Ages 
A first-class experience for your first-class daughter, and that’s not to say she has to be a whizz at maths or compose perfect sonnets. To fit in here it helps if her glass is half full, her attitude joyous and she is not complacent. A beautiful school, with a big heart. Who could ask for anything more?
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 550 ·
- Sixth form numbers
- 200 ·
- Offers boarding
- Yes ·
- Religion
- None
- Fees
- Day Boarding £42,495; Boarding £59,214 pa
- Local authority
- Kent County Council
- Area guides
- Linked schools
Headteacher
Headmistress
Ms Rachel Bailey
Since 2024, Rachel Bailey BSc. A vocational teacher (a rare vintage these days), Ms Bailey entered the profession after completing a PGCE straight after a degree in economics at York University. Previously head of the senior school at Royal Masonic
Entrance
Main entry points are at 11+ into year 7, 12+ into year 8 and 13+ into year 9 when there are a further 50 places (3 applicants for each place at 11+ and 13+). It’s also worth enquiring about 14+ entry into year 10 and sixth form interest is at a
- Open days
- See website for details
Exit
Huge breadth of both destinations and courses. Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter and UCL most popular university choices in the last three years. Six medics and one to study veterinary science in 2025 and four to Oxbridge. Stunning range of courses
Latest results
In 2025, 78 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 68 per cent A*/A at A level (88 per cent A*-B).
A level - Average points score (2024)
What is this?
These figures tell you the average grade and average points that pupils achieved in their academic qualifications. A maximum of 60 points are available for a grade A* at A level.
Teaching & learning
That Benenden is ‘the home of a complete education’ is hard to forget. The strapline is emblazoned on posters, banners and plasma screens throughout the school as well as on school buses, social media and their website. Nor is it just hype.
- Qualifications taken in 2024
- A level
- EPQ
- GCSE
Learning support & SEN
Well-resourced SEND department consisting of SENCo, assistant SENCo, a full-time support assistant and EAL specialist as well as visiting teachers supporting with maths and extension work. A wide range of needs are supported and in line with
Arts & extracurricular
Some of the most stunning facilities we’ve seen, the centrepiece of which is the magnificent Centenary Hall and buildings completed in 2022. Designed to be like a musical instrument with its timber diagrid roof and grooved beech surfaces for
Sport
‘Sport was one of the reasons I chose the school for my sports mad daughter,’ one mother told us. Like most Benenden parents she had done her research and was relieved to find a boarding school where more than just a nod was given to sport rather
Boarders
Parents’ accounts of their daughter’s boarding experience were not consistent. Lower and upper school houses seem a world apart and it can be hard to choose the right house for the middle years when it really matters.
Those girls lucky enough to
Ethos & heritage
Situated in 250 acres of magnificently tailored lawns and open parkland, the school was founded in 1923 by three former mistresses of Wycombe Abbey (there have only been six heads, all women, since). Their intention was, ‘To create a happy school
Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
Gold stars all round for the nurturing care and support, ‘The matrons are there for your daughter in the middle of the night while she is throwing up,’ said one mother, and the medical centre, staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is ‘amazing,
Mobile phone policy
A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.
Mobile phone policy
Provided by the school and not part of our review When pupils join Benenden in year 7 they have their phones for just one hour a day in house in the evenings. As they progress through the school they are gradually allowed more time with their phones, until, in the sixth form, they have developed the healthy digital habits necessary to be trusted keeping their phones on them all throughout the day. By then, students know not to have their devices out around school or in lessons.
Pupils & parents
Healthy mix of international and British pupils (‘Although we could fill the school with people from Hong Kong, we choose not to,’ confirmed head, adding that she 'doesn’t see a problem with more international pupils in the sixth form’). ‘Not too gin
Money matters
Boarding fees in line with some of the highest in the country at around £60,000 a year. Day fees £42,500 (VAT included, no extras). No doubt the school delivers value for money but with so many hardworking professionals squeezed out of this price
- Fee information
- Day Boarding £42,495; Boarding £59,214 pa
The last word
A first-class experience for your first-class daughter, and that’s not to say she has to be a whizz at maths or compose perfect sonnets. To fit in here it helps if her glass is half full, her attitude joyous and she is not complacent. A beautiful
