Your Home From Home
Kent College has a long history of welcoming boarding pupils from abroad, as well as from British families resident in the UK or working overseas. Around a third of pupils at Kent College are boarders, and there are over 40 countries represented in our boarding community. Our boarding students bring great richness and diversity to life at Kent College, as well as helping all of our pupils to understand and respect different cultural traditions.
We ensure that boarders are fully integrated into all aspects of school life – academic, social, musical, sporting and across the wide range of co-curricular activities on offer. Our friendly and comfortable boarding houses truly become a ‘home away from home’, and many lifelong friendships are formed in our boarding community.
Location and transport
The school’s location overlooking the beautiful cathedral city of Canterbury mean that boarders at Kent College have the best of both worlds – a healthy, safe environment close to beautiful countryside, and to the city’s excellent facilities. Canterbury is also within easy access of Gatwick, Heathrow, London City and Stansted airports, the Channel Tunnel and Dover ferry, and has frequent high-speed trains to London.
Full boarding: Most of our boarding pupils are full boarders – they stay at school throughout the term and are able to take full advantage of the wide range of sport, trips and activities on offer at the weekends.
Weekly boarding: this option allows students to enjoy the stimulus and structure of boarding life during the week while being at home with family at weekends – although there is so much going on at school during the weekends, including the boarding activities programme, that many weekly boarders often choose to stay for weekends too.
Occasional boarding (subject to availability): this option is useful if parents need to be away for short periods. Please contact enquiries@kentcollege.co.uk for more information about occasional boarding
There are five boarding houses at Kent College Senior School, three boys’ houses and two girls’ houses. All of the boarding houses have House Parents who live in, and who are responsible for the welfare of the pupils in their house. The House Parents are assisted by Assistant House parents, House Managers and Resident Tutors, and between them they ensure the care of our boarders 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Younger pupils may be accommodated in rooms of up to four, while students in Years 12 and 13 are allocated a study bedroom of their own wherever possible. In each boarding house there are common room facilities for all pupils which include Sky TV, Wifi, kitchen and dining areas and games areas. Each house has its own character and style but all have similar rules and values.
Throughout the week and at weekends there is a wide range of activities and trips available to all boarders. These include school sports training and fixtures, music and drama rehearsals and performances, opportunities for volunteering, trips to the theatre or sporting events, and shopping expeditions. Canterbury has many attractions and boarders are allowed to visit the city centre at the weekend at the discretion of their House Parents, although junior boarders are always supervised.
Example weekly activities – Badminton; Basketball; Conservation; Cooking (Yr 12 & 13); Dance; DoE Bronze, Silver, Gold; Equine (horse care and riding); Five-a-side Football; Gym (over 16 years); Martial Arts; Pilates/Aerobics; Swimming; Tennis; Volleyball ; Yoga; Young Enterprise (Yr 12); Young Farmers’ Club.
Example weekend trips – Dreamland, Margate; Paintballing; New Scientist Live; Thorpe Park; Pink Floyd Exhibition: V&A Museum; Royal Albert Hall Classical Concert; Ice Skating & Tower of London; Science Live: Victoria Theatre, London; Westfield Shopping Centre; Brooklands Motor Racing & Concorde; Football: Charlton Athletic; Chinese New Year Meal: Café De China; Windsor Castle & Park; Go-Karting; Greenwich Shopping; Howletts Wildlife Park; Trampolining & Ice Skating.
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