King's School (Gütersloh)

King's School was a secondary school in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Serving the children of British military families stationed in the area, it is the largest school in Service Children's Education. It was the only SCE secondary school in the area and also served children from bases in Bielefeld, Herford, Detmold, Lippstadt, and Paderborn.

History
King's School opened its doors to its first pupils on 19 September 1960. The first headteacher was Mr Jack Reynish. Later heads included Mr D.D. Rooney, Mr Ken Jones, Mr Rob McGraw and Mrs Sheila Hargreaves. Boarding accommodation at King's Hall opened in September 1994.

Campus
Situated within Mansergh Barracks, the school buildings were originally barrack blocks but have been modernised throughout to provide spacious teaching accommodation. The school also houses the Gütersloh Music Centre which provides weekly instrumental tuition for about 200 young people.

The playing fields, including astro-turf, are extensive, with pitches for hockey, football, rugby, netball, cricket and athletics. Two gymnasia are complemented by the Army gymnasium / Sports Hall. The school also has access to a nearby swimming pool and a tartan surface athletics track for Sports Day.

Curriculum
The school follows the National Curriculum.

Extracurricular activities
Student organisations and activities include art club, chess, dance, digital photography, drama, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, fashion design, film club, gardening, jogging and fitness club, juggling, Language Ambassadors, lawn games, karate, printmaking, quilting, remote control cars, study support, textiles, ultimate frisbee, Warhammer, World Challenge, and yearbook.

Sports include athletics, basketball, football, golf, hockey, netball, rugby, and tennis. Students compete in lunchtime inter-form competitions, SCE inter-school festivals and GISST, the International Schools Group competitions. The school has been recognised with the Sportsmark Award twice since 2003.

Notable former pupils

 * Tim Montgomerie, co-founder of the Centre for Social Justice, creator of the ConservativeHome website, columnist at The Times newspaper, blogger and political activist
 * Cpl Gordon Pritchard, the 100th British servicemember killed in the Iraq War