St Edmund's School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arms of St Edmund's School

St Edmund’s School is a coeducational independent school (ages 3-18) in Canterbury, Kent, England with over 500 pupils, including both day pupils and boarders. The choristers of Canterbury Cathedral are educated at St. Edmund's.

Founded in 1749 to educate clergy orphans, the school was initially sited near Thirsk in North Yorkshire. Later, the school moved to St John's Wood in London, where it occupied buildings at the nursery end of Lord's Cricket Ground. From 1856, boys were educated at the Clergy Orphan School in Canterbury (now St Edmund's) while girls received their education at what is now St Margaret's School in Bushey, Hertfordshire.

The main school building was designed by noted architect Philip Charles Hardwick (1822-1892), whose grandmother had been born in Canterbury. The school is situated at the top of St Thomas' Hill, overlooking the city of Canterbury.

St Edmund's includes Junior School (ages 3-13) and Senior School (ages 13-18), located on the same site on St Thomas' Hill, sharing facilities and with several members of staff serving both parts of the school.

From the early 1980s, girls have been educated at St Edmund's as well as boys.