Wilson's School

Grammar school in Wallington, Greater London, England
the school in Ireland

GCSE and A level results consistently place Wilson's School amongst the highest performing schools in the United Kingdom. In November 2018, The Times School Guide declared Wilson's the "State Secondary School of the Year". Wilson's was later awarded "London State Secondary School of the Decade" by The Times in 2020. The school's last Ofsted inspection took place in September 2022 and rated the school as "Outstanding" in all categories. Wilson's School in Wallington, Sutton, was named the Sunday Times Parent Power Secondary School of the Year 2024, after achieving what is said to be the highest ranking any state school has achieved in the 30 year history of the league table.

The school was founded by Edward Wilson in 1615 and was located in Camberwell in Surrey, but now part of Greater London. At that time it was a small village of cottages, homesteads, inns and larger buildings grouped around a village green. Wilson was born around 1550 in Cartmel, Lancashire, which had its own grammar school, from where he passed on to Cambridge University. No record remains of him taking a degree, although it is known that he went into the Church, being appointed Deacon at Ely in Norfolk in 1576. He subsequently became Vicar of the Parish of Camberwell, which was presented to him by Queen Elizabeth I in person. This would indicate that he favoured the settlement of the Church of England, which the Queen was resolved to make. His nephew Peter Danson became a governor of the new school at its founding. Danson was also vicar of Carshalton in Surrey, only one mile from the present site of the school. A further member of the Wilson family, a namesake of Edward Wilson, is named in the charter of the school as the Master. After his wife died, and having had no children, he decided to set up a school using his available resources to create a legacy saying in the royal charter that for all time there would be a school in Camberwell named after him. At the time, the establishment of a grammar school in England required the assent of the crown. This was obtained after the first school buildings were constructed. The original charter bearing this assent has since been lost, although in 1929 the governors of the school obtained a certified extract from the Patent Rolls. This requirement for the agreement of the Crown explains the legend "Founded in 1615 by Royal Charter" that appears in various places beneath the school name. The charter was granted by King James I, who had succeeded his cousin Elizabeth by this time. The charter names the school as "The Free Grammar School of Edward Wilson, clerk, in Camberwell, otherwise Camerwell, in the County of Surrey." from which much of the information below was taken, was first published in 1951; its most recent edition was in 1987.

In 1975 the school moved to the current site. A three part plan for expansion only saw part one carried out, though subsequent construction has included additional science blocks, the Sixth Form Centre, the Foundation Building, the Venner Building (for Art and Design), the Lower School (to accommodate Year 7 and 8 teaching), and the Britton Centre (for Music).

From 1883 the school was accustomed to use as a coat of arms the version of the Wilson shield used by Edward Wilson, probably without authority. In 1985 the then Chairman of Governors, Lt. Col. W. R. Bowden, obtained a Grant of Arms from the College of Arms. The new officially authorised Arms introduced to the previous form a silver bar between the wolf and the objects above, together with a gold border. Additionally, a crest is added above the helm in the form of a black wolf holding a silver fleur de lys in his paws with a black and gold mantle. Students in the same year in the same house are in the same form, and have registration, form period and lessons in Years 7 and 8 together. Between Year 9 and 11, forms are split in two each with their own form tutors. From Year 9, students no longer have lessons exclusively with members of their forms. All members of the staff are allocated to Houses. Three of the houses (Brecon, Camberwell and Datchelor) learn German, while the other three houses (Greencoat, Hayes and Southwark) learn French.

The school's main sport is association football. Rugby union was first introduced to the school in 1886, although it has not been continuously played since then. It was revived in 1921, in the 1960s and 1980s,

Since 2019, the school has been included in The Cricketer magazine’s Top 100 Schools for cricket. During the summer term, the school partakes in track and field events; these include 100 m to 1500 m races, hurdles, javelin, shot put, long jump, high jump, triple jump and discus. The school was designated an Academy School by Badminton England in February 2006. The school is home for the Chadacre Badminton club. The under 19s table tennis team was ranked fourth nationally, having won the Surrey Cup and the National Schools Area Tournament, and being runners up in the National Regional Tournament.

Wilson's School CCF was established in 1910 as an Army Officer Training Corps on the original Camberwell site by a teacher, Captain Edmonds. It is now a Combined Cadet Force with Army and RAF sections, the latter introduced in 1964. The corps is inspected every two years.

The Very Revd. Dr Walter Robert Matthews, CH, KCVO, DD, DLitt, former Dean of St Paul's Cathedral