The King's School

The King's School Parramatta is Australia's oldest independent school and perhaps its best known. Founded in 1831 by command of King William IV of England, King's was established as a boys' school that would provide Australia with its next generation of leaders. Situated on 300 acres of beautiful park-land in the demographic centre of Sydney, King's has also endeavoured to give educational leadership by contributing richly to educational and social debate. Its teaching resources, particularly in the area of boys' education, boarding and the developing of leadership skills, are used around the world.

An academically strong school, King's has a reputation for adding value, with most students characteristically going on to university or college. The School has an outstanding gifted and talented program affording the best features of an academically selective school (enriched teaching and sound scholarship designed to realise academic potential), with the best features of a non-selective school (a balanced education and the capacity to improve a boy's academic standards).

King's is in high demand because it offers academic excellence with character development. For example, a unique four year training course in leadership is undertaken by Kingsmen in the Senior School. Crown Princes, leaders of political parties, authors, actors, leaders in law, medicine and in a wide range of other professions, have all been educated at King's. It is a school committed to the development of good character and those values that are consistent with a caring, Christian community.

King's is a member of the 'Great Public Schools' (GPS) and is one of the leading sports and performing arts schools in the land with many of its students going on to international prominence. A P-12 day and boarding school, King's combines the fine traditions of the past with a modern and contemporary curriculum.

The King's School is an extraordinary school that has been providing educational excellence since 1831.

Whilst it is true to say that King’s is Australia's oldest independent school and enjoys a peaceful setting in the heart of Australia's largest city, it is our humanity that makes King’s different. The King’s School is renowned for its vibrant and supportive community, the values we celebrate, our commitment to realising the potential of young men, and providing a balanced education that challenges each of our students to realise their full potential.

The King's School offers education to boys from Pre-Kindergarten (4 year of age) through to Year 12. A Christian community, King’s is also proudly one of the largest boarding schools in Australia with unique links to the rural sector, along with a very significant enrolment from the city as dayboys and weekly boarders.

We thank you for taking the time to visit our website and invite you to experience The King’s School for yourself. Morning tours run regularly throughout school terms and provide a wonderful opportunity way to meet our staff, hear about our exceptional learning programs and see how the facilities and resources of the School assist our students in their learning journey.

No institution has its genesis in a vacuum and The King's School is no exception. William Grant Broughton arrived in the Colony in 1829 and after surveying his clergy, concluded that New South Wales needed grammar schools of superior quality offering classical, mathematical and general studies, possibly similar to the education he received during his time at Cambridge. His Plan for the Establishment and Regulation of The King's School in New South Wales was placed before Governor Darling in 1830 and despatched to England. His Majesty's Government approved the creation of two Schools, one in Sydney which was to be short-lived, the other at Parramatta, the despatch arriving in March 1831, thereafter the foundation date for the School.

While the opening of The King's School on 13 February 1832 started somewhat inauspiciously with just three young boys in attendance, numbers quickly grew and by the end of the year, with numbers approaching a hundred, accommodation at the rented premises - now known as Harrisford in George Street Parramatta, was already stretched. Within three years, the School had moved to a new site supplied by the New South Wales government, on the banks of the river. Here, the School had a chequered existence, with scarlet fever, a depressed economy and fluctuating finances leading to a temporary closure in 1864 when a collapsing roof made the classrooms uninhabitable. Some students went to Macquarie Fields, where the Headmaster, Rev George Macarthur, once a pupil at The King's School, was destined to aid in the School's recovery.