Tonbridge School

Focus

Encouraging students to build connections

Day fees 2025/26

$62,000

Boarding fees 2025/26

$82,700

Term dates

• Term 1: 3 September to 10 December 2025
• Term 2: 5 January to 26 March 2026
• Term 3: 20 April to 4 July 2026

Ages

13-18

Pupil count

803

Spear’s Review

Tonbridge School was founded in 1553 by a member of the Worshipful Company of Skinners. Originally a small school for local boys, Tonbridge grew in size during the mid-19th century and now welcomes around 800 boys from all across the country and beyond. It remains part of the Skinners’ Company to this day.

Tonbridge is situated within a 150-acre campus, and its grounds include an orchard with pigs and beehives, a state-of-the-art videography and cinema suite and a well-stocked library with gardens, as well as numerous sports facilities.

The many activities and clubs on offer – from debating and pottery to astronomy and creative writing – provide a welcome respite from the rigorous academic curriculum, which consistently yields fantastic results each August.

Academics

In 2025:

• 92 per cent of (I)GCSE results were grades 7-9
• 73 per cent of A-Level results were A* or A

Head teacher

James Priory has served as headmaster of Tonbridge School since 2018. Prior to joining Tonbridge, Priory led Portsmouth Grammar School and was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford. He continues to uphold Tonbridge’s mission to encourage ‘creativity, confidence and compassion’.

University and college destinations

Tonbridge graduates gain entry into some of the most prestigious universities across the world. According to the school, in 2025, 15 per cent of the graduating cohort went to Oxbridge, and each year not an insignificant number progress to further education abroad, including to universities such as UCLA, Harvard and MIT. 

Admissions

Tonbridge School has two main entry points: at age 13, and age 16. Depending on a boy’s age at entry, he will either sit the common entrance exam or undertake the school’s own assessments and interviews.

Notable alumni

• Derek Barton (Nobel prize-winning chemist)
• E.M Forster (author)
• Dan Stevens (actor)

Accessibility

Heathrow Airport: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Location

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