Founded in 1803 by act of Royal Warrant dating from 1801, the school was until 1892 called the Royal Military Asylum.
The school’s primary purpose was to educate the orphans of British servicemen killed in the Napoleonic Wars of 1793-1815.
Between 1803 and 1909 the Royal Military Asylum was located at what is now known as the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, London.
The school was co-educational; making the Duke of York's the second co-educational boarding school in the United Kingdom.
The first co-educational institution was the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin, which was relocated and merged with Duke of York's after Ireland declared independence.
Today the Chelsea site is home to the Saatchi Gallery.

The school adopted the "Madras system of education" developed by Dr. Andrew Bell, to which Joseph Lancaster made certain improvements.
In 1812, three African youths attended the school as teachers for several months thanks to the intervention of the Duke of Gloucester.
They were then sent by the African Institution to Sierra Leone, where they were employed as teachers by the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, the Earl of Liverpool.

Between 1816 and 1840, the Asylum had a branch in Southampton which provided schooling for up to 400 military orphans and children of serving soldiers of both sexes until 1823, when the boys were transferred to Chelsea, with Southampton taking more girls.
A decline in the school numbers resulted in its closure in 1840.
From 1841, the buildings were taken over by the Ordnance Survey.

One of the more notable Commandants of the Royal Military Asylum was Major General Peter Brown.
A veteran of the Napoleonic Wars Brown was unusual in that he was promoted whilst in post (from colonel to major general), which was highly unusual given the post was not an active command and his predecessors and successors were never promoted in post.

Many of the school's pupils carried acts of gallantry in the wars that the British Army was involved in.
One such individual was John Shaul who was awarded the Victoria Cross for extraordinary bravery in the Boer War.

In 1892, the Royal Military Asylum was renamed The Duke of York's Royal Military School and in the process became an all-boys school.
In 1909, the school relocated to new premises constructed on the cliffs above Dover in Kent.
For the duration of World War I (1914–1918), the school was evacuated to Hutton, near Brentwood, Essex.
The reason for the evacuation was to provide the military authorities with a transit point in Dover for troops moved to and from the Western Front.
In 1940 the school was evacuated to the Saunton Sands Hotel, Braunton, North Devon, returning to Dover in 1946.

In 1994, the school re-admitted girls and returned to co-education.
Founded in 1803 by act of Royal Warrant dating from 1801, the school was until 1892 called the Royal Military Asylum. The school’s primary purpose was to educate the orphans of British servicemen killed in the Napoleonic Wars of 1793-1815. Between 1803 and 1909 the Royal Military Asylum was located at what is now known as the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, London. The school was co-educational; making the Duke of York's the second co-educational boarding school in the United Kingdom. The first co-educational institution was the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin, which was relocated and merged with Duke of York's after Ireland declared independence. Today the Chelsea site is home to the Saatchi Gallery.
The school adopted the "Madras system of education" developed by Dr. Andrew Bell, to which Joseph Lancaster made certain improvements. In 1812, three African youths attended the school as teachers for several months thanks to the intervention of the Duke of Gloucester. They were then sent by the African Institution to Sierra Leone, where they were employed as teachers by the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, the Earl of Liverpool.
Between 1816 and 1840, the Asylum had a branch in Southampton which provided schooling for up to 400 military orphans and children of serving soldiers of both sexes until 1823, when the boys were transferred to Chelsea, with Southampton taking more girls. A decline in the school numbers resulted in its closure in 1840. From 1841, the buildings were taken over by the Ordnance Survey.
One of the more notable Commandants of the Royal Military Asylum was Major General Peter Brown. A veteran of the Napoleonic Wars Brown was unusual in that he was promoted whilst in post (from colonel to major general), which was highly unusual given the post was not an active command and his predecessors and successors were never promoted in post.
Many of the school's pupils carried acts of gallantry in the wars that the British Army was involved in. One such individual was John Shaul who was awarded the Victoria Cross for extraordinary bravery in the Boer War.
In 1892, the Royal Military Asylum was renamed The Duke of York's Royal Military School and in the process became an all-boys school. In 1909, the school relocated to new premises constructed on the cliffs above Dover in Kent. For the duration of World War I (1914–1918), the school was evacuated to Hutton, near Brentwood, Essex. The reason for the evacuation was to provide the military authorities with a transit point in Dover for troops moved to and from the Western Front. In 1940 the school was evacuated to the Saunton Sands Hotel, Braunton, North Devon, returning to Dover in 1946.
In 1994, the school re-admitted girls and returned to co-education.
Duke of York's Royal Military School