It was founded in 1502 by Sir John Percyvale, a former Lord Mayor of London, as Macclesfield Grammar School.

In July 2020 the school moved to a new location adjacent to its long-held Derby Playing Fields, on the outskirts of Macclesfield.

In 1993 girls from age 11 to 16 were admitted and housed with co-educational juniors, and later infants, at the old Macclesfield High School site on Fence Avenue.

[8] Planning permission was granted to the school to build more than 250 houses on the greenbelt land in Macclesfield in July 2016.

[10] In July 2020 King's School left Macclesfield after more than 500 years of continuous operation in the town and relocated to Prestbury.

[14] It takes bi-annual trips to perform across Europe, having visited Barcelona, Levico Terme, Strasbourg, Lake Geneva and Budapest.

[15] The school's music department is equipped with a recording studio and practice rooms and offers instrumental lessons to the students.

[25] The school's Outdoor Activities Club organises regular trips to Yorkshire[26] or the Peak District, that include walking, climbing and caving.