In 1904, Arthur Watts, a gifted mathematician and one of six sons of a Baptist minister, founded Kingsmead School. His dream was to establish a Christian school in which ‘the environment would be ideal for learning well, for playing good games and keeping physically fit’. All but one of his brothers became involved in the school's early years; three of them were scholars of the University of Cambridge. World War I claimed the lives of thirteen Old Kingsmeadians and each one was a personal bereavement to Arthur Watts. Two Kingsmeadians won the Military Cross – a master, Lieutenant Lavery, and old boy F W Atherton who was just 19 years old. The years between the wars were ones of economy and survival as the Great Depression took the world in its grip. It would take until 1944 for numbers to return to their 1921 levels. By 1939 Kingsmead was 35 years old and Arthur Watts, aged 68, had just two years in which he shared the running of the school with his son before Gordon was called up to the RAF. At 70, Arthur was left to steer Kingsmead alone through another war. After the Second World War, another son, David, returned to Kingsmead in 1949 to run the school in partnership with his brother Gordon. He soon became the sole head and during his 30-year leadership the school continued to expand, becoming co-educational in the mid-1960s. New facilities followed each other rapidly: a heated indoor pool, woodland plantation, the Memorial Hall and new science labs. In 1966 an Educational Trust was set up to secure the school for the future. The 1990s saw more expansion, firstly to include children from the age of two in a new kindergarten. This was followed shortly afterwards by the extension of the leaving age; the school now educates children up to the age of 16, offering a wide range of GCSE subjects. Although it has expanded over the years, the school still occupies the original site. The long-awaited Music Block opened in 1984 and the Centenary Building, which is the flagship of the Senior Department, was opened in 2004, rapidly becoming the centre-piece of the newly extended 11–16 senior campus. In 2012 the boarding department was closed and reopened in 2017 shortly followed by the establishment of a new Sixth Form in September 2018. It was announced in June 2020 that the school would close permanently at the end of the school year. A letter to parents from the school explaining the closure stated that low pupil numbers exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis meant that the school could no longer afford to remain open.
Ethos and assessment
Although Kingsmead is a Christian School, it welcomes children of all beliefs and none. The school day is started with an assembly which includes a Bible reading, an address, a hymn and prayers. In Feb 2011 Ofsted reported the some areas of boarding provision to be inadequate – notice of action to improve being given. In 2013 the Independent Schools Inspectorate found the school was successful but with further action required to meet regulations. In March 2016 The ISI Compliance Inspection found that the Kingsmead met all regulations and there were no recommendations for improvement. The report said "The proprietor ensures that the leadership and management demonstrate good skills and knowledge, and fulfill their responsibilities effectively, so that the standards are consistently met and they actively promote the well-being of the pupils."
Notable former pupils
Former pupils of the school are known as Old Kingsmeadians. Notable Old Kingsmeadians include the following.
