The Schools at Somerhill

Somerhill Independent School (formerly known as The Schools at Somerhill) is an independent prep school in Tonbridge, Kent, located at Somerhill House and overseen by Somerhill Charitable Trust. The school is composed of three sections: Somerhill Pre-Prep (coeducational pre-prep for children aged 2.5 to 7), Yardley Court (for boys aged 7-13), and Derwent Lodge (for girls aged 7-11).

History
Yardley Court was founded in 1898 in Tonbridge and moved to the Somerhill site in 1990 to expand. Derwent Lodge, established in the 1930s, moved to Somerhill House in 1993, relocating from their Tunbridge Wells town centre home, which they had outgrown. The establishment of Somerhill Pre-Prep followed shortly after in 1995.

The three schools operated as separate entities and were known as The Schools at Somerhill until 2018, when they integrated into one school with shared facilities, vision, and purpose.

School Structure
Somerhill offers co-education and single-sex schooling. Boys and girls attend co-educational Pre-School and Pre-Prep from ages 2 to 7. Upon entering the prep side of the school, boys join Yardley Court, and girls join Derwent Lodge for single-sex classes in a co-educational environment, sharing facilities and opportunities equally.

Somerhill Pre-Prep
The Pre-Prep section of Somerhill is for boys and girls aged 2 to 7, covering pre-school through to Year 2.

Yardley Court
Yardley Court is the prep section for boys aged 7 to 13; covering school years 3 to year 8.

Boys attending Somerhill can leave following the 11+ and progress to the local grammar schools, particularly the Judd School, the Skinners’ School, and Tunbridge Wells Grammar. Alternatively, for boys leaving at 13+, Tonbridge School is the most popular destination. Others join Sevenoaks, Eastbourne, Bede’s, Hurst, Kings Canterbury, Caterham and Sutton Valence.

Derwent Lodge
Derwent Lodge is the prep section for girls aged 7 to 11; covering school years 3 to year 6.

When girls leave the school at the end of Year 6, typical destinations include Sevenoaks School, Walthamstow Hall, Kent College, Mayfield, Tonbridge Grammar School for Girls, Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar, and Weald of Kent Grammar.