42 Tatler Schools Guide 2020 tatler.comSEVENOAKS
SCHOOL
High Street, Sevenoaks,
Kent TN13 1HU
Website sevenoaksschool.org
Acting Head Theresa Homewood,
MA, from September; previously
Senior Deputy Head Pupils 1,092.
Day: 184 boys, 179 girls; boarding:
365 boys, 364 girls Ages 11–18
Term Fees Day: £7,785; boarding:
£12,432 Oxbridge 25%
Registration One to two years
before entry; £100 fee Admission
CE or school’s own exam, interview
and previous school’s report
Alumni Andy Curtis, Olivia Cole,
Clive Dunn
There is no denying that this is a
school where bright cookies thrive,
with 92 per cent of GCSE, IGCSE
and Sevenoaks School Certificate
exams graded A* or A last year. It is
one of the world’s leading IB schools
with international students from
more than 40 nationalities who
come to Sevenoaks for a proper
British education within a
cosmopolitan setting. While this is a
town-centre school, its proximity to
Knole Park offers the best of both
worlds. The school has strong ties
with the community and has
launched an outreach ‘box scheme’
in 2017, loaning packs of resources
to primary schools. The pupils here
are a multi-talented bunch: The
School Theatre Company took its
production of Jane Eyre to schools
and theatres in Ibbenburen,
Germany. Its sporting prowess is
renowned, with pupils reaching
national finals in a range of team
sports and sailing recognised as a
particular strength. Sevenoaks was
the first school sailing team to be
selected to represent Great Britain at
the Team Racing World Cham-
pionships, and the school is a regular
winner of the National Schools
Sailing Association Regatta. The
International Centre (the sixth form
boys’ boarding house) is said to have
the best facilities and is in a prime
location for minimal walking
around campus. The food is
delicious and boarders are happiest
when the delicious Eggs Benedict is
on the breakfast menu.STOWE SCHOOL
Stowe, Buckingham MK18 5EH
Website stowe.co.uk Head Dr
Anthony Wallersteiner, PhD, since
2003; previously Head of History
at Tonbridge School Pupils 812.
Day: 59 boys, 63 girls; boarding:
435 boys, 255 girls Faith C of E
Ages 13–18 Term Fees Day:
£6,577; boarding: £12,697
Oxbridge 3% Registration Three
to four years before entry; £200 fee
Admission ISEB pre-test, CE or
school’s own exam and interview
Alumni Sir Richard Branson,
Henry Cavill
Renowned for its sense of fun,
great parties (parents rave about
the annual Bonfire Night) and
breathtaking architecture, Stowe
doesn’t rely solely on its academic
prowess. ‘We are a broad church
and take a range of abilities, but
each pupil is encouraged to achieve
the best grades possible, and to be
academically ambitious,’ says Tori
Roddy, Director of Marketing and
Admissions. A-level results saw a
very impressive rise from 63 per
cent A*–B in 2017 to 71 per cent
in 2018. Along with the improving
academics, Stowe has embarked
on numerous development projects
to upgrade the school’s already jaw-
dropping facilities: work has begunon the new Design, Technology
and Engineering building; a nine-
hole golf course and golf academy
is due to be unveiled imminently;
and a new boys’ boarding house
and two new day houses have
opened to accommodate the surge
in applications. There’s even a
uniform change (featuring a skirt
that has been specifically designed
not to be rolled up). In short,
there’s a lot going on. It’s no
surprise, then, that Stowe students
are kept extremely busy with a
range of extracurriculars. When
Saturday lessons are done, boarders
get stuck into the extensive
weekend activity programme,
which can range from climbing
competitions to cinema trips. The
extracurricular opportunities don’t
end here: art students can display
their work in the on-site gallery;
musicians can release material
through the school’s very own
record label; and actors can apply
for the recently launched drama
scholarship programme. ‘We cater
for an eclectic mix, and individuals
can thrive no matter what their
interests or talents,’ says Roddy.
‘We encourage each pupil to
pursue what interests them, to try
new things and to be comfortable
in their own skin.’TONBRIDGE
SCHOOL
High Street, Tonbridge,
Kent TN9 1JP
Website tonbridge-school.co.uk
Head James Priory, MA, since
2018; previously Head of Portsmouth
Grammar School Pupils 789 boys:
339 day, 450 boarding Faith C of E
Ages 13–18 Term Fees Day:
£10,114; boarding: £13,482
Oxbridge 20% Registration
Three years before entry; £200 fee
Admission ISEB pre-test and
school’s own exam Alumni EM
Forster, Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge,
Norman Heatley
Amid great excitement, 2019 will
see all-boys Tonbridge become the
first UK school to host the Inter-
national Space School Education
Trust’s ‘Mission Discovery’ course.
Taught by NASA astronauts and
scientists from King’s College
London and taking place in the
new Barton Science Centre, young
people from a range of schools will
work in teams to devise an experi-
ment. The winning entry will then
be flown to, and tested at, the
International Space Station. This
sort of thing is par for the course at
Tonbridge, which comes with all
the bells and whistles that you’d
expect from a top public school,
from world-class drama, music
and sporting facilities to a strong
academic track record. Head James
Priory has enjoyed a positive first
year and is described by an insider
as ‘approachable, erudite and
engaging’. His first, much-lauded
decision was to stop phones being
on show in the school grounds
and in lessons. There are numer-
ous brilliantly quirky clubs includ-
ing beekeeping, rocketry and
Mahjong. Boys eat in houses rath-
er than a centralised dining space,
fostering close friendships between
staff and students. Master of
Smythe House, Chris Henshall, is
held in high regard for hitting
entirely the right note with his
boys. One parent tells us that this
is rewarded ‘by an almost labrador-
like devotion from the boys,
which he would dismiss as stuff
and nonsense’.WINCHESTER
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