of the Church of England but the students did not, though attendance at chapel was compulsory.
King's was divided into a senior department and a junior department, also known as King's College School, which was originally situated in the basement of the Strand Campus. The junior department started with 85 pupils and only three teachers, but quickly grew to 500 by 1841, outgrowing its facilities and leading it to relocate to Wimbledon in 1897 where it remains, though it is no longer associated with King's College London. Within the senior department teaching was divided into three courses: a general course comprised divinity, classical languages, mathematics, English literature and history; a medical course; and miscellaneous subjects, such as law, political economy and modern languages, which were not related to any systematic course of study at the time and depended for their continuance on the supply of occasional students. In 1833 the general course was reorganised leading to the award of the Associate of King's College (AKC), the first qualification issued by King's. The course, which concerns questions of ethics and theology, is still awarded to students and staff who take an optional three-year course alongside their studies.
The river frontage was completed in April 1835 at a cost of £7,100, fulfilling a key stipulation required by King's College London securing the site from the Crown. Unlike those in the school, student numbers in the Senior department remained almost stationary during King's first five years of existence. During this time the medical school was blighted by inefficiency and the divided loyalties of the staff leading to a steady decline in attendance. One of the most important appointments was that of Charles Wheatstone as professor of Experimental Philosophy.
At the time, neither King's, "London University", nor the medical schools at the London hospitals had the authority to confer degrees. In 1835 the government announced that it would establish an examining board to grant degrees, with …
