Kettering Old Grammar School Foundation was formally established on 4 May 1911, when a new Scheme (under the Endowed School Acts 1869, 1873 and 1874) for the administration of the school and its property was adopted. This replaced an earlier scheme that had been approved by Queen Victoria in Council in 1888, which had created a governing body known as Kettering Grammar School Foundation. The 1911 Scheme was subsequently amended in 1955, 1971, 1976, 1988, before reaching its current format on 2 July 1996.

With the 1944 Education Act, schools came under direct control of the County Council, and the school buildings and any assets automatically became the property of the Local Authority. However, the question of who owned the endowments of Kettering Old Grammar School Foundation remained unresolved for many years.

After a long battle, the issue was eventually settled in the Foundation’s favour in 1955. A further amendment to the Scheme in 1988 gave the Foundation complete control of all its assets, enabling the Governors (and now the Directors) to receive and disperse the Charity’s entire income in accordance with the Scheme.