From launching a brand-new community website, to winning a national award, the Development team reflect back on 2024.

Launching The King's Association 

Over the Summer, our team worked hard to launch a brand new website for the whole King's community. New features on our website include online mentoring, ways to message other users, event bookings, photo albums and much more. We were delighted to find out from our website provider that we were the fastest school to reach 1,000 users, and we are still going strong with 1,200+ users as of December. 

In connection with our new website, we also launched The King's Association, bringing together OKS, parents and staff past and present through events and news updates. Our first ever King's Association event, Breakfast Networking in London, was a triumph. 

In November, we held the first ever King's Association Quiz Night, complete with a raffle, which will be repeated in 2025 due to high demand! 

Over 150 OKS return to King's for the Linacre House Reunion

In June, OKS returned to King’s to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Linacre House. Guests enjoyed tours of the freshly renovated house, a drinks reception and lunch in the Main Dining Hall. It was a truly special occasion, with over 150 OKS in attendance and a strong sense of house spirit.

We look forward to welcoming Walpole House and Luxmoore House OKS back in 2025 for their house anniversaries.

Improved Communications and Newsletters 

As a result of feedback from OKS and the OKS Committee, we have introduced a monthly email newsletter with all the latest news and event invitations. This has helped us to share your news with the rest of the community in an improved way. 

Our most read newsletter item was Tim Ball's (GR 1981-86) article describing the real story behind the 'for sale' flag that was draped from the top of Bell Harry in 1984. Many OKS have heard variations of the story, and the article brought both clarity and a wave of memories to readers! 

If you have something you'd like us to share in our next newsletter, please get in touch: community@kings-school.co.uk 

New Fundraising Initiatives 

The Charter Awards, our transformational bursary campaign, has grown from strength to strength. By the end of 2024, we reached 75% of our Phase 1 target (Phase 1 ends in 2026). 

To support The Charter Awards, we have launched a new regular giving society 'The 1541 Society.' Our suggested donation is £15.41 per month but every donation regardless of size is greatly appreciated. All founding members receive a limited-edition print, which was drawn by our first Charter Awards Bursary award holder. 

We are thankful to everyone who has supported The Charter Awards and other fundraising projects at King's this year.

Winning an IDPE Development Award 

In November, the Development Team at King's won the Institute of Development Professionals in Education (IDPE) award for 'Progress and Ambition.' This is a national award that honours schools that have significantly advanced their development goals. 

'Ambition and progress' has certainly been a theme for the year, and we would like to thank IDPE for recognising our achievements in 2024.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year, whether you supported us through a donation, signed up to our website, or came to an event. We are always interested to hear your feedback and ideas, so please get in touch: community@kings-school.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you all in 2025!