Our recent visit took us to Cranbrook School which is in the unique position of being one of 7 state boarding grammar schools in England. In total there are approximately 40 state boarding schools across the UK which provide free education but charge for the boarding.
A boarding school with real history
Cranbrook School is a co-educational day and boarding school situated in the charming market town of Cranbrook located in the beautiful Kent countryside. It is within easy commuting distance from London and only 45 minutes from Gatwick Airport. The school was founded in 1518 and given its royal charter by Elizabeth I in 1574. Five hundred years later the school is still providing an outstanding education for around 650 day pupils and 250 boarders.
A selective grammar school
Cranbrook offers boarding from Year 9 – Year 13 and because it is a selective grammar school, all candidates who apply for a Year 9 boarding place will be assessed using the Cranbrook School Entrance Exam. All applicants (day and boarding) for Cranbrook School must hold either a UK or Irish passport or have the Right of Abode in the UK. Boarding applicants may live anywhere in the UK or overseas.
Boarding at Cranbrook
We were hugely impressed by the boarding facilities at Cranbrook and the students we spoke to absolutely loved boarding here. There are six boarding houses which are located within the town, and all have their own unique character and distinct style. Some are dormitory style and some for the older years have single rooms with shared bathrooms: Cornwallis, Crowden, and Rammell for the boys, Blubery and Scott for the girls. A separate boarding house, School Lodge, provides a Year 9 settling-in house for all boys entering Cranbrook aged 13.
Each house has it’s own head of house, matron and a roster of duty staff made up of teachers and assistants who will help supervise prep time and offer academic and pastoral support. Each pupil will have a personal tutor assigned to them who will not only play a pivotal role in assessing academic progress, but works with the head of house to ensure student wellbeing and welfare.
There is no Saturday morning school, but the weekend programme is busy with sport run on Saturdays and matches against local grammar and independent schools. There are lots of trips and activities organised by house staff over the weekend both on site and off site to places like Thorpe Park and Bluewater and more local trips to restaurants and cinemas as well as utilising the fantastic school facilities.
Top exam results and much more
Academics are excellent here and as a state-funded grammar they cater for the top 20-25 % of the academic ability range. Many students will leave with exceptionally high results in both GCSE and A levels and go on to study at leading Russell Group Universities and a few pupils to Oxbridge. Pupils take 10 GCSE’s subjects including maths, English language and literature, one modern language and the sciences and can then choose three optional subjects from geography, history, Latin, French, Spanish, food & nutrition, art and design, drama and religious studies.
There are around 320 pupils in sixth form and most students will study three A levels. There is a broad choice of subjects offered and in addition all students are expected to participate in the Cranbrook Diploma Programme during their time at the school. This is a series of development challenges ranging from voluntary work, public speaking and work experience, to reading Booker Prize winning novels and writing independent essays on academic interests of their choice. This is designed to help students develop new skills and qualities, confidence and curiosity which helps them in their university applications and future employment.
Fine Art at GCSE and A Level
The Art department is hugely impressive with Fine Art offered at GCSE and A Level and the work the students were producing covered a huge range of genres to a high level with a number of pupils each year achieving places at leading art schools.
A broad range of sports and super facilities
Sport is a large part of life at Cranbrook and the school has super facilities including 50 acres of playing fields, an all-weather Astro-turf, outdoor heated swimming-pool, squash courts, a fabulous sports hall which is equipped with a weights gym, cardio suite and dance facilities. The main sports played at Cranbrook are rugby, hockey (boys and girls), netball, basketball, cricket, tennis, rounders and athletics as well as fitness, dance and yoga.
Extra-curricular subjects
Plenty of extra-curricular subjects are also on offer including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, Combined Cadet Force and student led societies. Music is hugely popular, and the school has an orchestra, jazz band, choir, saxophone group, string quartets, rock group, stomp style percussion group, brass group and a chamber choir. Drama is based in the fully equipped Performing Arts Centre and the School has its own theatre, the Queens Hall Theatre, which hosts performances throughout the school year.
A leading co-educational selective state boarding school
Cranbrook’s motto is ‘Equal to today, I reach for greater things’ and it aims to become the leading co-educational selective state boarding school in the UK. We felt that it provides an outstanding all-round education with academic fulfilment at the heart of its ethos.
