Duke of York ' s Royal Military School The Duke of York ’ s Royal Military School , more commonly called the Duke of York ’ s , is a co - educational Academy with military traditions in Dover , Kent , open to pupils whose parents are serving or have served in any branch of the United Kingdom armed forces for a minimum of 4 years . The school was until September 2010 a military boarding secondary school and an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence ( MOD ) . With the transition to Academy status , entry was extended to civilian families and oversight transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Department for Education . The Ministry of Defence remains the sponsor of the school . The Duke of York ’ s has many traditions and a rich history , which includes ceremonial parades and uniforms , a monitorial style of education modelled on the English public school system . This rich history includes a long line of notable alumni , known as Dukies , including senior generals ( such as Sir Archibald Nye and Gary Coward ) , famous musicians ( such as Henry Lazarus ) , sportsmen ( like Maurice Colclough ) , many leading academic scientists ( including Professors Paul Shaw , Timothy Foster and Mark Gardiner ) and clergymen ( James Jones and Bill Ind ) and a long list of decorated armed forces personnel . History . Founded in 1803 by act of Royal Warrant dating from 1801 , the school was until 1892 called the Royal Military Asylum . The school ’ s primary purpose was to educate the orphans of British servicemen killed in the Napoleonic Wars of 1793 - 1815 . Between 1803 and 1909 the Royal Military Asylum was located at what is now known as the Duke of York ' s Headquarters in Chelsea , London . For the duration of World War I ( 1914 – 1918 ) , the Duke of York ' s School was evacuated to Hutton , near Brentwood , Essex . The reason for the evacuation was to provide the military authorities with a transit point for troops moved to and from the Western Front . The school was co - educational ; making the Duke of York ' s the very first co - educational boarding school in the United Kingdom . Today the Chelsea site is home to the Saatchi Gallery and the Duke of York ’ s Royal Military School Old Boys ' Association . Between 1816 and 1840 , the Asylum had a branch in Southampton which provided schooling for up to 400 military orphans and children of serving soldiers of both sexes until 1823 , when the boys were transferred to Chelsea , with Southampton taking more girls . A decline in the school numbers resulted in its closure in 1840 . From 1841 , the buildings were taken over by the Ordnance Survey . In 1892 the Royal Military Asylum was renamed The Duke of York ' s Royal Military School and in the process became an all - boys school . In 1909 the school relocated to new premises constructed on the cliffs above Dover in Kent . In 1994 the school re - admitted girls and returned to co - education . Academic standards . Between 2007 and 2009 more than 90 % of pupils gained 1 or more GCSE s at grades A * - C ( including English and Mathematics ) . More than 13 % of grades were A * / A during the same period . During this period ( 2007 – 2009 ) 19 % of grades gained were A / B at AS level and 12 % of grades were A / B at A2 level . A total of 32 % of grades gained were passes at A2 level . Sports facilities . Pupils have access to extensive sporting facilities ; indeed sports take place every day , with main sports like rugby and hockey being played twice per week . Pupils can also engage in sports and athletic training in their own time each day . The school has a strong sporting culture . The 150 acres ( 607 , 000 m² ) of land on the school site includes a full size athletics track , two sports halls , swimming pool , indoor squash courts , gymnasium and a dozen full size grass pitches for rugby union , cricket and tennis . Exchanges with NATO member military schools . The Duke of York ' s runs exchange programmes with military schools within NATO . Of these the most notable is the programme run with the school ' s French equivalent , the Lycée Militaire in Aix - en - Provence . There are also placements for recent school leavers from respective military schools to assume teaching assistant posts at corresponding schools . The Duke of York ' s also maintains considerable connections with Valley Forge Military Academy and College , as the two are sister schools . Parading , military instruction , adventurous training . Ceremonial Parades take place each Sunday morning ; the grandest of these being Remembrance Sunday and the Grand Day at the end of summer . On Parade , as well as for all military activities , pupils are instead called cadets and are organised into ceremonial Guards or else play an instrument in the Band . Cadets wear the standard dark blue ceremonial uniform of the British Army . The Duke of York ’ s Royal Military School Ceremonial Band is the largest within the Ministry of Defence , being larger still than the Massed Bands of the Brigade of Foot Guards . The considerable number of notable musicians educated at the school over the last 207 years demonstrates the very high standards in music tuition . In recent years the band has performed at : The school employs a regimental sergeant major to co - ordinate ceremonial drill and military instruction . All pupils are cadets , with ranks ranging from cadet to senior under officer , and entrance to the armed forces at all ranks - as either a ranking soldier or commissioned officer entrant – occurs regularly . There is regular cross - training with soldiers from the British Army as well as the school ’ s own military officers . Adventurous Training is run by the school and is available to senior school pupils . Each training camp is completed on Dartmoor at Oakhampton Training Camp and lasts one week , comprising mostly fieldcraft and endurance skills ; but always including an extended exercise . Two versions are offered : the first comprises 60 miles over 2 days with adult supervision ; the second comprises 90 miles over 3 days without supervision . High Table . High Table is where the headmaster , the deputy headmasters , the head boy and girl , and a combination of students ( primarily sixth form ers ) and guests take lunch . The table is waited on . Guests are invited from the Officers ' Messes of nearby Army battalions , Royal Navy ships and Royal Air Force squadrons . Members of the school ' s board of governors , who are themselves among the most senior military officers and leaders in business and commerce , are also invited regularly . In 1986 a protest took place over the quality of school meals . The Headmaster entertained various guests whilst the majority of the school remained silent , having not taken their dinners . The Catering Manager subsequently resigned . Boarding houses . The school is currently divided into ten Houses , nine of which are named after famous British generals : Haig , Kitchener , Roberts , Wolseley , Wellington , Clive , Wolfe , Marlborough and Alanbrooke . A tenth house exclusively for Year 13 ' s called Centenary House opened in September 2010 . Music . Music plays an important role in the life of the school , as such it is classed as ' an underlying theme ' in terms of academy specialisms . The school has several music ensembles of varying size , predominantly featuring military band instruments . The school ' s marching band has performed at public events such as the Chatham Dockyard Remembrance Day Parade and has been a regular pre - match feature at the Army vs Navy rugby match at Twickenham for many years . In addition to the many concerts and military band engagements that are held throughout the year , the school choir recently featured in local television and radio broadcasts with their special version of " Wherever You Are " , a song by the composer Paul Mealor which was performed by the Military Wives Choir at the 2011 Festival of Remembrance . The Duke of York ' s School version featured a pupil of the school reading a letter to her father who served in Afghanistan over Christmas 2011 and was broadcast on the Chris Evans BBC Radio 2 breakfast show on Wednesday 14 December and repeated several times in full on BBC Radio Kent throughout the Christmas period . The YouTube video of the Duke of York ' s School averaged 1000 hits a day during the weeks leading up to Christmas . Military Colours . Along with Eton College and Cheltenham College , the Duke of York ' s Royal Military School is one of only three English schools to have military colours . While Eton and Cheltenham parade their colours on rare occasions , the Duke of York ' s Royal Military School parades its colours briefly each Sunday as the Parade enters Chapel , and on a number of ceremonial parades in the course of the year . Chapel and War Memorials . Despite pupils having multi - faith backgrounds the school adheres to the practices of the Church of England as required of English boarding schools under law . Chapel is taken each week day morning by pupils with a full church service on Sunday following Parade . Consequently cadets go to church services in Chapel wearing their ceremonial uniforms . On days of special religious significance the Chapel follows the traditions of High Church . The walls of the chapel are laid up with the battle honours belonging to former Cadets ' regiments and corps ; but of more note are the historic carved marble tablet lists of the hundreds of Dukies who have sacrificed their lives in Great Britain ' s various wars and conflicts since 1803 . The school has a memorial to the Great War and the Second World War placed just inside of the main entrance to the school . The Parade and Band pays its respects here on the Armistice Commemoration . A great number of former pupils , many of them in the Armed Forces , also attend , along with Dukies who are now Chelsea Pensioners . Guards ' Competition and Grand Day . At the end of each summer term the school parades for Grand Day . This is a special parade of much greater complexity and length than its weekly counterpart performed each Sunday , and is similar in style and length to the Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards . The purpose of Grand Day is to display the school at its finest to a visiting dignitary , who is either a member of the Royal Family or a member of the British armed forces General Staff . Grand Day has its origins in the school parading before its founder , the then HRH Prince Frederick Duke of York and Albany when the school was founded in 1803 . In the build - up toward Grand Day the Guards ( each corresponding to boarding houses ) undergo the Guards ' Competition . The purpose is to test skill at ceremonial drill and standards regarding kit turnout . The outcome of the Guards ' Competition ranks the Guards ' Order of Precedence for Grand Day . The winning and therefore senior Guard is referred to as Number One Guard , with the others in declining order . Bi - centenary and new Colours . The School celebrated its bi - centenary in 2001 – 02 . It held a commemorative service at Christmas in 2001 as well as a special Parade at the end of 2002 , when it received new colours from HRH Prince Andrew Duke of York . The school celebrated the centenary of its move to Dover in 2009 and amongst many special events hosted a reception at the House of Lords , as well as parades and drama productions . A change in traditions . Until 1999 the School ' s headmasters were all serving military officers of the rank of at least Lieutenant Colonel . Since then there have been two civilian headmasters . The school also has a regimental sergeant major among its staff whose primary role is to co - ordinate military standards and discipline . The school ' s first civilian students were accepted in 2011 after the school was granted academy status . Prior to this , the school had taken only students whose parents were veterans or currently serving in the United Kingdom ' s military forces . Notable alumni . Alumni are known as " Dukies " . Duke of York ' s Royal Military School Old Boys ' Association . Specific regiments and corps of the British Armed Forces have become increasingly popular as career choices for former pupils , leading to many ad - hoc Old Boys ' Associations : the Royal Navy , the Royal Air Force , the Army ' s technical Corps , the Brigade of Guards , and particularly the Royal Marines ' Commandos and the Parachute Regiment are popular destinations for both enlisted personnel and officers . A large number of Dukies working in the City professions and in various Whitehall departments also have regular contact . Despite the prepensely masculine name the Duke of York ' s Royal Military School Old Boys ' Association is also for old girls from Dukies . The first girls to be accepted in the modern era were taken in during autumn 1994 . ( In the early era from 1803 - 1892 the school was co - educational ) . In 1996 these nouveau - girls left the school and voted to retain the title " Old Boys ' Association " , and opinions have remained thus since . The Association has a club house at the Duke of York ' s Headquarters ( which it shares with The Saatchi Gallery ) . References . http : / / www . facebook . com / group . php ? gid = 158527323590