WHAT / WHERE

Little King’s (Pre-School and Reception) and King’s Junior School are the starter school of the renowned King’s Gloucester family of schools. A co-ed school for ages 3 – 11, King’s Junior has a smaller than average total of 188 pupils (31 in Little King’s and 157 in Juniors.) and a reassuringly small average class size of 15.

Despite its charming boarding school looks, King’s is a day school. Urbanites will love this location, it’s right in the heart of Gloucester, but don’t worry it still has the green factor, sitting in 15 acres of lush grounds.

One of its biggest attractions? KJS is located on the same site as the highly regarded King’s Senior School, so you get lots of brick for your hard-earned buck here. All pupils use the site’s shared facilities, and it also means you can have a King’s-kudos, all-through education up to the age of 18.

A proudly Christian school, although fully inclusive of all faiths, traditions are heartily embraced and celebrated here, not many schools can say they have the eye wateringly grand Gloucester Cathedral as an assembly hall.

Education goes back almost 1000 years, with Henry VIII founding the school in 1541 as one of seven prestigious King’s Schools attached to English Cathedrals (any mini-Harry Potter fans will love being here – three of the films were shot here due to its Hogwarts-chic).

FACILITIES

Period charm may be part of the appeal here, but King’s Junior School is far from a dusty museum – quite the opposite. Pretty, listed buildings form a backdrop to lots of state-of-the-art facilities. The school is hot on moving with the times, and is currently transforming all of its smaller spaces into large, bright, well-equipped classrooms to future-proof the school for 21^st century learning.

In the Junior School pupils have access to The Hub for quiet studying and individual teaching and support, and the swish new Creative Design Suite means the next gen of budding tech brains are well catered for (handy with GCHQ just down the road). There’s also a high-tech DT department with all the latest CAD/CAM machinery, woodwork equipment, 3D printers and machinery.

A brand-new Geography and Economic department sprang up on College Green recently, whilst a stone’s-throw away the Art Dept welcomed the arrival of new gardens, a photography suite, and vast outdoor eco-creative zone. The Science Department has also had a makeover, and a seventh lab added.

SPORT

Everyone is encouraged to get active at King’s, and it offers double Games lessons every week as a result. Everything from hockey, rugby, cricket, netball and swimming are timetabled, along with quirkier activities such as yoga and golf.

kids at kings junior school in gloucester

Competitive sport is big here, so expect this to be encouraged whatever their ability. Throughout the academic year there’s a full programme of inter-school matches with King’s filling its trophy cabinet regularly, and they can join the Junior School Athletic Development Programme which works with professional sportsmen and women to improve pupil’s fitness.

The Junior School has its own bespoke sports facilities at Archdeacon Meadow (5 minutes walk from the school), where the Riverside Sports Centre is also located. Pupils can also zoom about on the recently laid £1m AstroTurf – a striking, electric-blue all-weather pitch for hockey with an additional warm-up pitch. In 2023 new outdoor tennis and netball courts were created and in 2024, four new cricket nets were installed.

If they’ve any energy left after all that there’s a huge range of clubs running at lunchtimes and after school.

THE ARTS

MUSIC

Got musical bones? Consider King’s your spirit school. It has a proud history as a world-famous Choir School, and both boys and girls can audition to join the Cathedral Choir from the age of seven. If they go on to become choristers, they get to sing at Cathedral services and prestigious events throughout the year, a tradition that stretches back almost 1,000 years.

The school site has a new Music School with six practice rooms, a music technology suite, two large classrooms and even an organ for budding Organ Scholars. Every class has two weekly music lessons given by the Head of Music for Junior School; typical activities include singing, composing and performing.

The Junior School has a well-equipped music room and around three-quarters of all children learn at least one instrument – some starting lessons as early as five years old. Pupils enjoy learning as individuals or in a group and they can join the Junior School Orchestra along with ensembles for strings, woodwind and brass.

Watching your child perform in the eye-widening environs of the Cathedral at an assembly, Harvest Festival or Christmas Carol Service, probably couldn’t get much more extra!

DRAMA

Drama provision is excellent too, a ‘black-box’ West-End standard theatre has been installed in the heart of the school and all pupils have dance and drama lessons once a week, as well as being encouraged to explore their academic subjects through creative performances, increasing pupils’ understanding of topics, such as the First World War.

King’s children get their first taste of performing from the age of three in the Nativity play, staged in the ancient Chapter House. All younger pupils appear in the summer production, recent ones include Creepy Crawlies to Mary Poppins for the older ones.

Both subjects are taught by a specialist dance and drama teacher and Older children take part in an annual large-scale production, budding Oscar nominees can also choose to do LAMDA lessons.

The school isn’t resting on its laurels either. The next major investment at King’s will be in a new Performing Arts Centre, due to the popularity of the Arts here, plans for which are currently being drawn up for 2026.

Art / DT

Creativity is a core value championed at KJS, and expressive art and design are offered from Early Years through to Year 6. The Junior school also has access to The Hive for art and creative lessons, and access to an impressive Art Department for fine art, textiles, photography, pottery, textiles and a large, outdoor space.

Junior School pupils benefit from outstanding Art and Design Technology facilities that are on site in the Senior School, and the recent projects I saw looked expertly made, ranging from handcrafted photo frames in the workshop to a class that was making chocolate bars in the cookery suite.

ACADEMICS

King’s is academically selective, with pupils chosen from a broad ability range, through Taster Days, assessments and interviews. Don’t doubt that pupils will be expected to work hard, but just as valued is that they make a positive contribution towards the wider life of the school.

King’s is often over-subscribed for entry in Years 4 to 6, worth bearing in mind if you want a King’s education, getting in the earlier the better is a good tip.

The curriculum is a stimulating and balanced one focusing on developing skills, concepts and attitudes, in a fun and engaging way, with a laser focus on instilling a love of learning. In Little King’s and the Junior School pupils benefit from subject specialists in every year, ranging from Music, PE and Performing Arts to DT and Art.

The number and calibre of learning-supporting educational trips also gets a special mention, a few recent ones include Years 3 and 4 visiting the Corinium Museum to find out more about the Stone Age, which, back in the classroom, also involved baking flatbreads, making prehistoric jewellery and making a model of Stonehenge.

And, a visit to Berkeley Castle to support a Medieval learning topic which included a medieval themed banquet, making mini tapestries, stained glass window-decorating and an augmented reality session.

In 2024, just five Year 6 pupils (from a cohort of 34) left King’s Junior School and went to a local Grammar School, the majority moved on up to King’s Senior School, a stat which reflects well on pupil and parent happiness factor at the school.

LITTLIES

The Early Years spaces give off a warm and welcoming feel, they are big, bright spaces full of life and activity, with a constant monitoring of teacher to child ratios.

In Pre-School and Reception little ones have two lessons a week with the Junior School Director of Music and the chance to play percussion instruments. The children also have one dance class a week with a dedicated dance teacher.

Sport is also encouraged very early on, with Little King’s having a dedicated specialist sports teacher. To ensure the youngest children are not overwhelmed by larger competitive occasions, the Pre-School and Reception children take part in their own Sports Day.

HEAD

Head teacher Ann Haas has a genuinely warm and welcoming air about her. At the helm since 2014, she brings with her lengthy experience from Rendcomb College and as far afield as South Africa.

A big believer in keeping ‘connected’ with the day-to-day goings on at school, she teaches Critical Thinking from Year 3 upwards. Since arriving she has helped modernise KJS, from overseeing the creation of new facilities to ensuring the curriculum is fresh and forward-thinking.

One of her big passions is tackling and embracing the advent of AI, I can’t help but feel it’s refreshing to see a traditional school embracing this area head on. And as part of a big drive to involve parents more in the life of the Junior School you can tap into a series of AI workshops the school has put place, for parents and pupils, where they take part in interactive sessions to learn how to use and manage this new digital frontier.

A big advocate of KJS turning out confident and caring pupils, she also has a sharp focus on making sure King’s is inspiring for pupils, from a top ceramicist holding a workshop for little ones, to inviting the Senior School’s Head of Science to visit (cue controlled whizzes and bangs in the hallways!) which I can imagine the children absolutely loved!

PASTORAL

Pastoral support is very high on the King’s agenda. Each pupil has a personal tutor with whom they have daily contact and regular one-to-one meetings to review progress and talk through any difficulties.

The King’s SMART pastoral care programme in King’s Junior School offers an inbuilt advantage – with smaller classroom sizes, class teachers can develop personal connections with all of their pupils. This enables teachers to promptly identify any emotional challenges and provide support to address them, often collaborating with parents.

Class teachers assume daily pastoral care responsibilities, while the Deputy Head supervises the entire care framework. In addition, a Wellbeing Mentor and the Pastoral Teaching Assistant are available for individual and group pastoral support.

The school is hot on upholding good conduct and behaviour at all times, and champions traditional values such as good etiquette and modesty. There is also a House system which further contributes to the community spirit, and a sense of belonging and on Wellbeing Days each term the staff bring their dogs into school for walks around the Cathedral with the pupils in charge.

SEND

An average of 25% of pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 are on the SEN register and the Junior School has a full time SENCo who supports neurodivergent children on a 1-to-1 basis, there is also additional part time support (particularly in Maths) from a teacher from the Senior School.

The SENCo has excellent links to other independent schools as well as external support including Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists.

Some of the children who receive support at King’s would not meet the criteria in other settings, and some have joined the school because of previously unmet or unidentified needs within bigger class sizes. Needs include dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD or autism. Other specific needs such as non-verbal dyspraxia and cerebral palsy are also met.

SEND provision was the highest rated area of the Junior School in the most recent parents’ survey, at 26% above the benchmark of similar independent schools.

Most support takes place in individual or small group lessons in the dedicated Learning Skills space, a cottage with its own garden next to Forest School, which enables outdoor learning too. This welcoming space is calm and cosy and is also home to the Junior School pet tortoises – Sunshine and Shade! There is no additional cost for a weekly 30 minute Learning Skills lesson if identified as a need.

MOBILE PHONES / TECH

Phones are not allowed to be used in school, but if any Junior School pupil brings one into school they are expected to hand it to their class teacher for safe-keeping during the school day.

In Little King’s and the Junior School the pupils use ipads to support their learning in lessons, with augmented reality apps being used in lessons at times, but a balance of practising traditional skills (handwriting etc) is still hotly ring-fenced here.

FOREST SCHOOL

Getting hands dirty and lungfuls of fresh air are strongly championed, and at the Forest School pupils are given the freedom to lead their own activities from a young age. There is a super little area with its own pond and secret garden hidden away in the School grounds, and weekly Forest School trips set off for sites such as Crickley Hill Country Park or the Forest of Dean.

Typical curriculum-linked activities include digging, climbing trees, hanging from branches, threading leaf kebabs (physical development); counting leaves and bugs and measuring twigs (maths); and general creativity, such as crafting their own stick spoons and driftwood boats.

QUIRKS

The first three Harry Potter films were filmed in the Cathedral cloisters and King’s pupils were recruited as extras! This place has a history and awe-inspiring presence that feels quite unique as you walk around. Little Cloister Hall, currently a History classroom, is apparantly the oldest classroom in the world.

TRANSPORT

Very good transport links. King’s has a fleet of 11 buses, collecting pupils from all corners of the county, but many pupils also travel in by train and the school is a 10 minute walk from Gloucester train station.

Pupils generally live within a 40-minute radius, many pupils are based in Cheltenham, the surrounding Gloucestershire villages, within the Stroud valleys and Gloucester itself, but families also come from further afield such as Chepstow and the Forest of Dean area.

WRAPAROUND CARE

An excellent standard of provision. King’s staff run Early Birds for Pre-School to Year 6 children from 7.45am to 8.15am. Little King’s staff run After School care for the children in Little King’s from 3.15pm to 6.00pm

Atlas Camps (an external provider) run After School Care and a Holiday Club in all school holidays) for children in Years 1 to 6

Children in Years 1 to 6 also have the option to stay on for after school clubs run by Junior School staff, and sometimes external specialists, from 3.15pm to 4.10pm

WHAT ELSE?

King’s Junior School is a hive of activity all year round. In April, for example, they were holding the second annual Good Food Week in which pupils learn about sustainability, food waste and are encouraged to be a bit braver with their food choices (mums and dads will rejoice).

Local food and drink businesses come in and there are food tastings, a House Bake Off, a Food Waste challenge and Bushtucker trial! On the final day staff and pupils prepare vegetables for 150 portions of a delicious curry to be cooked and delivered to a local charity helping the homeless.

You’ll find a real streak of kindness running through KJS’s DNA generally, Gloucester itself is certainly not a particularly wealthy city, so kids here are encouraged to give back. Initiatives are many, but include House events where pupils have raised over £7k for local charities, and the raising of over £4.5k for a partner school in Dornakal, India, paying for the education of 28 pupils, computers and a school trip.

There’s an increasing emphasis on eco awareness here, and in 2024 King’s Junior School was the national winner of the Primary Awards for Green Education in Schools (PAGES) and they also bagged a coveted Eco Schools Green Flag Award.

FEES

Fees are pretty average, but starting off perhaps a little lower than competitors which parents will welcome. Reception starts at £3,180 per term, Years 1 & 2 £3,785, Year 3 £4,610, Year 4 £5,100, Year 5 £5,470 and Year 6 £6,055.

Little King’s Pre-School accepts 15 hours free Government vouchers and is charged at £10.00 per hour. A sibling discount of 5% is offered for the second child attending King’s from the same family rising to 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% for subsequent siblings, whilst they are all in attendance.

ISI Report

Glowing is the only word. The most recent visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate was in September 2022 and the school had a glowing report with the pupil achievement and pupil personal development both marked at the highest level ‘Excellent’ in both categories. See link here for the full read.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Lots of positive comments from parents, centering on King’s ticking both academic and pastoral boxes. Parents were particularly impressed with the transition through each key stage. Children are expected to work (and play) hard, but no one uses the phrase hothouse anywhere, and praise was heaped on teachers for their dedication in really getting to know pupils.

One family I spoke to love King’s so much that they have put all three of their children through the the school over the years, citing the excellent breadth of opportunities and extra-curricular here, and the feeling of really being part of a family at King’s.

MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: King’s packs a hefty punch in a highly competitive local educational sector. Come here for small class sizes, world-class facilities, an all-through option, and the knowledge that the school is constantly future-proofing it’s offering. KJS excels in nurturing self-confident pupils, polite and capable pupils. It’s a place where individual talents flourish, whether that be on the sports field, the stage or in the classroom.

Not for: Anyone wanting boarding, KJS won’t be for you. Or, if you want a mile long countryside drive to school, King’s has proudly historic and urban setting. Strong wallflower personalities may not thrive here, pupils are encouraged to immerse themselves fully in the wide array of co-curricular activities on offer.

Want to make your own mind up? Go along to the Open Day on Fri 6 March 2026.

Read our review of King’s Gloucester Senior School here.

King’s Junior School & Little King’s, Gloucester GL1 2BG, 01452 337 337.

Little King’s & King’s Junior School, Gloucester

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