What is The King's School, Canterbury like?

It is fair to say The King’s School, Canterbury has a history and setting that cannot fail to inspire. It has claims to be the oldest school in England, founded almost 1500 years ago. On one side students can walk into the busy and bustling town centre, and the other side is dominated by the World Heritage Site of Canterbury Cathedral.

Junior King's was founded in 1879 as the prep school for The King’s School, Canterbury and spent its first 50 years in the precincts of the cathedral. Boys were known as ‘parrots’ because of the noise they made and houses are still named after parrots. Moved to current site in 1929 when Lady Milner gave Sturry Court, an Elizabethan manor house, together with the Tithe Barn, in memory of her husband. It was opened by their friend Rudyard Kipling. Two miles from the centre of Canterbury, it is set in 80 acres of grounds and playing fields with the River Stour running through the middle. 

This is an aspiring school academically, but ‘not at the cost of creative pursuits or with the work, work, work mentality of London preps,’ as one parent put it (one of several we spoke to who’d made the move from London precisely to get this kind of academic rigour without the hothouse feel). Parents told us the head is promoting a culture of less pressure than previously, although they feel it has become more selective in recent years.

The  senior school itself lies within this World Heritage site and the picturesque setting can’t help but impress. Even the staunchest bibliophobe Equally impressive is the school’s academic results, with it’s A-level results featuring within the top 20 of our co-ed boarding schools table pretty much every year.

Despite being very much an academic school, The King’s School follows the ethos of developing “the whole child”, with success celebrated across academics, sports and the arts, and extra-curricular involvement given an equal weighting to academic

As a Cathedral School, The King’s School Canterbury naturally has a strong Christian ethos in terms of morals and values, though of course welcomes all faiths and none. The important thing is that students are keen to become part of a history and community much bigger than themselves. Humility and consideration for others go a long way in what, for some, could be an overwhelming environment to walk into.

Confidence in one’s abilities is essential, as is the willingness to push oneself out of one’s comfort zone. Students must be resilient and outgoing, and be prepared to contribute to a diverse and busy school community.

Needless to say, The King’s School Canterbury is academically selective, and competition for places is high. Applicants will need to show a certain spark, and be the right fit, to be successful.