The school's namesake is that of novelist Charles Kingsley, author of the locally-based adventure novel Westward Ho!

The move was triggered by a fall in pupil numbers at both schools since education reforms in 1997, and by difficult economic circumstances both locally and nationally.

[3] Kingsley currently divides its students into four houses, competing against one another in sport and academics: Putsborough, Croyde, Woolacombe and Saunton.

[4] The new developments will feature a 10,700 square-foot education centre, designed by JB Architects,[5] and on-site ecology zones.

At the 2020 ISA Awards, Kingsley won Sustainability and Environmental Education School of the Year for its commitments to climate action.

The current Grenville Centre provides specialist support for senior school students aged between 11 and 16, who have some form of learning difference or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).