The King’s School Canterbury

Facilities

The Cathedral and The King’s School Canterbury enjoy an unparalleled closeness in worship and governance. Weekly Sunday worship and many of the great School occasions take place in the Cathedral. The School has two ordained chaplains who are responsible for the School’s services of worship in the Cathedral and elsewhere, and they also exercise a pastoral role in being available to staff and pupils, of all religions or none, as friend and counsellor. The chaplains are fully involved in the life of the school.

The Edred Wright Music School’s facilities include The Peter Stone recital room, practice rooms, music technology classrooms, percussion and recording studios, a library and a choral room. There are five choirs, two orchestras, many chamber groups, a wind band, big band and a selection of rock and jazz groups. Overseas tours are a regular event. In 2006 the Crypt Choir went to New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong; in 2008 and 2011 they visited the United States; and in 2013 they toured China and Hong Kong. In 2017 the Crypt Choir and Chamber Orchestra travelled to Rome.

Art and Design facilities include a ceramics studio and kiln room, and a photography studio with digital suite, full film processing and dark room facilities. Drama takes place in the fantastic new Malthouse, a recent development at the School, which houses a 334-seat theatre with orchestra pit, state-of-the-art dressing rooms, drama and dance studios and backstage technical spaces.

The well-stocked Library is open seven days and six evenings per week. ICT facilities are available for all and the whole school is extensively networked. A system of Learning Support is available to assist those with dyslexia or other learning difficulties.

Sporting facilities include a 25m swimming pool, fitness suite, large sports hall, cricket lanes, four squash courts and a dance/spinning studio. In addition to the normal Games programme, activities taught include gymnastics, badminton, basketball, squash, volleyball, swimming, water polo, spinning and pilates. As well as its own grounds, the School makes use of several excellent sports facilities in and around Canterbury for rowing and sailing, cricket, lawn tennis, hockey and golf. Many of our pupils go on to represent their county, their region and even their country.

In our extensive Activities programme, pupils can be involved in something scientific, cultural, adventurous or creative: from Photography to Young Enterprise, Ceramics to Cryptic Crosswords, and Debating to Mountain Biking. The Combined Cadet Force and the Duke of Edinburgh Award are also available. The flourishing ‘After Hours’ programme incorporates societies, talks and activities, either linked to a particular academic department or specialist groups such as the Linacre Society (Medicine) and the Thurlow Society (Law).

All pupils are members of a house. There are 13 boarding Houses and three day Houses. The buildings range from Meister Omers (13th century) to Harvey House (opened in 1999), the New Grange (opened in 2007) and Kingsdown House (opened in 2015).

A new pupil Social Centre opened in January 2018 and a new Day House was completed in March 2018 at the former motor works site where two Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cars were built, just outside the main part of the School. A new state-of-the-art science centre is to be opened in 2022 .

The School has opened The King’s School, Canterbury, International College which educates up to 80 international pupils, aged 12-16, for whom English isn’t their first language. The College prepares them for further education at either The King’s School Canterbury or another appropriate senior school. The College is a purpose-built building at the new Malthouse site.

An international school in China was opened in 2019.

Scholarships

King’s Scholarships were established in 1541 by Henry VIII under the Statutes of Canterbury Cathedral. The most recent Royal Charter, granted in 1992, formally approved the admission of girls as Scholars.

King’s Scholars are members of the Canterbury Cathedral Foundation.

There are seven main classes of entrance awards to the School:
1. Academic Scholarships (King’s Scholars) and Exhibitions
2. Music Scholarships and Awards
3. Art Scholarships and Exhibitions
4. Sports Scholarships and Awards
5. Design & Technology Scholarships
6. Drama Scholarships
7. Dance Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded in Year 9 and Year 12.

Year 9 Scholarships are awarded in all seven of the above categories. Year 12 Scholarships are awarded in the first four of the above categories.

It is possible for a boy or girl to hold awards of more than one kind, and in cases of proven financial need and evident merit, additional bursary assistance may be available. Virtually all Scholarships and Awards are now “inflation-proofed” by being expressed as a fraction of the annual fees.

Honorary King’s Scholarships are awarded for excellent GCSE and AS results.

Entrance Requirements

13+: Common Entrance Examination or King’s own entrance examinations, in Mathematics, English and Science, plus an online aptitude test.

14+: King’s own entrance examinations, in Mathematics, English and Science, plus an online aptitude test.

Sixth Form: Examination and interview. Entrants will also need to be predicted a minimum of 7 B grades at I/GCSE (or equivalent).

Individual character and circumstance, together with the ability to contribute widely to the extensive range of co-curricular activities, are also taken into consideration.

Examinations are normally taken at King’s, however, arrangements can be made for applicants living abroad to sit the examinations in their country of residence.

Fees

2023/24

Boarding: £14,830 per term.

Day (Sixth Form): £10,300 per term.

Day (Remove & Fifth): £9,780 per term.

Day (Shell): £9,275 per term.

Affiliations/Memberships

BSA, ISC

Downloadable Resources

• ISI Inspections
• Online prospectus