Our History at King's Ely, a Private Day and Boarding School for Pupils Aged 2-18 Years Old, near Cambridge, in Ely.

The King's School Ely is one of the oldest schools in England. It originated with Saint Ethelwold and Saint Dunstan, who re-founded the monastery of Ely and placed it under Benedictine rule in 970.

Our roots go even further back, to the seventh century AD and Saint Etheldreda's religious community of monks, which also concerned itself with educating the young. 

One early pupil was Saint Edward the Confessor. Edward succeeded to the throne in 1042 and went on to found Westsisnster Abby, which was consecrated just one week before his death in 1065.

When Henry VIII closed the monastery of Ely in 1541, he granted the school it's Royal Charter, endowed the first King's Scholars, and granted us the status of King's School. The Royal Charter was reconstituted by Charles II in 1661.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the school was led by Dean Merivale and Headmaster Wakefield (who became famous as the founder of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, which takes place on the river Thames in London every year). Under their management, the school fl and its buildings were considerably modernised and expanded.