John McColl declared the whole day "a triumph" and noted that few cadet units could have put on such a fantastic display in such stunning surroundings.
The Music School is accommodated in the Mews Quad and provides teaching, rehearsal, ICT and recording facilities.
House Music competitions see every pupil on stage at some point in the year, and almost half of students choose to learn an instrument or have singing lessons.
There are numerous ensembles and choirs catering for all tastes and abilities. Some are directed by staff and others are driven by pupils themselves. There are numerous performance opportunities; recent highlights have included staged productions of Sweeney Todd, The King & I and West Side Story, and concert performances of Bach’s St John Passion, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem and Mozart’s Mass in C minor.
Current Ensembles include:
The Old Kimboltonians' Association (OKA) provides a link with former students of the School through social events, sports fixtures and annual reunions.