until 1823, whereupon the boys were transferred to Chelsea with the girls going to Southampton. A decline in the school numbers resulted in its closure in 1840. Starting in 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 while he was in the 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 out acts of gallantry in the wars that the British Army was involved. One such individual was John Shaul. Shaul 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 ultimately became an all-boys school. In 1909, the school relocated to a new location 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. This provided 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, while finally returning to Dover in 1946. In 1994, the school re-admitted girls and returned to co-education. The school's first civilian students were accepted in 2010 after the school was granted academy status. Academic ratings Between 2007-2009 more than 90% of the pupils gained 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C (including English and Mathematics). More than 13% of grades were A*/A during the same period. During this period (2007–2009) 19% of grades gained were A/B at AS level and 12% of grades were A/B at A2 level. A total of 32% of grades gained were passes at A2 level. Exchanges with NATO member military schools The Duke of York's run student exchange programmes with military schools within NATO. Of these the most notable is the programme run with the school's French equivalent, the Lycée Militaire, in Aix-en-Provence. There are also placements for recent school leavers from respective military schools to assume assistant teaching posts at corresponding schools. The Duke of York's also has connections with Missouri Military Academy, Valley Forge