Kent College
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| Kent College, Canterbury | |
| Lux Tua Via Mea (Latin: Your Light is My Way) | |
| Established | 1885 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public school |
| Headmaster | Mr. David Lamper (designate) |
| Location | Canterbury, Kent, England |
| Website | www.kentcollege.com |
Kent College, Canterbury is an independent co-educational boarding and day school for pupils between the ages of 11 and 18, founded in 1885. Kent College is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
The Senior School occupies a semi-rural site of some 70 acres on the edge of the city of Canterbury, and also owns the nearby Moat Estate, where there can be found a farm, which is managed by staff and pupils, and extensive sports pitches. These are adjacent to Blean Forest, which is the largest area of ancient woodland in Kent, and recognised on a national and European level for its importance as a wildlife conservation area.
Vernon Holme, its junior school, is located about a mile away, and provides day school education for boys and girls between the ages of 3 and 11, and boarding for children aged 7 and above.
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[edit] The School
The school was founded in 1885, and in 1920 was acquired by the Board of Management for Methodist Residential Schools. As such, it is a Christian school, although it accepts pupils of all faiths - and none. Originally established as a boys' school, since 1973 it has been fully co-educational.
In 2003, the school was subject to a regular, independent inspection, and was commended for being a "happy, well-integrated community of boarding and day pupils, teachers and support staff".
Kent College has a strong reputation for academic success, and nearly all Sixth Formers go on to university in the United Kingdom or abroad. Information Technology, Music, Art and Drama have a central role in the life of the school; Dance is becoming increasingly popular, and was recently introduced as a GCSE option.
The School is also recognised for its sporting achievements, having won five national hockey titles in four years. It benefits from a floodlit Astro-turf, a sports-hall, a number of tennis-courts and various pitches, both on-campus and at the Moat Estate. In 2005, Kent College was recognised by The Daily Telegraph for its "outstanding" sporting record, and ranked as an "Independent School of the Year" in this area.
Kent College has expanded in a series of building programmes, the most recent of which is almost complete. As of late 2006, many areas of the School are nearing completion of a major refurbish and re-equipment programme conducted over the last four years.
[edit] Boarding and Sporting Houses
The School introduced separate boarding and sporting Houses during the 1980s. Boarders are sorted into both a boarding House and a sporting House, whilst day pupils are only sorted into a sporting House.
There are two sporting Houses:
- Marlowe House
- Chaucer House
Formerly they were Beckett & Cranmer but were renamed in 2004.
There are are four boarding houses:
- School House - Boys
- Guilford House - Boys
- Austen House - Girls
- Wesley House - Girls
There are also two former boarding houses both defunct during the 1990s:
- Lower School
- Milton House
Lower School was originally the designated boarding house for all boarders in the 1st and 2nd years (years 7 and 8). In 1996 Lower School was closed and the building was redeveloped as the new English block with the boarders distributed to Milton House (boys) and Austen House (girls). At the start of the 1997-1998 academic year, Milton House was combined with School House as both Houses were located in the main school building, albeit on separate floors.
[edit] Headmasters, Past and Present
Mr J. Waltho is currently acting Headmater and Mr. David Lamper will join the school in September 2007 as Headmaster.
Former Head Masters include:
- Frank Facer (1898 - 1911)
- Alfred Brownscombe (1911 - 1934)
- John Prickett (1934 - 1960)
- David Norfolk (1960 - 1977)
- Roger Wicks (1980 - 1996)
- Edward Halse (1996 - 2002)
- Gino Carminati (2002-April 2007)
Two School buildings have been named after previous Head Masters - Mr. John Prickett and Mr. David Norfolk.
[edit] Old Canterburians
Former pupils of the school are known as Old Canterburians" ("O.C.s"). Among the Kent College alumni:
- Chris Albertson, American jazz historian
- Thomas Godfrey Evans, cricketer for Kent and England
- Christopher Fairbank, actor best known for his role in hit comedy-drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
- Dr. John Redwood, Member of Parliament for Wokingham
- Tacita Dean, English visual artist
- David Eades, journalist and newsreader
- Ben Scotchbrook, journalist and newsreader
- Guy Berryman, bass player for British music band Coldplay
- Simon Scarrow, historical fiction author
- Anthony Scrivener, QC
[edit] Vernon Holme
The Kent College Infant and Junior School, at Vernon Holme in the village of Harbledown, was formerly the home of the renowned Victorian artist Thomas Sidney-Cooper R.A., and was purchased by the Senior School in 1945. It currently has approximately 220 pupils, and the Head Master is Mr. Andrew J. Carter.
[edit] Literature
The Kent College Centenary Book, written by the late Christopher Wright, a former Head of History at the school, and author of a number of other books, which traces the 100 years between the founding of K.C., through two World Wars, evacuation to Truro, the "Great Fire" - which destroyed part of the Main Building in 1938 - the extensive building programme and the problems of the 'sixties, to the co-educational school it was in 1985 - and is today - was published by Batsford, and is available from the School Shop and stocked in the Library.
