St Edmund's School Canterbury

St Edmund's School Canterbury began with the Clergy Orphan Society in 1751 and has carried its history through several important changes. The school moved to St Thomas Hill in the nineteenth century, took its present name in 1897, became responsible for Canterbury Cathedral choristers in 1972, welcomed boys and girls together from 1982 and became fully independent in 1996. Nursery, senior and Sixth Form education now share that historic setting.

The academic programme combines I/GCSE and A-level courses with the Extended Project Qualification, the Durrell Essay and cross-curricular research. Curiosity and original thinking are given room through projects that allow pupils to pursue an idea beyond one subject. That approach suits a school whose senior years are connected to a long-established musical and academic tradition rather than separated into narrow tracks.

Debating, music, drama, sport, mindfulness, outdoor education, the Combined Cadet Force and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award broaden the week. Music has a particular Canterbury character: pupils perform in the Cathedral and at the University of Kent, while the East Kent Children's Orchestra, orchestral groups, choral work and the St Edmund's Festival bring performance into public life.

Senior entry is centred on 13+, with Sixth Form entry at 16+, within an all-through route that starts at Nursery. Day and boarding pupils share the academic and co-curricular programme, so the school brings together history, music, sport and community activity in one senior experience. Its cathedral-city setting is part of that identity, but the daily character comes from the range of ways pupils are expected to participate.