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Best private schools in Sevenoaks
Best private schools in The Weald
Best private schools in Tunbridge Wells & Tonbridge
Best private schools in Rochester
Best private schools in Maidstone
Of course, many private schools are in direct competition with the excellent grammar schools which some claim is a good thing; heads agree and say it ‘keeps them on their toes’ and avoids ‘complacency’.
Sevenoaks has some excellent prep schools achieving super results and feeding the local grammars, private secondaries and schools further afield. Holmewood House, Sevenoaks Preparatory School (not attached to Sevenoaks School) and St Michael’s Prep are well-established and highly regarded with successful results and track records for transition to excellent secondary schools. The New Beacon is the only single-sex prep for boys in this area and is steeped in tradition, it has a reputation for high academic performance and parents say the ethos is ‘work hard, play hard’. On the edge of Sevenoaks, the all-girls Walthamstow Junior provides a happy environment for mixed ability pupils. Radnor House Prep Sevenoaks has expanded over the past few years and offers a good alternative to the more academically selective preps.
Set in its 100-acre grounds with historic Knole House as its neighbour, Sevenoaks School achieves fantastic results without dampening natural curiosity and independent thinking. No A levels in the sixth form, it’s IB only and the school regularly tops the IB league with impressive numbers of pupils achieving the full 45 points. Most leavers head for top-tier universities in the UK, Europe and, increasingly, the USA. One of the oldest all-girls schools in the country is Walthamstow Hall, with a charming blend of high expectations without too much pressure and doing a rather good job of producing a handful of medics each year. Radnor House Sevenoaks is the up and coming relatively new kid on the leafy block, gaining traction with good results and a reputation for a community feel.
Best primary schools in Sevenoaks
Best state secondary schools in Sevenoaks
Dulwich Cranbrook set in the most beautiful grounds, produces an impressive set of scholarship pupils to excellent schools. Recently added a senior school with the option to stay till the end of GCSEs. Then Marlborough House School with its growing reputation for offering scholarship packages in year 7, nails super results and well-rounded pupils. Saint Ronan's School, described by our reviewer as ‘Enid Blyton-esque with strong results and enviable childhood memories’, has most pupils staying until year 8 and the weekly and flexi-boarding options draw pupils from further afield.
Strangely girl-power heavy! All-girls full boarding (slowly introducing day pupils, up to 50 from 2022), Benenden School is highly sought after and admission is competitive. Great for academically able all-rounders. In contrast, Bethany School is a small rural school with a specialist learning support department. It’s a popular choice for pupils ‘who might get lost in the hurly burly of a bigger school’ our reviewer notes. Nearly half leave post-GCSEs to grammar schools or other destinations, but a notable number of those who stay on gain places at well-known art and drama schools.
Best primary schools in The Weald
Best state secondary schools in The Weald
In beautiful grounds just outside Tunbridge Wells in Pembury is Kent College Preparatory School, a delightful community-feel school currently moving from girls only to co-ed (by 2027); particularly hot on gymnastics and pastoral care. The Grade 1 listed Jacobean Somerhill House is the home of The Schools at Somerhill, a highly regarded school in Tonbridge with a ‘diamond’ structure that offers the best of single sex and co-ed (pupils taught separately but come together for lunch and some activities).
The home of two single-sex schools. Kent College, Pembury girls’ school (and we’re assured planning to remain this way despite the prep’s transition to co-ed) provides an excellent all-rounded education within a Methodist framework drama, music and personalised timetables are all a big draw. With its well-established tradition of sporting excellence and facilities (training venue for 2012 Olympics), Tonbridge School gets excellent results and works hard to to attract academically able, grounded and well-balanced boys from all backgrounds via its outreach work and bursary funding. Double digits to Oxbridge most years, ‘World class university destinations matter to us,’ says the head.
Best primary schools in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge
Best state secondary schools in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge
Best nurseries in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge
Along the cobbled streets by the cathedral is King’s Rochester Prep where music is a particular strength (it’s the cathedral school) and a diverse intake mainly feeds into the senior school. An alternative is Gad’s Hill which is more affordable and viewed as a tight-knit community and while this is an all-through school the senior part only goes up to GCSEs.
King’s School Rochester described as an ‘antidote to the plethora of grammar schools’ by our reviewer, attracts a diverse mix of international and local pupils and strikes a charming balance between tradition and forward thinking. Perhaps the best ‘marmite option’ (as one parent put it) in West Kent is Rochester Independent College, with no uniform and pupils on first name terms with teachers it’s a school that works well for those previously ‘turned off’ by the usual model of education who find their strengths here, especially in the arts. The small family feel of Cobham Hall in Gravesend with its ‘Round Square’ education philosophy (famously developed at Gordonstoun School in Scotland) is popular with those looking for an all-girls (co-ed in sixth form) nurturing environment in a beautiful setting with an interesting history.
Best primary schools in Rochester
Best state secondary schools in Rochester
Sutton Valence Prep provides an all-rounded down-to-earth education in beautiful surroundings with sport and art at the fore. Particular strength in SEN support and developing its forest school and outside provision. Really achieves the tricky balance between tradition and progression. The majority feed into the senior school.
Sutton Valence Senior, a day and boarding school with inspiring views across the Weald of Kent, offers an excellent sports programme in partnership with Saracens – producing some rugby players to be reckoned with. And the cricket’s pretty good too. But it’s not all about sport, the school is developing a reputation for being at the fore of wellbeing and is proud of the progress it makes with its mixed ability pupils.
Best primary schools in Maidstone
Best state secondary schools in Maidstone
For pupils mainly with EHCPs for autism to ADHD and anxiety, Birtley House Sevenoaks offers education for 5-11 year olds. With the motto, ‘Achievements where never thought possible’, The Quest in Paddock Wood is a specialist school for autism across the spectrum.
West Heath School in Sevenoaks is a residential school providing support for mild to moderate social, emotional and mental health issues.
All private schools have a level of support in place for mild and moderate SEN. Some are gaining good reputations for early screening and being proactive in their support – most notably Kent College, Pembury and Sutton Valence Prep, where there is the ability to support more pupils with EHCPs especially for autism.
Need help? Perhaps you suspect your child has some learning difficulty and you would like advice on what you should do. Or perhaps it is becoming clear that your child's current school is not working for him or her, and you need help to find a mainstream school which has better SEN provision, or to find a special school which will best cater for your child's area of need. Our SEN consultancy team advises on both special schools, and the mainstream schools with good SEN support, from reception through to the specialist colleges for 19+. Special Educational Needs Index
Find top international, British, IB and American schools in over 40 countries. The Good Schools Guide International publishes impartial and forthright reviews of international schools across the world.
We examined the value-added from KS2 to GCSE for 2022 to see which state selective grammar schools added the most value to their offspring. A note of caution - the more highly selective a grammar school, the less scope there will be to add value.
Grammar schools are state-funded, academically selective senior schools. The education a child receives at grammar school is paid for by the state unlike at private schools which provide education for a fee. There are currently around 163 located in 36 English local authorities, with around 167,000 pupils between them. Northern Ireland has a further 67 grammar schools, but there are none in Wales or Scotland. A word of caution: there are private schools that have the word 'grammar' in their name but this is purely for historical reasons.
At specialist music, dance or performing arts schools, the arts aren't optional extras. They’re intrinsic to the school curriculum. Students are expected to fit in high level training and hours of practice alongside a full academic provision. It's a lot to ask any child to take on, but for those with exceptional performing ability this kind of education can be transformative.