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All Good Schools Guide-reviewed private secondary schools in Kent offer boarding (with the exception of Walthamstow Hall and Radnor House, Sevenoaks). Everything from flexi to full boarding is available. Boarding is popular and ‘flexi’ is actively promoted in some schools - families are recognising the advantages of this arrangement – ‘it’s nice to have the option and is an absolute bonus’, one parent enthused. Weekly boarders mostly come from London and the south east. International students make up approximately a third of full-time boarders.
There are some truly delightful options for prep boarding from weekly provision at The New Beacon (Monday to Thursday) to Saint Ronan’s, the biggest boarding prep in Kent, where more than a third of its pupils sleep over at least one day a week and pupils view it as ‘better than home’. Campfires and hot chocolate with lashings of cream are a big draw. In the homely manor at Dulwich Prep Cranbrook boys and girls are housed on separate floors in small sized dorms. Boarding is also on offer at King’s Rochester Prep although only a few pupils take it up. Further east, Northbourne Park School boarders often happily regard the school as ‘home’, and The Junior King’s School where there’s so much going on pupils return home for a rest, parents say. Boarding at both is in single sex, beautifully appointed boarding houses whereas Wellesley House’s traditional red brick ‘integral to school life’ Boddington House is co-ed with separate wings for boys and girls, sharing communal areas and kitchen. Weekly boarding popular - often to complement families’ lifestyles, pupil’s extra-curricular commitments, and in preparation for full boarding in senior school
There are three all-girls boarding senior schools in the county, with Benenden continuing to provide a fabulous experience in their beautiful grounds, ‘one of the warmest, most reassuring boarding experiences anywhere,’ our reviewer remarked. At Cobham Hall a quarter of the girls board in two boarding houses, sixth formers enjoy their own space in a separate house. Kent College, Pembury has a healthy balance of full and flexi-boarders in newly decorated and family feel accommodation.
Tonbridge School has seven houses for the 450 boys who board. The majority are local or from London and many go home on a Saturday afternoon to be back on a Sunday. The 20 per cent of boarders at Bethany are mostly international but there are also about 20 weekly boarders. Sixth formers have a co-ed house with separate rooms and ensuite.
Register early for boarding at Sevenoaks School where rarely there are spaces beyond the initial intake in year 9. Mostly shared rooms in a variety of styled accommodation under each housemaster’s guidance even to prepare for life beyond school. Sutton Valence is keen to promote part-time boarding in its two newly refurbished houses which pupils describe as ‘chilled’. Perhaps the most traditional boarding experience would be at King’s Rochester, with boarding houses set in a charming assortment of quirky buildings around the cathedral.
The King's School Canterbury has the most varied and interesting boarding houses, they’re dotted around Canterbury both within the cathedral precincts and outside. To engage with the full breadth of offerings and experience here, many more local students opt to board along with children from across the globe and UK (three-quarters of pupils board). St Lawrence College prides its boarding provision on being ‘central to the school’s life’ and has a very distinct and appropriate provision for prep to senior. Younger pupils sometimes have a transition boarding space (St Edmund's School and Dover College) before they become immersed in a house boarding culture. Kent College has six well-appointed boarding houses for 204 boarders (only six prep).
Cranbrook School is a co-ed state school offering boarding from year 9 with relatively modest fees of between £15,000 - £18,000 per year.
Boarding schools near Kent
The most popular migrations are to East Sussex and Surrey - many pupils ‘border hop’ to schools such as Brighton College, Caterham School and Epsom College. West Sussex’s Hurstpierpoint College also draws a small crowd. Schools in Essex such as New Hall School, Felsted School and Brentwood School attract a few thanks to the proximity of the Dartford Crossing. Weekly prep boarding at Vinehall School, over the border in East Sussex, is a good option for some wanting really high calibre facilities and excellent preparation for the top senior schools.
London also holds boarding appeal for families, made all the more attractive by the High Speed trainline into St Pancras. The notable boarding schools in or near London are Harrow School, Westminster School, Eton College.
For specialist provision in sport some might go as far as Millfield School in Somerset or even Sedbergh School in Cumbria, but generally families find that there are appropriate and pleasing options in Kent. Those most likely to go ‘out of county’ do so for familial connections with a school or if their child has been awarded a scholarship or bursary.