Age range. 0–11 Co-educational.
Number of pupils. Juniors (Day and Boarding): 200.
Fees per term (2024-2025). Juniors: Full boarders per term (Year 6) £8,480; Day Pupils (including lunch): Year 6 £6,611, Year 5 £6,538, Year 4 £6,239, Year 3 £5,735, Year 2 £4,576, Year 1 £4,548, Reception £4,202, Pre-Reception £4,413 (full days, full week). Nursery: (0–3 years) £71.00 a day.
Kent College is a very happy and successful school for boys and girls aged 0–18, which is situated in the south-east of England on the outskirts of the beautiful and historic city of Canterbury. Canterbury is less than one hour from the centre of London by train and very close to all of the London airports.
The Garden Cottage Nursery (0–3 years) and Prep School (3–11 years) are based in an idyllic 14-acre site, just one mile from the centre of Canterbury. This day and boarding school offers a British education with an innovative approach to learning, full of opportunities for children to grow and develop their skills and talents.
The school has a thriving Music Department. The Choristers regularly perform at national level and have frequent success in competitions such as the BBC’s Songs of Praise ‘Junior Choir of the Year’, and the prestigious Barnardo’s National Choral Competition. There is a wide range of sports on offer, from hockey to football, and the school hosts regular athletic and cross-country events, as well as taking students on sports tours during the year. Art and drama are also well catered for with the installation of a new Art department in the main school house (which was previously owned by Sidney Cooper, the Victorian landscape artist) and with the development of an outdoor theatre, The Dell, in the grounds. Children thrive in this progressive environment where the emphasis is on finding the right pace of education for each individual child.
There is a strong belief in making the timetable appropriate for each individual child. All children in the junior school take part in the Gifted, Really Enthusiastic, Able and Talented Programme, which enables the children to increase their performance even further in their chosen area. These lessons are given curriculum time and are delivered by specialist teachers who develop individual programmes for each pupil based on their needs and interests.
The areas of choice are geared towards maximising each child’s chances of winning a scholarship to senior school and gaining entry to the school of their choice.
Boarding. Kent College has a long history of welcoming boarding pupils from abroad, as well as from British families resident in the UK or working overseas. We take boarders from the age of 10 upwards, and they are based within our friendly Senior School Boarding Houses. Boarders can participate in evening and weekend activities as well as joining up to 30 excursions over the school year on a Sunday from go-karting, going to the theatre or paintballing. We have a popular range of innovative one term or one year residential courses available to boarders to develop talent and excellence in English language, music or sport.
Beyond the classroom. Our full range of 50 after-school clubs offer a variety of interesting, challenging and fun activities for the children to enjoy while expanding their skills and knowledge.
There are clubs each evening from 4.10 pm–5.00 pm and 5.10 pm–6.00 pm which enable the children to be purposefully occupied until their parents can collect them. Many children choose to stay until six every evening, such is the range and variety.
For busy parents early care is also available in the mornings before school starts.
School farm and horse riding. The school is lucky to have a working farm where students can join the Farm Club and learn to care for and show animals at the Kent Show. Horse riding lessons are also available in the school’s riding arena and the NESA team successfully competes in events all over the country.
Charitable status. Kent College, Canterbury is part of the Methodist Independent Schools Trust, which is a Registered Charity, number 1142794. The School was founded to provide education within a supportive Christian environment.