Our unique structure
One way of living but two ways of learning
At Somerhill, we have one way of living but two ways of learning. Between the ages of 2 and 7 years, girls and boys are together in the classroom. This environment promotes uninhibited development at an age when playing and learning are often synonymous. From 7 to 13 years, children benefit from a single-sex classroom environment, where girls and boys learn in different and bespoke ways.
The moment classes finish, everyone is together - at break and lunch as well as for sports, music, clubs and activities.
This really is the best of both worlds for our children.
Coming together, from three schools into one
Yardley Court was a boy's school founded in 1898 in Tonbridge and came to the Somerhill site in 1990 in order to expand. Derwent Lodge, a school for girls, was established in the 1930s and followed in 1993, moving from their Tunbridge Wells town centre home, which they had outgrown. Somerhill Pre-Prep, a co-educational school for ages 2-7, was established in 1995 at Somerhill.
These three schools were separate, as ‘The Schools at Somerhill’, until 2018, when we saw the potential for integrating and building one special school community with shared facilities, vision and purpose.
We stand today as a thriving school of around 600 pupils from the age of 2-13, yet we are not complacent about our future and set out to be sensitive and respectful of the past, yet equally visionary in how we can continue to provide an outstanding education for our young people in this unique setting.
“The perfect educational model…with stonking facilities…the green spaces will make you swoon.” - Muddy Stilettos
