The King's School Canterbury
The King's School Canterbury
Canterbury
King’s School Canterbury is, in many ways, the classic traditional British boarding school. Founded in 597, pupils live on a beautiful campus right next to Canterbury Cathedral. The boarding school has a reputation for being academically very demanding, yet it is by no means an elite training ground. Sport is an important part of daily life here, with rugby, hockey and cricket being particular strengths. Additionally, King’s School Canterbury is especially known for its outstanding creative offerings in art, theatre and music.
The Details
The Academics
King’s School Canterbury offers GCSEs, IGCSEs and A Levels and is academically quite selective. Nevertheless, pupils consistently achieve very good exam results – in 2024, 56 percent of A Level grades were A’s and 72 percent of GCSE grades were between 9 and 7.
There are 32 A Level subjects to choose from, including more unusual options like astronomy, geology and psychology. The most popular subjects are economics, biology, chemistry, art and mathematics.
Languages Taught
German, French, Ancient Greek, Latin, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Japanese and Italian.
The Boarding
More than three quarters of the pupils are full boarders, living on campus seven days a week. There are six boys’ houses and seven girls’ houses. Architecturally, the houses could not be more varied, ranging from Master Omer’s boys’ house dating back to the 13th century to the 21st century Kingsdown girls’ house. Eclectic and very cosy. Most pupils share rooms with one or two others. In Year 13, single rooms are common.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
King’s School Canterbury is in a class of its own musically – with the elite Crypt Choir, which has even been invited to perform at the Vatican, an excellent symphony orchestra, and numerous jazz and rock bands. Almost half the pupils play at least one instrument.
The sports programme is equally impressive. Alongside classics such as rugby, rowing and cricket, the school excels in niche sports like fencing, shooting, squash, lacrosse and sailing. The focus is more on health, fitness and fun than on excessive pressure to perform.
This is complemented by a huge range of clubs. Some are wonderfully eccentric, like cryptic crosswords or Sanskrit, but you’ll also find clubs like Young Enterprise, ceramics, CCF, Duke of Edinburgh, the Linacre Society for pupils interested in medicine, debating, coding, mountain biking and photography.
Weaknesses
Nothing strikes us as a downside at the moment. The school lives up to its promises.
Location
King’s School Canterbury is located in Canterbury, a beautiful medieval city in Kent. With hourly direct trains from London Waterloo station, it is very well connected.
London St Pancras - 1 hr 15 mins by train
This is a place where very different children can be happy – whether academically, musically, theatrically or artistically gifted. But as always with genuine full boarding schools, a willingness to fully engage is absolutely essential!
Don’t miss “King’s Week,” the big cultural week at the end of the school year, when pupils present their musical, theatrical and other creative efforts to the public in hundreds of events.
Take a look at similar schools
Rugby School
Shrewsbury School
Uppingham School
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