Our Prep School runs form Year 3 to Year 8, taking children between the age of 7 and 13. Here they continue the journey that they started in the Pre-Prep, building the confidence in the larger environment of the former family home of the Northbourne family.

Our Pastoral Ethos
With a robust pastoral approach underpinning all that we do at the school, together with our small classes (with a maximum of 19 pupils), and an individual approach to each and every pupil, we will know your child and discover their talents.

The basic premise of our pastoral approach is that if a child is happy and supported and cared for in the School environment, they will work hard and want to get involved in the stimulating range of extra-curricular activities that we offer as well wanting to be good members of the school community,

Our pupils are happy; because they are happy, they want to work hard to achieve their best. We encourage them to think for themselves to be independent in their learning approaches and ultimately to learn lessons which will stand them in stead not only for their Senior Schools, but also for a future life of learning. Once they have these lessons under their belts, they enter a wide range of senior Schools, local and further afield as confident and articulate.

The Buildings
The Prep School is set in the beautiful former home of the Northbourne family which lends the school a homely family atmosphere as well as providing excellent teaching resources. Recent developments include a new girls’ boarding house, sports changing rooms. a new Science Laboratories and Music Rooms.

The magnificent grounds provide a wonderful environment for the children to explore safely during their free time giving them space to do what children do best.

Where next at 11 or 13?
Some of our pupils take the Kent Test at 11+ and go through to local Grammar Schools, the majority of children sit Common Entrance examinations to a wide range of independent schools at 13yrs. Our pupils are highly successful at achieving scholarships to a wide range of top public schools every year, a celebration of all that they have brought to the Northbourne community.

In the last few years, Northbourne boys and girls have or will go on to King’s, Canterbury, Tonbridge, Benenden, St Edmund’s Canterbury, Stowe, The Leys, Cambridge, Lancing, Kent College and further afield. Our French and Spanish pupils in the parallel academic classes in Year 7 and 8 return bilingual to French and Spanish lycées after  one or two years with us.