Kent College is an independent day and boarding school from 3-18. Forest Explorers Nursery is for girls and boys from rising 3 years, boys can join Reception Class and Year 1, and from September 2023 Year 2 as the Prep School becomes a co-ed school. The Senior School and Sixth Form are girls only from 11-18.

Location

Set in a 75-acre rural parkland estate in Pembury just outside Tunbridge Wells, the school consists of a Victorian manor house and with facilities including The Countess of Wessex Theatre, science centre, two indoor sports halls, music centre, astro, library and art centre, forest school, dance studio and two boarding houses. The grounds are adjacent to Pembury Old Church, and the nearest railway stations are in Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

History

In 1886, the school was established in Bouverie Road, Folkestone with twelve female pupils. John Stainer was one of the founders. The original site of the school is now occupied by apartments, which are named after heads of the school. In 1939, the school moved to its current location in

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 Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

because of the danger to girls being too near the coast during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the war, the school was hit by a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

, a German aircraft was shot down inside the school's grounds, and a pilot of a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

died when his aircraft crashed inside the school's grounds. In 1945, the Prep School was established in Tunbridge Wells, and in 1989 it moved to the same location as the Senior School.

Prep School

The Prep School is located on the same site as the main school and is housed in its own buildings and shares many of the facilities at the Senior School. Full, weekly and flexi boarding are available to Prep School pupils aged 10 and above.

School heads

* Edith Margaret James *1983–1989 John C.A. Barrett *1990–2002 Barbara Crompton *2002–2007 Anne E. Upton *2008–2015 Sally-Anne Huang *2016–2021 Julie Lodrick *2022–present Katrina Handford

Notable former pupils

Sarah Sands Sarah Sands (''née'' Harvey; 3 May 1961) is a British journalist and author. A former editor of the ''London Evening Standard'', she was editor of ''Today'' on BBC Radio 4 from 2017 to 2020. Early life and education Sands was born in Cambridge ...

, former Editor of ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

'' newspaper, current editor of the Today Programme *

Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III. She grew u ...

* Suki Brownsdon, swimmer

References

External links

School Website

Profile
at

MyDaughter MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Schoo ...

Kent College, Pembury, Kent
at ISBI
Kent College Preparatory School, Pembury, Kent
at ISBI * ISI Inspection Reports �
Prep School

Senior School
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1886 Girls' schools in Kent Independent schools in Kent Methodist schools in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Boarding schools in Kent 1886 establishments in England *