Editing The King's School, Canterbury (section)

==History==
The school started as a medieval cathedral school said to have been founded during [[Late antiquity|Late Antiquity]] in AD 597, a century after the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire]], by [[Augustine of Canterbury]], considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church, thus making it arguably the world's oldest extant school. This is based on the fact that St Augustine founded an abbey (within the current school's grounds) where it is known that teaching took place.<ref name="History of the School">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kings-school.co.uk/about/history/|title=History of the School|website=The King's School, Canterbury|language=en|access-date=2019-07-27}}</ref>

When the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] took place, the school was re-founded by [[royal charter]] in 1541. A Headmaster, a Lower Master, and fifty King's Scholars were established and the name "King's School", was used for the first time, referring to [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]]. [[Reginald Pole|Cardinal Pole]] moved the school to the Mint Yard and acquired the Almonry building, which was in use for over 300 years.

Throughout the next 100 years several former pupils achieved national recognition helping the school establish its reputation; these include the first headmaster, [[John Twyne]], and [[Christopher Marlowe]], [[William Harvey]] and [[John Tradescant the Younger]]. The buildings were improved and academic standards raised during the leadership of [[John Mitchinson (bishop)|John Mitchinson]] and around this time the school became a "[[Public school (United Kingdom)|public school]]" with a national reputation.<ref name="History of the School"/>

When Canon John "Fred" Shirley became headmaster in 1935 the school was suffering from the effects of the depression. He managed the school's rapid expansion to around 600 pupils over the next 30 years, constructing further buildings in the precincts and helping the school survive the war-time evacuation. The school received a new Royal Charter from King [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]] and [[Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]] in 1946. During this time, the reputation of the school grew, helped by its academic and sporting successes.

The school was boys-only for almost 1400 years, until the early 1970s, when girls were admitted to the Sixth Form for the first time, and the school has been fully co-educational since 1990.<ref name="History of the School"/> The school is also the oldest charity in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubadm/76/7605.htm|last=U K Parliament|title=House of Commons – The role of the Charity Commission and "public benefit": Post-legislative scrutiny of the Charities Act 2006 – Public Administration Committee|access-date=2019-07-27|archive-date=5 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305125536/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubadm/76/7605.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>