Ages: 11-18

Registration: Three to four years before entry

No. of Pupils: 551

Admissions: School’s own exam, plus interview and previous school reports; ISEB Common Entrance at age 13.

Curriculum: GCSE and A-Levels, with a highly innovative, inquiry-based approach to learning. Benenden’s Professional Skills Programme, launched in 2016, teaches Sixth Formers essential business, financial and life skills, while the Benenden Diploma is a two-year bespoke curriculum for the Fourth and Upper Fourth. The curriculum is complemented by high-profile speakers and workshops held by expert guests.

Campus and facilities: Benenden occupies 100 hectares of beautiful parkland in the middle of Kent. Some of the impressive facilities include a state-of-the-art Science Centre, a 300-seat theatre, and a new all-weather sports pitch and pavilion.

Noteworthy: Benenden was founded in 1923 and is regarded as one of the top all-girls’ schools in the country.

New: Making the most of its environment, the school has created a trim trail—a route around the site of outdoor exercise stations. A group of Sixth Formers established an eco-garden and orchard by creating raised beds out of recycled products, and also launched their first major science research project in collaboration with the Chemistry Department at University College London.

Term fees: £12,250

Benenden, Cranbrook, Kent, benenden.kent.sch.uk