Kent College, Pembury
Encyclopedia
Kent College is a girls' independent
boarding and day school in Pembury
, Kent
, England, divided into a preparatory school
for the age range three to eleven, and a senior school for the age range eleven to eighteen. It was established in Bouverie Road, Folkestone
in 1886 by the Wesleyan Methodist
Schools’ Association, but is now an interdenominational Christian school. It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association
.
.
. During the war, the school was hit by a V-1 flying bomb, a German aircraft was shot down inside the school's grounds, and a pilot of a Hawker Hurricane
died when his aircraft crashed inside the school's grounds. In 1945, the preparatory school was established in Tunbridge Wells, and in 1989 it moved to the same location as the senior school.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
boarding and day school in Pembury
Pembury
Pembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of around 6,000. It lies just to the north-east of Tunbridge Wells.The village centre, including the village green and High Street area is a conservation area.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England, divided into a preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
for the age range three to eleven, and a senior school for the age range eleven to eighteen. It was established in Bouverie Road, Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
in 1886 by the Wesleyan Methodist
Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the name used by the major Methodist movement in Great Britain following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements...
Schools’ Association, but is now an interdenominational Christian school. It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association
Girls' Schools Association
The Girls' Schools Association is the professional association of the heads of independent girls' schools in the UK and overseas and is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council .-History:...
.
Location
The school consists of a Victorian manor house and some modern buildings. The grounds are adjacent to Pembury Old Church, and the nearest railway station is High BroomsHigh Brooms railway station
High Brooms railway station is on the Hastings Line and serves High Brooms, a suburb on the northern side of Tunbridge Wells in Kent. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...
.
History
In 1886, the school was established in Bouverie Road, Folkestone with twelve 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 because of the danger to girls being too near the coast during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During the war, the school was hit by a V-1 flying bomb, a German aircraft was shot down inside the school's grounds, and a pilot of a Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
died when his aircraft crashed inside the school's grounds. In 1945, the preparatory school was established in Tunbridge Wells, and in 1989 it moved to the same location as the senior school.
School heads
- Edith Margaret James
- 1983-1989 John C.A. Barrett
- 1990-2002 Barbara Crompton
- 2002-2007 Anne E. Upton
- 2008-present Sally-Anne Huang
Notable former pupils
- Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Further reading
- The Kent College Saga by Margaret James, published by the Governors of Kent College, 1986, ASIN B00169BIPU