Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is an all ability co-educational academy in

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, which caters for students from age 11 to 18.

History

The school was founded on 17 October 1951 by Lady Elena Bennett of Matfield and Christopher M. Chavasse

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

. Lady Bennett donated the funding for the school in memory of her late husband, Sir Thomas Bennett. The school opened to 400 students and only 18 teachers on 8 January 1953. In 1976 Bennett became a comprehensive school, welcoming students of all abilities from a large part of the

Diocese of Rochester The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signat ...

rather than just Tunbridge Wells. It was shortly after this time that the Bennett sixth form was opened for

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

students. Over the years students have travelled from as far away as Aylesford and Robertsbridge. A huge turning point in the School's life happened in 1993 when Bennett introduced boys into Year 7. In 2003 Bennett Memorial achieved specialist school status as a technology college. In April 2011, Bennett Memorial Diocesan School gained 'Academy' status, bringing with it new freedom and opportunity. In 2012 Bennett achieved an Outstanding judgment from Ofsted. Pupils from the school were chosen to form part of a "guard of honour" for athletes at the opening ceremony of the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, displaying artistic creations their school made to celebrate the event. In 2012, the school unveiled plans for a new sixth form centre. Construction of the 'Sixth Form Study Centre' commenced in March 2013, and opened to staff and students in January 2014. In February 2014 the Education Secretary

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...

officially opened the new sixth form block. The 3G Pitch was built in 2017 so that rugby and football could be played in any weather conditions. In 2020, a Brand-New building, which was named the Rochester building, was opened.

Form system

The school holds a house system used in every year. Each house is named after bishops of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Facilities

The school has various buildings, where some focus on classrooms for particular subjects.

References

External links

Bennett Memorial Diocesan School
- Official School Website
Bennett Sixth Form
- Official Sixth Form Link {{authority control Church of England secondary schools in the Diocese of Rochester Academies in Kent Schools in Royal Tunbridge Wells Educational institutions established in 1951 Secondary schools in Kent 1951 establishments in England