Gad's Hill School in Higham,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, is an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for day pupils, founded in 1924. It is set in the former

Gads Hill Place 'Gad's Hill Place'' in Higham, Kent, sometimes spelt Gadshill Place and Gads Hill Place, was the country home of Charles Dickens. Today the building is the independent Gad's Hill School. The house was built in 1780 for a former Mayor of Ro ...

, the country home of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

School history

Charles Dickens died in what is now the school conservatory, but was formerly the school refectory.

Cedric Charles Dickens Cedric David Charles Dickens (24 September 1916 – 11 February 2006) was an English author and businessman, a great-grandson of Charles Dickens and the steward of his literary legacy. He was a lifelong supporter of the Charles Dickens Museum in ...

, the author's great-grandson, was a governor of the school until his death in 2006. Marion Dickens, the author's great-great-granddaughter, is a former pupil of the school and, as of 2019, is a Director of the school company. As of 2013, the school was moving into purpose-built buildings in the grounds of the house.

Inspection judgements

As of 2018, the school's most recent inspection by the

Independent Schools Inspectorate The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect private schools in England. These schools are members of associations, whi ...

was in 2017. The school was judged to meet all the regulatory compliance standards and educational quality was judged as good.

Academic performance

In 2017, the school's Attainment 8 score at

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

was 45, compared to 46 for the local authority as a whole and 45 for England.

References

External links

School website
{{authority control 1924 establishments in England Grade I listed buildings in Kent Private schools in Kent Charles Dickens Educational institutions established in 1924