Kent College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

girls'

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and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for pupils aged 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 (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly 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 ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During the war, the school was hit by a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

, 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; born 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 Cambrid ...

, former Editor of ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 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 Tele ...

'' newspaper, current editor of the Today Programme *

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones; 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest sibling of King Charles III. Sophie grew up in Brenchley, ...

Suki Brownsdon Susannah Claire "Suki" Brownsdon (born 16 October 1965) is an English former competitive swimmer who won a silver medal in the women's 100-metre breaststroke at the 1981 European Championships, and represented Great Britain at four consecutive O ...

, swimmer *

Catie Munnings Catherine Elizabeth Munnings (born 15 November 1997) is a British Rallying, rally driver. The daughter of former rally driver Chris Munnings, she currently competes in the electric off-road racing series, Extreme E, for Andretti Autosport, Andre ...

, British Rally Driver

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' Scho ...

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 Private schools in Kent Methodist schools in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Boarding schools in Kent 1886 establishments in England *