About Us
Kettering Old Grammar School Foundation (KOGSF) exists to ensure that talent, ambition and potential in Kettering are not held back by circumstance or lack of access.
We provide funding and practical support to young people, schools and community groups, helping remove the barriers that can prevent individuals from progressing through education, developing their skills and moving confidently into the next stage of their lives.
Our support takes many forms. We fund school trips where families are under financial pressure, provide equipment and specialist coaching for young people developing their abilities, and back initiatives that widen access to education and enrichment. Each year, more than 1,000 pupils also attend our Govilon Learning & Activity Centre in South Wales, where outdoor experiences help build confidence, resilience and independence.
We are not a grant-making body focused on volume. Our role is to identify where support will have meaningful impact and ensure resources are used in a way that creates real, lasting outcomes.
Our Purpose
We exist to step in where the education system and family finances cannot.
By doing so, we help young people:
access opportunities they would otherwise miss
develop skills and confidence beyond the classroom
progress into further education, training or employment
Our focus is always the same - practical support that leads to tangible progress.
A Long-Standing Commitment to Education
Our origins date back to 1577, when Queen Elizabeth I granted a royal charter to establish Kettering Grammar School. The Foundation itself was formally established in 1911 and continues that legacy today.
While the school no longer exists, its purpose endures. For over a century, the Foundation has protected and used its resources to support education in Kettering and the surrounding area.
As we approach the 450th anniversary of that original charter in 2027, our focus remains firmly on the future - ensuring that support continues to reach those who need it, now and for generations to come.
From Grammar School to Foundation
Kettering Grammar School has occupied several places in the town over its long history. In the early twentieth century, the Old Grammar School and Master’s House stood in Gold Street, before the new Grammar School and Girls’ High School opened in Bowling Green Road in 1913 - the site now used as Council Offices.
The school later moved again, relocating in 1965 to new premises in Windmill Avenue, on land now occupied by Tresham College. These buildings mark different chapters in the same story: a commitment to education in Kettering that has continued through changing times, changing needs and changing forms of provision.
The Foundation’s own history has also evolved. Its current role was shaped through a series of formal schemes and amendments, beginning with the 1911 Scheme that established Kettering Old Grammar School Foundation and continuing through changes made across the twentieth century.
Following the 1944 Education Act, school buildings and assets came under local authority control, but the ownership of the Foundation’s endowments remained unresolved for many years. That position was eventually settled in the Foundation’s favour in 1955, protecting the resources that had been set aside for educational benefit.
A further amendment in 1988 gave the Foundation full control of its assets and income, allowing it to use those resources directly in accordance with its charitable purpose. Today, that legacy continues not through a single school building, but through the young people, schools and community groups the Foundation supports across Kettering and the surrounding area.
Our Impact
See the difference KOGSF makes across Kettering and the surrounding area. Our Impact Reports bring together the young people, schools, organisations and projects we’ve supported, showing how funding is helping turn potential into opportunity.
