Our History
OUR PROUD HISTORY
King Alfred’s School, as King’s was originally named, was the fifth of Nathaniel Woodard’s schools when it opened in 1880.
Woodard chose to dedicate his new school to Alfred the Great (871 to 899), the West Country King who laid the foundations of what would become the kingdom of England. Among Alfred’s legacies was his advocacy of education. He aspired ‘to set to learning… all the free-born young men now in England who have the means to apply themselves to it’.
The school badge of the Pelican in its Piety (the parent bird drawing its own blood, taking its own life to feed its children) was chosen as a powerful symbol also found in many Christian settings. The school’s motto was chosen as Fortis et Fidelis (Brave and Faithful).
The Woodard Schools have a history of educating girls as well as boys in the Taunton area.
From 1922 to 1953 St Katherine’s, Heatherton Park (on the Taunton-Wellington road) was the sister school to King’s. Its alumni included a daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, whose son and grandson attended King’s at the same time. Girls have been educated in the Sixth Form on the King’s College site since 1968 and the school introduced full co-education in 1991.
From its inception, the school had sections for Juniors (8-12-year-olds) as well as Seniors (13-18-year-olds). The Juniors traditionally had their own accommodation, classrooms and staff centered around the ‘Junior Landing’ on the first floor of the main building.
Since 1952, our Junior School has been based in the stunning setting of Pyrland Hall, a Georgian mansion on the edge of the Quantock Hills.
OUR ARCHIVE CENTRE
Containing documents, photographs, objects and audio-visual resources relating to the history of King’s and its staff and pupils, our archive centre features displays and resources which are available to visitors by appointment on Mondays and Thursdays during term time.
Our archivist is always keen to hear from people who have school materials or recollections that they wish to add to the school archives.
For any queries or donations to the archives, please contact:
Archives Centre
King’s College
South Road
Taunton
TA1 3LA
Telephone 01823 328243
Email [email protected]
To search our Archive Catalogue, click here.
