Somerhill

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Discover Somerhill, Kent’s leading prep school for girls and boys aged 2-13. Somerhill is an independent day school for girls and boys aged 2-13 years old.

It consists of three sections:

Somerhill Pre-Prep (SPP) is the co-educational section for children aged 2 to 6. It feeds the other two sections. Derwent Lodge (DL) is for girls aged between 7 and 11. Yardley Court (YC) is for boys aged between 7 and 13. All three sections are housed in a Grade I listed Jacobean mansion and, whilst each section has its own classrooms, the vast facilities are shared. These include the Engineering, Music, Drama and Art rooms and excellent and spacious sporting facilities and also, of course, the grounds, which are some 150 acres in extent.

09/10/2026

Harvest at Somerhill and we want to say a huge thank you to all our children for donating so generously in support of The Community Storehouse.

Together, the donations weighed a whopping 662 kg. That’s the weight of two fully grown grizzly bears 🐻🐻 and 21% more than last year!

Thank you all. We are so proud of you.

08/10/2026

Year 2 had an exciting time celebrating STEM Day yesterday by exploring the fascinating world of prosthetics. The children began by learning how prosthetic hands help people in everyday life, before taking on the challenge of designing and building their own versions using card, straws and string, with our Year 8 helpers.

This hands-on activity brought together skills from across STEM.

The children applied science to understand how bones, muscles, and joints work in the human hand, used technology and engineering to carefully construct working models, and relied on mathematics to measure, cut, and assemble their designs with accuracy.

Problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork were at the heart of the task, as the children tested and improved their prosthetic hands to make them as functional as possible.

It was a fantastic day of discovery, innovation and fun - showing just how exciting STEM learning can be.

07/10/2026

What a start to the sporting calendar this Michaelmas term! Our pupils have represented the school in more than 130 fixtures, including 20 tournaments, using 42 different teams from U7-U13.

The enthusiasm, commitment and sportsmanship shown by our pupils have been outstanding, and it has been wonderful to see so many children embracing the opportunities on offer.

Alongside the tremendous participation levels, there have been some notable successes:

🏆 U11A Boys Colts Tournament – Runners Up
🏆U11E Boys Colts Tournament – 3rd Place
🏆U13A Boys John Norman Tournament – Runners Up
🏆U10A Boys 5-a-Side Tournament – Plate Winners
🏆U10D Girls Coursehorn Cup – Runners Up
🏆U11A Girls Sutton Valence Tournament - 3rd
🏆Brenchley Relays – Runners Up
🏆Hazelwood Relays – Winners in 3 age groups
🏆Thomas Trophy – Winners in 4 age groups
🏆Somerhill Cross Country - Winners in 3 age groups
🏆Rawlinson Run - U7, U8 & U9 Winners

While these achievements are fantastic, what has pleased us most is seeing pupils of all ages representing Somerhill with pride, determination and respect.

Many thanks, as always, go to our staff, coaches and parents for their continued support and commitment. We look forward to building on this excellent start as the year progresses.

06/10/2026

Geography beyond the classroom! 🌍

Our Year 7 boys travelled to Stratford to explore urban regeneration in and around the Olympic Park, conducting questionnaires with local people to understand the social, economic and environmental impacts of the development.

Meanwhile, Year 8 headed to the coast at Reculver, where they investigated coastal processes and examined the sea defences protecting the area.

Two fantastic days putting classroom learning into practice and building valuable fieldwork, enquiry and analytical skills in a real-world setting.

02/10/2026

What an afternoon! 🏃‍♀️🏃

Our grounds were full of runners yesterday as we welcomed schools from across the area for cross country at Somerhill. So much determination on the course, and even more cheering at the finish line.

Thank you to all the schools who joined us, and to our brilliant staff who made it happen.

Well done to every single runner! 👏

30/09/2026

The children had a wonderful day exploring Bodiam Castle last week. Under blue skies, they climbed the towers, peered across the moat and stepped back more than 600 years into medieval life.

It was a fantastic chance to bring their learning to life, discovering how the castle was built, who lived there and how it was defended. The questions didn't stop all day!

29/09/2026

🎵 A week of music at Somerhill! 🎵

Our Music Department Open Week has given parents a wonderful opportunity to step inside instrumental lessons and see first-hand how their children are learning, developing and progressing.

With hundreds of individual lessons each week, alongside ensembles, choirs and orchestras, there are so many opportunities for our pupils to grow in confidence and discover their passion for music.

Thank you to our fantastic visiting music teachers and to all the parents who joined us this week.

We look forward to welcoming families to our next Music Open Week in the Trinity term.

28/09/2026

A morning of mystery, imagination and a little bit of the supernatural!

Years 5 and 6 were thrilled to welcome the brilliant queen of gothic mystery, Lucy Strange.

Year 5 stepped into the wonderfully evocative world of Lockett & Wilde, creating their own ghostly mysteries, while Year 6 turned detective to devise a cosy-crime caper set around Mulberry Hall, a stately home with more than a passing resemblance to Somerhill!

Lucy shared her writing influences and top tips for creating a winning whodunnit, inspiring our pupils to get creative with their own stories.

A brilliant morning of storytelling, creativity and mystery. Thank you, Lucy! ✨

https://www.facebook.com/theLucyStrange/

25/09/2026

Bonjour from Pre-Prep! 🥐

To celebrate European Day of Languages, our Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children enjoyed our much-anticipated annual French Day this week.

The highlight? A visit to Madame Sinead's Café, where they ordered pain au chocolat, croissants, baguette, fromage and jus de pomme – all in French, and paid in euros!

It was a brilliant way to bring language learning to life, building confidence in speaking French through real-life role play (and plenty of tasting).

It was a truly fantastique day. Merci to everyone who made it so special.

24/09/2026

While exploring the woodlands today, Year 1 made a very exciting discovery! 🐛

The children were thrilled to find a strange and colourful caterpillar, especially as many of them had never seen one before. After some careful investigation with the help of our science department, we identified it as the caterpillar of the Pale Tussock Moth.

This fascinating creature is covered in distinctive tufts of fluffy hair and will eventually transform into a beautiful pale moth, pictured below. Pale Tussock caterpillars are sometimes nicknamed "hop dogs" because they love munching on hop plants.

Finding this amazing minibeast gave the children a wonderful opportunity to learn about lifecycles and the wildlife living in our woodland environment.

With 150 acres of woodland, meadows and gardens on our doorstep, moments like this are part of everyday learning at Somerhill. Our grounds give children the space to explore, question and discover the natural world for themselves. 🌳

Address

Somerhill
Tonbridge
TN110NJ

Telephone

+441732352124

Website

http://www.somerhill.org/

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