The City of London School (CLS) is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls (a girls' school within the City) and of the co-educational City of London Freemen's School (a day and boarding school in Surrey). It is also a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC).
The School was founded by a private Act of Parliament in 1834, following events starting from a bequest of land by John Carpenter, Town Clerk of London in 1442, for four poor children in the City of London. The original school was established at Milk Street, with the school moving to the Victoria Embankment in 1879, and then to its present site on Queen Victoria Street in 1986. Today, the school provides day education to about 900 boys aged 10 to 18 and employs approximately 100 teaching staff and around another 100 non-teaching staff including contractors. The majority of its pupils enter at age 11 into the first form, with somewhat fewer at age 13 into the third form and some at age 16 into the Sixth form. There is a small intake at age 10 into Old Grammar, a year group consisting of only one class equivalent to primary school Year 6. Admissions are based on an entrance examination and an interview. Alumni, or "Old Citizens" of note include Liberal Prime Minister (1908-1916) H. H. Asquith, writer Kingsley Amis, lawyer Victor Mishcon, Baron Mishcon and physicist Peter Higgs.