- For other uses, see King's College.
King's College London in London is the largest and second longest serving member college in the federal University of London, with 21,300 registered students (2003-04). King's was so named to indicate the patronage of King George IV.
Campuses
Cornwall House, King's College Waterloo Campus
King's began on a site adjacent to Somerset House in the Strand, still in use and still organized around the original building; the university has spread to several other campuses as well, including the Guy's campus near London Bridge; the St. Thomas' campus facing the Houses of Parliament across the Thames; Waterloo campus across from the BFI London Imax; the Hampstead Halls campus, formerly the site of Westfield College, since merged with Queen Mary and the Denmark Hill campus in south London. The current institution is the product of the merger of King's with a number of other institutions over the years, including Queen Elizabeth College, Chelsea College, the Institute of Psychiatry, and the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals (which formerly merged with the King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry).
General information
Founding
King's was founded in 1829 with Crown, Church of England and political support amid popular opposition to the foundation of humanist and egalitarian University College London on Gower Street. Indeed a duel [1] was fought over the College's honour between the then-Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, and the Earl of Winchilsea who questioned the Prime Minister's support for Catholic and Anglican institutions, but nobody was injured. Rivalry between the two colleges continues today: UCL often claims superiority over King's through its higher rankings in university league tables, whereas proponents of King's allege it to be the more famous of the two colleges. Both were federated into the University of London when it was established by charter in 1836.
In addition to the founding of the College in 1829, King's College School was created as the Junior Department. The School's premises were in the basement of the King's College site east of Somerset House, but later moved to its current site in Wimbledon in 1897.
The first qualification that King's issued was the Associate of King's College or the AKC. This is still awarded today to students and staff who take an optional two to three year course through the Dean's Office. The course, normally taken alongside a standard degree, is concerned with questions of ethics and theology, and successful completion entitles the graduate to bear the letters AKC after their name.
Current Position
In August 2005 the Guardian newspaper stated that London School of Economics, Imperial College London, King's and University College London individually 'have international reputations that in this country only Oxbridge can beat' [2]. The Guardian also ranked King's as the sixth best university in the country. Many of its departments also came top in their field. Most notably, the English department was ranked as the best in the country. However the Times newspaper failed to rate the same department in the top 20, perhaps indicative that one should not place excessive value on league tables as different ranking methods give rise to dramatically different results. King's is a member of the self proclaimed elite Russell Group of leading research universities and is consistently ranked as one of the top 20 universities in Europe, and is highly distinguished for Humanities (especially Philosophy, Classics, Music, English and History), Law, War Studies, Medicine and Dentistry. It has the fifth largest endowment of UK universities at £100m (2002), the fourth largest endowment per student, and has credit ratings of AA-/Stable/A-1 (Standard & Poor's).
Notable Features
Florence Nightingale's original training school for nurses was at St Thomas' Hospital and King's College Hospital and is now incorporated into the university as the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery. Perhaps the most famous scholarly research performed at King's was the work by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins that was essential to the discovery by James D. Watson and Francis Crick of the structure of DNA. However many of its other staff have left a notable legacy in their particular field; for example, the college's first Professor of Architecture William Hosking FSA, a Council Member of the Institute of British Architects and referee of the Metropolitan Building Act, had an influential role in developing sound transportation, engineering and building principles to assist the emergence of planned development in London during Victorian times.
King's is also known for its top ranked War Studies department that attracts students with both a civilian and military background across the world. It is supported by facilities such as the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives and the King's Centre for Military Health. In September 2005 an innovative e-learning MA/Diploma was launched - War in the Modern World. This postgraduate course will be delivered purely online for students around the world.
The medical school (formerly known as the GKT School of Medicine) is the largest in the United Kingdom and admits 360 undergraduates each year. It was formed from the merger of King's College London, the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals and King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry at King's College Hospital (a separate, but originally related entity at the time of the merger in 1998).
The current Principal is Professor Rick Trainor, formerly Vice-Chancellor of University of Greenwich.
Students' Union
Main article: King's College London Students' Union
King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) is the oldest in London, founded just before University College London Union, and provides a good range of activities and services: over 50 sports clubs - including the Boat Club, that rows on the River Thames, and the Rifle Club that uses the college's shooting range on the Main Strand Campus-, 60 societies, a wide range of volunteering opportunities, 2 bars, 2 nightclubs, shops, eating places and a gym. Recently, a third site was opened at the Waterloo campus which finally completes development of services across the three key King's sites. A former President of KCLSU, Sir Ivison Macadam (after whom the Students' Union building on the Strand Campus has since been named) went on to be elected as the first President of the NUS and the Union has played an active role there and in the University of London Union ever since. Competition and rivalries within the University of London between King's and University College London are still fierce but unlike the riots between respective College students in central London that still occurred until the 1950s, things are now limited to the rugby pitch and skullduggery over mascots.
Tensions were re-ignited on 2 December 2005 when students from the LSE (across the road from the Strand campus) diverted off from the annual "barrel run" and caused an estimated £30,000 of damage to the English department [3]. Principal Rick Trainor and the KCLSU President (Matthew Pusey) called for no retaliation and LSE Students' Union were forced to issue an apology as well as foot the bill for the damage repair. While LSE officially condemned the action, a photograph was published in The Times that showed LSE Director Howard Davies drinking with members of the LSE Students Union shortly before the barrel run - and the "rampage" began.
Accommodation
King’s halls of residence offer a range of accommodation to suit the varied needs of students. These include:
- King's College Hall
- Brian Creamer & Rectory Houses
- Hampstead Campus
- Wolfson House
- Great Dover Street Apartments
- Stamford Street Apartments
Four of these halls let their rooms to visitors during the summer months when the students are not there. For more information, see King's Conference & Vacation Bureau
King's also has the largest number of bedspaces in the University of London "Intercollegiate Halls":
- Lillian Penson Hall
- Canterbury Hall
- Commonwealth Hall
- Connaught Hall
- Hughes Parry Hall
- International Hall
- Nutford House
- College Hall (formerly Women only)
Famous alumni
See also Category:Alumni of King's College London
Well-known alumni of King's College include:
Trivia
- KCL also has a long-running, mostly friendly rivalry with University College London. UCL is often referred to by students using nicknames such as "Euston Tech/Polytechnic" or the "Godless Scum of Gower Street", in reference to a comment made at the founding of KCL, which was based on Christian principles. UCL students and staff also refer to King's as "Strand Polytechnic" in a similar vein.
- LSE is occasionally referred to as producing a "Lower Standard of Education" or described as Aldwych Polytechnic by King's students.
- The College mascot, "Reggie", was lost for many years in the 1990s. It was recovered after being found dumped in a field, restored at the cost of around £15,000 and placed on display in the students' union. It is in a glass case and filled with concrete to prevent theft, particularly by UCL students who once castrated it. (KCL, to be fair, had also stolen one UCL mascot, Phineas, and played football with the head of another, Jeremy Bentham).
- There are two further "Reggies" in existence: a papier-mâché Reggie in the Strand building old entrance and one small "desk" Reggie that is displayed during Graduation ceremonies.
See also
There is also King's College, Cambridge. There is no connection.
References
- F.J.C. Hearnshaw (1929). The Centenary History of King's College London. George G. Harrap & Co.
- Gordon Huelin (1978), King's College London, 1828-1978.
- Christine Kenyon Jones (2004), King's College London: In the service of society.
External links
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_College_London under GFDL
