Frequently Asked Questions  for New Students

Our vision is to shape future generations of successful, visionary women.
Benenden aims to give each student A Complete Education in which she achieves her academic potential and grows as an individual. We want her to relish all that School life has to offer so that she leaves us as a confident, positive young woman truly prepared for her future.

Through our Complete education, we aim to:

• Create a culture of intellectual curiosity
• Ignite a passion for creativity and innovation
• Nurture the value of community, and
• Inspire each individual to make a difference

This mission is underpinned by our values of confidence, compassion, courage and courtesy.

We expect each student to be a responsible and considerate citizen who is outward looking, courageous and compassionate. We support her in being aspirational and in developing her interests and talents whilst learning to achieve balance in her life. By emphasising the importance of spiritual growth, we hope that each student will enjoy making a contribution to our supportive School and be inspired to make a difference throughout her life in her future communities.

In all that we do at Benenden, we aim to foster: Belief in oneself, belief in others, commitment to learning, commitment to the community. We aim to do this by providing:

• An inspiring, challenging and relevant academic curriculum which balances the best of tradition and innovation
• Excellent and motivating teaching designed to encourage students to become independent, enquiring and critical thinkers
• A framework of individual support devised to help each student experience and benefit from a full programme of study balanced with a wide variety of cultural, creative, physical and fun activities
• A culture of encouragement, opportunity and challenge designed to develop self-reliance,
resilience, confidence and physical and emotional wellbeing
• The experience of learning to understand other people, working and living together with understanding and compromise and appreciating diversity. Offering a wide range of opportunities for leadership
• Careers and higher education guidance designed to help every student achieve her own personal goals, equipped with the requisite skills for university and beyond in their professional lives
• A close partnership with parents so that School and home can work together to help every student make the most of her time at Benenden.

Benenden actively promotes the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the importance of mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. You will learn about these values during your time at School through a wide range of living and learning activities both in, and out of, the classroom. It is likely that morning assemblies – known as Prayers – every one of your classroom subjects, as well as Benenden’s broad range of co-curricular opportunities, will help you learn more about fundamental British values and respect and tolerance for the views and beliefs of others.

You are tomorrow’s leaders in the making. The vibrant academic and boarding community provides a springboard for you to practice leading within a safe and supportive environment, so you will be ready to test your skills further once you leave School. The ethos of consideration and courage combined with zest for life and an outward-looking perspective could make you a sought-after leader one day.

Whilst we do recognise that not all of you will want to take high profile leadership roles either at School or after you leave School, we want to encourage you to understand that leadership can take many forms and that each of you should feel comfortable with some level of leadership within our community and beyond.

There are a wide range of opportunities for leadership at School, ranging from a year-long appointment as a Grey Jumper (School Prefect), to chairing a small group in one lesson. Some leadership roles (eg appointment to the Prefect body) require students to write letters of application and then face a selection process; others (eg leadership of a society) require students to appoint themselves or be appointed to a leadership role by their peers; others (eg Head of Layer) are decided by the Hm.

Opportunities for leadership include:

• School Prefects
• House Prefects
• Other House positions (Vice Captain, Head of Middle and Lower, Fire Captain, Head of Layer, Sports Ambassadors, Digital Leaders, House Mothers, Big Sisters)
• House representatives on charity, food and EDI committees
• Captains of Teams
• Running current clubs and societies or setting up new ones
• Student Heads of Year, representing their year group on Pupil Forum
• Representatives of Model United Nations and other School committees
• Sacristans
• Librarians
• Subject Ambassadors
• Academic Mentors.

Each Middle School Hm appoints a Head and Deputy Head of House from Six Two, a Captain of House and House Prefects from Six One, a Vice Captain from the Upper Fifth, a Head of Middle and Lower School from the Fifth and a Head of Layer in the Lower Fifth. Each Founders’ Hm appoints Heads of House from the Six Twos.

The students live or are based in five Middle School Houses for the 13 to 16-year-olds, four Sixth Form Houses (Founders) and a Lower School House dedicated to our Fourths and Upper Fourths (11-12-year-olds).

The Houses are managed by a Housemistress/master (Hm), a Deputy (DHm) and an experienced pastoral team of Matrons and Tutors. House staff are in regular contact with parents in order to support their daughters’ boarding lives.

The Boarders are encouraged to find the right balance between staying in, making the most of the Weekend Programme or taking an Exeat. Students may return on Sunday night in time for House Time at 8.00pm or for roll call on Monday morning by 8.10am.

LOWER SCHOOL HOUSE

Medway (Blue)
Named after the Victorian politician who had the main building built in place of the old house in 1862. Mr Gathorne Hardy was made Earl of Cranbrook and had a subsidiary title, Viscount Medway. His family lived here 1857-1912.

MIDDLE SCHOOL HOUSES
Echyngham (Pink)
Named after James de Echyngham who lived here 1377-1388. One of the three original Houses. Miss
Hindle was the first Housemistress.

Guldeford (Orange)
Named after the Guldeford family who lived here 1388-1702. One of the three original Houses. Miss
Sheldon was the first Housemistress.

Hemsted (Yellow)
Named after Robert of Hemsted who acquired the manor of Hemsted in 1213. His family lived here until
1377. One of the three original Houses. Miss Bird was the first Housemistress.

Marshall (Purple)
Named after Mr and Mrs John Marshall, benefactors of the School.

Norris (Green)
Named after Admiral Sir John Norris (Foulweather Jack, who bought Hemsted in 1702). His grandson
Jack, after first meeting and falling in love with Lucy Lockett, finally married Kitty Fisher.

SIXTH FORM HOUSES
Founders
Named in honour of Miss Sheldon, Miss Hindle and Miss Bird, the Founders of the School, and opened in 1983. It is made up of four Houses: Beeches, Elms, Limes and Oaks. Students are allocated to Sixth Form Houses at the end of their Upper Fifth year.

No. At Benenden we aim to provide each student with a safe, secure and stimulating second home and this is also true of our Day students while they are with us. The experience of being together in a close-knit community, of learning to understand other people, as well as appreciating diversity and compromise are hallmarks of Benenden life. We place a great emphasis on personal growth and self-knowledge and our purposeful, participatory community enables the students to enjoy all that life in a boarding school has to offer.

We believe that boarding should complement, not replace family life. A student’s boarding House becomes her home from home and the centre of her personal life. It is where a student comes ‘home’ to after the School day and it is where she feels happy, safe and well cared for. The boarding provision is managed centrally to ensure uniformity of our safeguarding and boarding systems, protocols and procedures across the Houses.

Benenden’s Boarding Principles in Terms of Outcomes

• Students learn to look after themselves successfully, confidently enjoying the experience of living away from home, organising their working week, their leisure time and their personal routines.
• Independence: as they grow through the School, the students become self-disciplined, resilient, resourceful and self-reliant.
• Students learn to understand one another better, to be tolerant, to compromise, to care for and
support each other, to respect differences and to show compassion and kindness.
• Students grow to appreciate the value of community through living in a boarding House. They develop a strong sense of loyalty and inclusivity, promoting and sharing its ethos and spirit.
• Students exercise responsibility within the community by contributing to the life of their Houses, through participation, service and leadership.
• By having the opportunity to make many small decisions about their daily lives, students learn to get things wrong and to try again.

Day students are fully immersed in the academic, co-curricular and personal and professional elements of our Complete Education. Day students are a member of a House in the same way as a boarder, with it being their home from home while she is at Benenden. It is her base during the day and she will have her own study area and will share social spaces with her boarding friends.

Day students follow the same structure of the day as a boarder, attending roll call in the morning in the boarding house between 7.30 and 8.10 am. They may go home after lessons end at 5.10pm although they are welcome to stay until 8.30pm. They must sign out with a member of their House staff before leaving the site.

Saturday is a shorter day and day students do not need to be in until 8.40am and can go home at 10.45am if they have no sporting commitments. The exception to this is the first and last weekend of each term which are closed weekends. These are when we will have many fun activities and inter-House competitions which are important for team building and bonding, and so Day students are strongly encouraged to participate.

It may be possible for a Day student to stay occasionally in the boarding House if there is a bed available. There will be a cost added to the bill at the end of term for each night a Day student spends at School.

Year 7 = Fourth
Year 8 = Upper Fourth
Year 9 = Lower Fifth
Year 10 = Fifth
Year 11 = Upper Fifth
Year 12 = Six One
Year 13 = Six Two

Big Sisters are students in the Six Ones who volunteer to look after a younger student for a year when they start at Benenden. They provide guidance and a helping hand, pointing their Little Sisters in the direction of a successful and enjoyable School career.

Each new joiner also has a Housemother, an older student in the same House who will help them to settle in and feel at home.

Yes. The Student Forum is an opportunity for students to have their views heard and for them to make a positive contribution to the development of the School. The Forum comprises of the Student Heads of Year, who apply for the termly appointment and are chosen by the Headmistress. The forum is run by the School Captains and the representatives consult their Year group to draw up a list of suggestions to discuss.

In addition, Each House also holds a twice a term House Council meeting chaired by the Head of House or their Deputy, at which the students are encouraged to contribute their views about the running of the House and to make suggestions in this regard. Usually, it is the Heads of Layer that make up the House Council and they canvas opinion and discussion topics from their layer. There are suggestion boxes in each House so students can make anonymous suggestions too.

Students from each House are represented on the Food Committee, the Charity Committee and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.Students’ opinions are always welcomed informally via Tutors, Heads of Year or Hms as well as being sought formally through regular questionnaires. The Headmistress has frequent pop-in times when students can discuss their ideas with her. We would like students to feel that this is their School and their views are listened to and acted upon.

The Chaplain
We have girls here of all faiths and none, and the Chaplain (Revd Tracey) is here to support them all. You will often find her in House or at different events around the School.

The Chapel
The Chapel is available for private prayer and reflection and special services are also held there.
Everyone is always welcome. There are resources for you to write your own prayers.

Prayers and Services
All members of the School attend Prayers (our morning assembly). This is an important part of Benenden community life. It is a time to consider important matters in life, such as faith, global perspectives, different cultures and many other topics. These take place three mornings a week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday). The Tuesday prayers are every other week for Fourth to Lower Fifth students.

Occasionally on a weekend there is a service of some sort – this could either be a compulsory service for the whole school or a voluntary service. On most Sundays there is also an opportunity to either attend St Mary’s Church (Church of England), Goudhurst, Hillsong, Ignite or Roman Catholic Mass. To attend please email the Chaplain by Wednesday at 10.00am so we can process the travel arrangements.

Bread and Bible Study
Bread explores the Christian faith in an informal and relaxed way and meets at 7.00pm on most Fridays in the Chapel. Meetings include a variety of lively speakers, games and snacks. All are welcome. Bible Study is held every Wednesday at 7.50am in the Founders Bar, with pastries and fruit juice provided. This is an opportunity to explore a particular passage from scripture in more depth and discuss its implications for our own lives.

Confirmation
Most girls from an Anglican background are confirmed in the Fifth, although some students choose to be confirmed in other years. Preparation classes and a weekend retreat occur in the Spring Term, and the Confirmation Service will be in March 2027. In accordance with the Roman Catholic Diocese, Roman Catholic students have an opportunity to be confirmed every two years. The Chaplain will notify the student body about any preparation taking place for the confirmation service in February 2027.

If you have any worries about a particular subject, speak to your teacher in the first instance. If you are concerned about your studies more generally, speak first to your Tutor. You can always ask your subject teachers for help and many departments run “clinics” where you can go to get extra help if you are finding something hard. Most subjects also run extension activities or clubs if you have a special interest in that area. All subjects have Sixth Form ambassadors who love the subject and are very keen to help you, especially if you are first starting the subject/starting GCSE or A Level studies!

Never be afraid to ask: there is no such thing as a silly question and we are all here to ensure you do your very best.

If you are worried about something at School or at home (not an academic problem, but something more personal), there are many people who can help you and you should talk to someone you trust. As well as speaking to any of your House Team or your Tutor, you can always talk to a member of the Safeguarding Team.

People outside School who are happy to help include:

Dr Dineli Charlesworth 01580 236618
Childline 0800 1111 or www.childline.org.uk
Children’s Commissioner 0800 5280731
Independent Person Mrs Helen Commander 01580 240658 helenjcommander@gmail.com

School Counsellors
We have two counsellors whom you can see for advice in School. They are there to talk to about any difficulties you or your friends are facing. You can talk in confidence to them and they will help you through any problems or worries you have. They will keep everything you say confidential unless you give permission to share the information (except if you tell them about child abuse). The easiest way to book an appointment with them is to email them direct on: counselling@benenden.school.

They also have individual email addresses:

Karen Cross – kmc@benenden.school
Kay Mawhinney – kfm@benenden.school

You can see a counsellor for six sessions free of charge, to help you through small difficulties. If they feel you need longer-term counselling, your parents will be asked to pay for this. You can find out more about counselling on the School Portal under the Medical Centre tile. We also have a psychiatric nurse that comes into School once a week who will work with some individuals.

Independent Person
Mrs Helen Commander is our Independent Person. If ever you want to talk to someone privately outside of School, Mrs Commander is there to listen to you and to help you with any difficulties you might have. She lives in Benenden village and will come up to School to see you if you email her. She does come into School occasionally to take Prayers so you can become familiar with her before contacting her.

Safeguarding Team (Keeping you Safe)
There are also members of staff specifically trained to help with difficult personal problems, whether they occur at home or at School. These adults are the Safeguarding Team and include Mrs van der Westhuizen, Deputy Head of Boarding and Pastoral Care, Mr Miller and Mrs Lynch.

There is no such thing as a small or insignificant concern. Please do speak to a member of staff whom you trust. Remember that we cannot promise confidentiality but we will always be discreet. We will do all we can to support you.

You may wish to speak to:

• Ms Bailey
• Safeguarding Team
• School Counsellors
• House staff
• Tutor
• Independent Person (Mrs Helen Commander)
• Grey Jumpers

We always have time to listen.

If you feel unwell, you should always tell an adult. The Matron on duty in House is there to look after you, particularly when you feel ill. There is also a Medical Centre where a nurse can assess you and look after you during the School day. You can also see the doctor or counsellor in the Medical Centre. If a day student feels unwell during the day then the Medical Centre will liaise with her parents.

Other than House staff, the Tutor is the principal point of contact for a student. Through weekly meetings, the Tutor helps guide a student academically through offering advice and helping where they can so that a student can reach their potential. The Tutor will also help extend a student’s interest and build their confidence by facilitating discussions on current affairs or subject areas in either individual or group meetings.

Areas where a Tutor might help a student include:

• Helping a student organise their work eg deadlines around their other commitments
• Helping a student organise revision schedules in the lead up to exams or assessments
• Discussing any sanctions on iSAMS and/or pink slips
• Reviewing grades and reports with a student in order to devise SMART action plans
• Helping to resolve any issues with a particular subject or teacher
• Guiding scholars re their projects and students with their Benenden Project Qualifications and Extended Project Qualifications
• Discussing current affairs and subject interests in order to extend a student’s understanding and helping them manage other viewpoints
• To guide Sixth Form tutees through UCAS/apprenticeship/job applications, discussing CVs and personal statements, course options and different universities. Sixth Form tutors will also write some of the UCAS references for their tutees at the start of their Six Two year.
• To help tutees balance their academic work with co-curricular activities.

Your Tutor is another adult looking out for your wellbeing and so do talk to them if you are struggling at all.

Lessons are designed for you to enjoy learning and achieve success. They require many different skills and responses from you. At times you will be stretched beyond your comfort zone; at others you will be reflecting on and reviewing work familiar to you. At all times, your teachers will encourage you to achieve all that you can. Teachers will set tasks and targets suitable for you to make progress, thus you may not be doing exactly the same as the student sitting next to you. Every student learns differently and it is important that we create a suitable programme of support and stretch to ensure that you are successful in your studies.

Tips for doing well in lessons:
• You are expected to be two minutes early for all lessons and to bring with you your charged laptop, writing equipment, textbooks, and anything else requested by your teachers.
• Your work should be well presented and kept subject by subject in files or exercise books or online (Teams/OneNote/OneDrive) so that you can easily find the information you need. You should
take care of your schoolwork and make a point of filing your work each day, so that nothing gets misplaced. Work saved on your computer must be backed up so you do not lose any essential work due to a tech issue!
• If you are using your laptop during the course of the lesson, ensure you use it only for work – social media, messaging friends etc is prohibited and will result in a sanction. To help you focus, do not have any apps or webpages open that are not related to work so the temptation for distraction is lessened!
• Prep should be handed in by the deadline, unless you have made a special arrangement with your teacher at least 24 hours before the prep deadline. Late work must be handed in to show the teacher you have done the work, but it may be returned to you ungraded if you have made no arrangement for a different deadline. The purpose of deadlines is to teach you to organise your time effectively and your Tutor will help you to do this.
• Teachers will usually return marked work to you within two weeks of you handing it in and often within the week. They cannot be expected to mark it overnight or during holiday time.
• A classroom is a formal setting and you should behave accordingly. Don’t shout your ideas out; your teacher can only hear one person speak at a time. Do co-operate, so that everyone can learn in the most effective way. Do take risks by having a go, even if you are not certain you know the answer. You will learn much more from your mistakes and your teachers will support you as you learn. Getting things wrong is an important and essential part of how we learn and no-one is expected to be perfect. You will enjoy your lessons much more if you get fully involved and have a go. However, it is extremely important that you listen carefully to instructions and to the ideas of others.
• Make sensible choices about where you sit and who you sit next to in order to avoid distraction.
• Even if the teacher has not explicitly told you to make notes, it is a good idea to do so in order to have a record of what happened in that lesson. This will be important as you reflect each day on what you have learnt. Always write the date, a title and some short explanation of the topic of the lesson, and from Fifth upwards, how it relates to the public exams.
• Ensure you read the comments in the teachers’ marking as this is the advice you need to get better. It is sometimes a good idea to turn the teachers’ comments into your own words and set yourself a target for the next piece of work, writing that at the top of the work to remind yourself.
• Every week, read through your notes, highlighting key facts and information, and making up shorter revision notes. This will really help you when the exams come round.

As well as learning in your lessons, there are many other opportunities to extend your learning and explore new interests through the School’s Electives Programme and extension work. Electives are part of the School’s curriculum and are aimed at creating a love of learning in any academic subject to broaden horizons and encourage intellectual curiosity.

In the Lower School, students’ work towards their CREATE diploma over the two years. The Diploma aims to improve the students ability to show:

Collaboration and communication
Resilience and adaptability
Empathy and global outlook
Analytical thinking and problem solving
Technological literacy and innovation
Empowerment and leadership

All students in Upper Fourth do a Benenden Project Qualification in a topic of their choice. This is a research-based project qualification and Elective time is given to support you with the research and planning skills required for this. All members of Hut 6, the School’s academic extension group, would be expected to do a BPQ (or a separate scholarship project in Fourth and Lower Fifth) but it provides an opportunity for all to become independent and reflective learners. As well as being part of Hut 6, all our Scholars (Academic, Art, Drama, Music, Sport and Technology) are challenged and monitored by teachers in their appropriate departments and are expected to play a full role in the life of the School. Honorary Scholarships are available to students as they move through the School and display aptitude, potential and motivation in the pursuit of excellence.

In the Sixth Form, there is a further extension programme designed for those wishing to apply to the most competitive courses at university. This involves a series of lectures, workshops and opportunities to give presentations in advanced areas of study. We also run courses for those who need to take entrance tests necessary for admission to some courses such as law and medicine, and to Cambridge and Oxford.

We have two different groups for academic extension to allow for effective stretch and challenge:

Hut 6
This group is compulsory for Academic Scholars and Honorary Scholars, but it is also open to all students from Fourth to Upper Fifth. Anyone wishing to challenge themselves can join this group to listen to lectures and participate in discussions based on an annual theme. These cross-curricular themes are designed to show links between subject areas and introduce you to new content that is not part of the formal curriculum.
Students who are part of Hut 6 are expected to be fully committed to attending the sessions and should complete a Scholarship Project (or BPQ in Upper Fourth and Fifth).

Centenary Scholars
This is a selective group of two to four students per year group and there is a competitive application process. Centenary Scholar sessions consist of seminar style discussions based on pre-reading which allow for an in-depth consideration of a range of academic topics.

Independent study is an important part of the way students learn, whether in Fourth or Sixth Form, and doing regular ‘prep’ or independent study in the first years at Benenden encourages good habits for later when students from Fifth and above have to completely organise their own study time.

Students in Fourth and Upper Fourth have around an hour’s prep each weekday and some at the weekend. Students in Lower Fifth have around one and a half hours on weekdays and some at the weekend: Prep should be completed during private study lessons, prep time in House or supervised prep time in School.

Subjects only set prep if it is necessary to consolidate learning, to prepare for learning to come or to extend learning. Teachers are asked not to set prep for the sake of it, or just because it appears on the timetable for that day.

Not everyone in a form will always have the same prep; the purpose of prep is to extend and challenge each student depending on their current level, so it is normal for students to have different tasks.

No one in Fourth is expected to spend more than around an hour a day on prep; if a task is incomplete after the appropriate time has been spent, the student should just draw a line and indicate that they have spent at least 20 minutes on the task.

Some subjects might set a longer task, eg an essay or a creative project – which can be done in short bursts, or a student might choose to do it altogether in one go over a weekend.

There will usually be a need to do some prep at the weekend, and some tasks may be set for the holidays.

There will always be more than one evening available to do the prep; therefore if a student has extras that evening, she can make up the time elsewhere. Generally, subjects who set one prep a week will give a week for that prep to be done.

It is best to do prep in a quiet, calm place, at a well-lit desk, with the proper equipment. Most students, whether they are 11, 18 or 80, find that they work better without background music, and with social networks and emails off. The following website can be used to turn off social media: www.coldturkey.com. Students that are in the Study Centre for supervised prep will be required to work in silence in the room.

Teachers will set prep via Assignments in Teams to help you keep track of deadlines and what work needs to be handed in. If you find that you have completed all your prep then you should use the prep hour in House to consolidate knowledge, extend your learning or read. The Independent Study tile on the Student Hub is a great place to go to find extension work.

If you are struggling to keep on top of your prep or the organisation of your work, then your Hm may suggest that you have an organisation support card. This is not a sanction but is trying to help you get into a good working routine.

School Examinations
School exams take place once a year, in the Summer Term, for all Fourth to Fifth and Six One students and Upper Fifth and Six Two students have mocks in the Spring Term preceding the summer of their GCSEs and A Levels. Students also have Progress Tests throughout the year to monitor their learning. Practice at exams is an essential part of preparation for public exams and is also a good way of consolidating learning. Students are briefed in how to prepare for exams and how to behave during them.
The normal timetable of lessons is set aside for several days when exams take place. Students are given help by their teachers, which includes a list of what to revise and strategies for how to revise. Supervised revision time is set aside during the examination period, to allow students time to review information between exams.

Coursework
Some public exam courses have an element of coursework within them. You must plan your work carefully to meet the requirements of the tasks and the deadlines. Deadlines are set by the exam boards and your teachers have to have marked and moderated work before it can be sent off. It is therefore essential to meet all deadlines you are set, not just for final pieces of work but for drafts as well. Coursework deadlines are immovable, a fact you should get used to right from the start. We try to spread coursework over the year so that you do not have to work on too many different subjects at the same time, but an element of overlap is inevitable.

If you find that organising your work schedule is becoming difficult, speak to your Tutor or Hm before the problem becomes too large. Do not wait until you are overwhelmed as you are likely to miss deadlines which will probably result in you achieving lower marks. It is sometimes tempting to look on the internet for help with coursework or to discuss work with your friends. Both of these things are possible, but you must make sure that everything you write is your own work. Anything copied from another source without appropriate referencing is plagiarism and will be sanctioned – this includes use of AI. Your teachers find it very easy to spot plagiarism, so do not be tempted to think you will get away with it.

If at any stage during your exam courses you have concerns about the procedures used in assessing your internally marked work for public examinations (eg coursework, portfolio, project), you should see the Examinations Officer as soon as possible. They will explain to you exactly what the process is for making an appeal. Please note that the only grounds for an appeal are about procedures, not about actual marks.

The Academic Support Department provides support and advice to any student who needs it, regardless of whether they have an identified learning difficulty. The SENDCo (Mrs Miller) is the first point of contact for any student or parent who has a concern and would like to discuss it further, and the department liaises closely with teaching and House staff to identify students who could benefit from some level of support.

Mr Jones provides specific EAL support in addition to this.

Summary
Life at Benenden is very busy and very exciting. It is important that you do your best academically, and to do this you need to balance the demands of your academic work against all the other opportunities you have to develop as a person. There are so many things on offer that you often have to make hard choices.

Your Tutor, Hm and the Academic Office are always on hand to help you. While all work and no play is not good, you do also need to remember that you have to spend some time at the weekends working, and also during some of the holidays. Each evening you must do some prep and go over the work you have done that day. If you balance your work and other activities well, you will have had a rewarding time here and will take away a set of qualifications and skills that will serve you well your whole life through.

Your timetabled and private study lessons will occupy much of the time during the week. Lunch hours and the time after the end of lessons provide you with time to look after yourself, relax, do your private study, take part in a wide range of activities, read, socialise – many different things which compete for your attention.

The co-curricular fair takes place at the beginning of the academic year and is a great opportunity to see the wide variety of clubs and activities available for students and to speak to those running them about what’s involved before signing up! There are more than 140 clubs and activities each week so there will be something for everyone, whatever your interests.

Music
At Benenden we can offer tuition in all orchestral instruments, plus singing, harp, percussion, guitar (acoustic and electric), bass guitar, piano or keyboard and organ. If you take music lessons as an extra (and the majority of Benenden pupils do), you need to allow time in your schedule not just for the lesson but also for practice. This could be as little as 20 minutes three times a week if you are a beginner, extending to 45 minutes to an hour 5-7 days a week for advanced players.

Music lessons take place across the week, and sometimes they will be scheduled during class time on a rotational basis. If this is the case, it will apply only to students in Fourth, Upper Fourth, Lower Fifth and, very occasionally, Fifth and you will only miss the same lesson once every 4-6 weeks. If your lesson is on a rotation, you need to pay careful attention to SOCS and your email.

If you have individual music lessons, you will be expected to take part in a choir and/or an ensemble. You will be allocated a musical group of a suitable level at the start of the Autumn Term. If you would like to change activity, or perhaps join more than one ensemble, you should talk about it with a member of the Music Department. Benenden has three choirs, two orchestras, a Chamber orchestra and several Chamber groups, a jazz band, saxophone, percussion, recorder and flute groups, and numerous rock/pop bands that run every week so you should be able to find something you will enjoy.

Aural, sight-reading and theory classes are offered free of charge by music staff, and the School accompanist is available if you wish to play or sing your pieces with the piano part. She accompanies all music exams and organises a range of informal performance opportunities, and all girls are encouraged to make the most of these.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email or talk to Mr Whiting (Director of Music) or pop into the Music Office (M15).

Drama
If you take Speech and Drama lessons as an extra, there will be times when you will have extra learning or rehearsal in addition to one 30-minute lesson each week.
School productions usually involve one to two weekday evening rehearsals, depending on the production and your input, as well as some weekends. Rehearsals are carefully scheduled ahead and clearly advertised.

Both Ballet and Contemporary Dance are popular extras and the annual Dance Show is a diary highlight.

Sport and Exercise
We offer a variety of sports clubs, group and individual coaching opportunities, in sports including Tennis, Squash, Swimming, Trampolining, Athletics, Riding, Badminton, Hockey, Fencing, Football, Rugby and Cricket. Each activity usually requires a weekly commitment of between 30 minutes and one hour. The Fitness Gym and Swimming Pool also have an extensive timetable of opening hours as well as a varied programme of classes, activities and challenges for students to participate in.

Membership of one of the representative sports squads requires commitment to regular training and attendance at all practices and matches. Practices will vary according to the squad and sport. Additional commitment, training and practice sessions will be required by those students who achieve county, regional or national selection. Members of a squad are expected to play in all matches their team has, both on weekdays and at weekends.

There are many evening activities, covering a range of topics, which you can take part in. Some, such as lectures, are compulsory for different year groups. While these are not compulsory for Day students we strongly recommend that Day students attend these events as they will be educationally beneficial.

The weekend at Benenden is a busy time. Activities are organised each Saturday and Sunday for every age group and are compulsory for those in School for some year groups. Activities are fun and the programme is designed for your enjoyment and enrichment. Day students are expected to attend Saturday morning lessons and any fixtures, after which they may go home or can choose to stay for activities if they wish. However, Day students are expected to attend Weekend Programme events on Closed Weekends as these are vital events in the School community’s calendar.

Each term the programme is sent home to you so you can discuss with your parents what you would like to take part in and arrange your time at home in advance. Each week the activities are explained to you in House Time and you have to sign up by Tuesday morning.

The Weekend Programme is very varied, including trips to most conceivable venues as well as workshops and other events in School. We also organise regular events with boys’ schools, particularly Tonbridge.

Houses also organise events such as bowling or meals out with their twin House at Tonbridge.

This term’s Weekend Programme guide can be seen here.

Wake up is at 7.30am on Mondays to Fridays. Wake up on Saturday is at 8.00am.

Yes. Lessons begin at 9.00am and end at 10.45am on a Saturday. Students are then free to go home if not involved in sports matches and it is not a closed weekend. Most boarders will stay to get involved in the Weekend Programme.

Students may go to the Ville (village) on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday in groups of three or more (pairs for Upper Fifth and Sixth Form) with permission from House staff. The Ville is about a 15-minute walk with a footpath all the way. There is a very well-stocked village shop!

Benenden’s onsite school Shop is called LASS. New and second-hand uniform, stationery, stamps and some personal items and a small selection of tuck are available in LASS. You may purchase items using cash or card. Uniform is also available to order online with the option to collect from LASS.

Opening Times
9.00am – 4.45pm Monday to Thursday (4.30pm on Friday)
8.45am – 11.15am Saturday (uniform shop not available)

Absolutely! Many girls bring in family photos, fairy lights, soft toys and other personal items for their areas. You will of course bring your own bedding from home too and some like to bring additional cushions to be extra cosy!

Your House has a kitchen which you may use. It is stocked each day with bread, butter, various spreads, milk, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate and fruit. There is a communal fridge and freezer in which you may store things. Lower and Middle School kitchens are open at advertised times, but not at meal times as you are expected to attend all School meals. Sixth Form kitchens are open all day, as you may sometimes want to cook for yourselves. At weekends you may all cook food such as pasta, though Fourth to Upper Fifth are still expected to attend meals in School.

All students are welcome and advised to have a mobile at School. Please ensure the mobile being supplied is Wi-Fi calling enabled. We have an Acceptable Use of ICT policy and students receive guidance on how to use their devices safely and appropriately.

Phones are locked away during the day and overnight, and girls have access for a specified period to call home. There’s more freedom for older girls. International students may be given permission to use their devices to call family at other times.

Benenden School uses an online travel booking system called Vectare, which your parents can access through the Parent Portal in the “Travel” section. This can be used throughout the year to book places for you on School coaches for holidays and weekends, to request a taxi booking for you and to inform the School that you will be collected or returned by private or family car. Parents of Day students can also use the system to book a seat on our daily bus service, travelling from Tonbridge Station to Benenden School with stops at Tunbridge Wells Station and The Goudhurst Inn. Two additional routes, from Mayfield and Staplehurst Station, may commence during the Autumn Term 2025. Places on School coaches are paid for online at the time of booking. Taxi costs are charged to your School Account and must be requested on Vectare at least 48 hours in advance of travel.

Airport Travel
At the start and end of each term and at Half Term, we operate a coach service between the School and Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 which is escorted by a member of School staff. Requests for staff to act in the capacity of a designated adult for those of you who are travelling with your airline’s Unaccompanied Minor scheme must be submitted by your parents well in advance to the Travel Team by emailing travel@benenden.school. Taxis can also be requested for airport transfers at these times, but these are not usually escorted unless a specific request for this service has been submitted to the Travel Team.

Additional charges may be incurred for staff to escort students travelling as unaccompanied minors. The airport coach service does not run during Fixed Exeat weekends.

Taxis
It is also possible for your parents to request a taxi booking for you to other destinations. The School only uses taxi firms who have licensed and plated taxis and drivers who have been DBS checked. Students are not allowed to book their own taxis directly with a taxi operator – all taxi booking requests must be made by your parents on Vectare so that these journeys can be booked by the Travel Team with taxi operators who are specifically approved by the School. There is no Uber service in this part of the country.

Fixed Exeats and Half Term
On major School holiday dates such as Fixed Exeats and Half Term, the School operates coaches to and from Essex and Suffolk, Sussex, London (Royal Albert Hall and Clapham Common), Wimbledon, and Staplehurst Station. Parents are asked to book places on these coaches least two weeks in advance on Vectare. Reminders will be sent to them by the Travel Team.

Train Travel
At weekends, Fixed Exeats and Half Terms, students may travel by train to London. The School offers a coach service Staplehurst Station each Saturday morning and a return coach service on Sunday evening. Bookings for places on these coaches must be made on Vectare by 11.00am on the Wednesday before the weekend of travel and are taken on a first come first served basis.

For Fixed Exeats and Half Terms, the outbound station coach departs on the Friday. These services are not escorted. The Lower School Station route for exeats and Half Terms does have a member of staff on the coach and on the train to and from London to accompany students, but their presence is only as a point of contact for those travelling, and not as a supervisor or monitor.

Train Tickets and Railcards
Train tickets must be purchased by parents or students at www.thetrainline.com or at www.southeasternrailway.co.uk in advance of travel. The School is unable to purchase rail tickets on behalf of students. Please note that rail services on the Staplehurst line are subject to frequent changes due to ongoing engineering works which are part of a major upgrade project. Published train times and departure/arrival points can change at short notice and you are advised to check National Rail Enquiries, or directly with the School, before purchasing train tickets. We do not advise purchasing tickets too far in advance for this reason.