King's College School, Cambridge

What King's College School, Cambridge does

King's College School, Cambridge is an independent preparatory school and registered charity (Charity No. 1200527) operating on a single 9-acre campus on West Road, Cambridge, adjacent to King's College Chapel. Founded circa 1448 by King Henry VI to educate choristers for the Choir of King's College, the school now serves approximately Reception through Year 8 (ages 4-13) across Pre-Prep, Juniors, and Seniors, with optional boarding primarily for choristers. Pupils progress to leading senior schools including Eton, Harrow, Winchester, and The Perse, with the most recent Year 8 cohort (July 2025) earning 43 scholarships.

The school's product surface combines core academic tuition (broad and balanced curriculum plus Cresco Division enrichment electives and a Maths Lab extension programme) with deep specialist offerings: the King's Choristers programme feeding the King's College Choir (24 boys plus probationers), the Schola Cantorum girls' choral programme founded in 2020, a music department supported by 40 visiting music teachers, and a sports programme across the campus's 8,500 sq ft Sports and Cultural Centre, astro pitches, and outdoor heated pool. Boarding, holiday clubs, and a bursary programme for means-tested Year 3 entrants round out the offering.

The business model is termly tuition subscription: Day Pupils (Years 3-8) £8,466 per term, Pre-Prep £6,672 per term, full Boarders £13,110 per term, and Choristers a subsidised £4,332 per term (with King's College covering roughly two-thirds of boarding fees). Go-to-market is direct, family-led admissions via the Registrar, Open Days, and private tours, supplemented by website, Facebook, and Instagram channels and word-of-mouth referrals. Revenue is concentrated in the Cambridge domestic market, with international pupils enabled by a UKVI Child Student Sponsor Licence. The institution operates as a non-profit charity governed independently, with no parent company, PE/VC ownership, or public shareholders.

Name

King's College School, Cambridge

Legal name

King's College School, Cambridge

Website

https://kcs.cambs.sch.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

King's College School, Cambridge is a 500-year-old independent preparatory school (Reception–Year 8) and registered charity, educating choristers for King's College Choir and preparing pupils for senior schools such as Eton, Harrow, and The Perse.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Preparatory / Independent Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools (EDAJABAA)

Keywords

• Preparatory education
• Independent school
• Primary education
• Music education
• Boarding school

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. School Tuition Fees: Core revenue from tuition fees charged per term. Day pupil fees for Years 3-8 are £8,466 per term, Pre-Prep (Reception to Year 2) fees are £6,672 per term. Three terms per academic year.
2. Boarding Fees: Full boarding fees of £13,110 per term for students requiring accommodation. King’s College subsidises approximately two-thirds of chorister boarding fees.
3. Chorister Programme: Reduced chorister fees of £4,332 per term, with King’s College covering two-thirds of boarding costs. Includes free piano, music theory and singing tuition.
4. Holiday Clubs: Holiday club programmes for Reception to Year 8 pupils during Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays. Summer 1 (7 days) at £260 full booking or £40 per day; Summer 2 (5 days) at £180 full booking or £40 per day. Late stay options at £9 per hour.
5. Registration Fees: Non-refundable registration fee charged when completing the admission registration form.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

King's College School, Cambridge is a private independent preparatory school delivering full-time education to children aged 4–13 (Reception through Year 8) at its Cambridge campus. Its offering includes the core day-school curriculum across Pre-Prep, Juniors, and Seniors, plus specialist choral programmes (King's Choristers and Schola Cantorum), boarding, and seasonal holiday clubs. The school prepares pupils for senior school entry with a strong music, sport, and academic programme built on 500+ years of heritage.

Product overview

King's College School, Cambridge is a traditional British preparatory school offering a single unified educational program spanning Pre-Prep (Reception–Year 2), Juniors (Years 3–4), and Seniors (Years 5–8). The school provides a broad curriculum including academic subjects, music (with the prestigious King's Choristers and Schola Cantorum programs), sports, performing arts, and art. The Cresco Division offers enrichment electives from Year 6-8, while the Maths Lab provides gifted math extension. Boarding facilities are available primarily for choristers. The school operates from a 9-acre campus with a Sports and Cultural Centre, music facilities, and dedicated learning spaces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• King's Choristers: The boy choristers of King's College Choir, educated at King's College School, forming part of the world-famous Choir of King's College, Cambridge since the fifteenth century.
• Schola Cantorum
• Cresco Division
• King's College Choir
• Maths Lab

Products and services

• Pre-Prep (Reception – Year 2) Early years preparatory education for children aged 4-7, focused on 'Happy and Secure' development in a family-oriented setting in the St Martin's Building.
• Juniors (Years 3-4) Lower primary education for pupils aged 7-9, building on Pre-Prep foundations with the 'Building on Foundations' philosophy.
• Seniors (Years 5-8) Upper primary education for pupils aged 9-13, focused on 'Empowering thinkers' and preparing pupils for senior school entry examinations and scholarships.
• King's Choristers Prestigious chorister programme in which 24 boy choristers educated at King's College School form part of the world-famous Choir of King's College, Cambridge, combining choral services, musical training, boarding, and full academic education. King's College subsidises approximately two-thirds of chorister boarding fees.
• Schola Cantorum Girls' choral programme for pupils in Years 4-8, providing specialist choral training with performances in Cambridge and regional cathedrals, with a bursary programme available from Year 6.
• Boarding Boarding facilities for choristers and full boarders, providing dormitory accommodation, supervised prep sessions, evening activities, and weekend programmes. Full boarding fee of £13,110 per term, with King's College subsidising approximately two-thirds of chorister boarding fees.
• Holiday Clubs Holiday programmes during Christmas, Easter, and Summer breaks offering multi-sports, arts and crafts, stories, and free play for Reception to Year 8 pupils. Summer 1 (7 days) at £260 full booking or £40 per day; Summer 2 (5 days) at £180 full booking or £40 per day. Late stay options at £9 per hour.
• Means-Tested Bursary Programme Means-tested financial assistance to enable academically promising children from state primary schools (with musical or sporting promise) to access the school, primarily for Year 3 entry.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dikkumbura Sri Siddhartha Senior School and Dikkumbura Primary SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Since 2005, the school has maintained a twin school partnership with Dikkumbura Sri Siddhartha Senior School and Dikkumbura Primary School in Sri Lanka. Collections at King’s have helped support their building programme, library books, and teaching resources. Each year King’s pupils enjoy learning about a new culture and different experiences of children at school in Sri Lanka. Staff who have spent time teaching at Dikkumbura treasure their experiences and friendships.
• Otjikondo School (Namibia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMore recently extended links with schools in South Africa, and made a charitable donation to Otjikondo School in Namibia where the school hopes to grow links particularly through the Music department.
• Various Sports Opponent SchoolsminorOthersExtensive network of sports opponent schools including The Perse School, Stephen Perse Cambridge, King’s Ely, Bishop’s Stortford College, Bedford School, Felsted School, Framlingham College, and many others across the region for competitive sports fixtures.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Winchester College: Premier UK senior school and a King's scholarship destination (3 placements in 2025); relevant as a brand-tier comparable and downstream partner, particularly for chorister and academic candidates.
• Eton College: The UK's most prestigious senior school and one of King's scholarship destinations (3 placements in 2025). Operates as a downstream partner — a feeder dynamic — and as the benchmark against which top UK prep schools are measured.
• The Leys School, Cambridge: Larger Cambridge independent school offering a full 11-18 co-educational pathway; overlaps with King's as both a competitor for senior-school leavers and a potential destination school, but is broader and less specialist.
• Harrow School: Top-tier UK senior school and a documented King's scholarship destination (3 placements in 2025); relevant as a comparable brand-tier peer and as a downstream partner in the senior-school placement chain.

Direct peers

• King's School, Ely: Historic Cambridgeshire independent school and one of King's top five senior-school destinations (5 scholarships in 2025). Operates in a similar Cambridge-region prep market with comparable boarding and music offerings.
• Stephen Perse Foundation: Cambridge-based independent school across Pre-Prep, Junior, Senior and Sixth Form; takes 10 King's Year 8 leavers annually and competes for the same Cambridge professional-class families at junior and senior entry points.
• St John's College School, Cambridge: The other Cambridge college choir prep school (St John's College Choir feeder), operating in the same city with the same choir-school heritage, same Reception–Year 8 age band, and direct competition for the same Chorister and academic admissions pool.
• The Perse School, Cambridge: One of King's largest feeder destinations and a Cambridge-based independent school for ages 3-18. Operates in the same geographic catchment with overlapping parent demographics, and competes for Cambridge families at multiple entry points.
• St Faith's School, Cambridge: Cambridge prep school serving roughly the same age band and parent demographic; competes directly with King's for Years 3-7 entry and is a feeder school for The Perse and other senior schools.

Regional players

• Culford School: Independent prep-through-sixth-form school in Suffolk serving a similar age band with similar academic, music, and sport positioning; competes for East Anglia boarding and day families at the upper-prep level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/143819605633612
• Instagraminstagram.com/kcscambridge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/king-s-college-school-cambridge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about King's College School, Cambridge