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Academic Life

Tonbridge School has an outstanding academic reputation. Each year our boys gain places at leading universities in the UK and around the world, the very large majority securing their first-choice destination. Our Leavers attend Oxford and Cambridge, Russell Group and higher tariff universities, as well as prestigious institutions overseas, including those in the US and Hong Kong.

We encourage a love of learning by taking an interest in quirks, enthusiasms and idiosyncrasies, and the results speak for themselves: our boys consistently achieve some of the best examination results in the country. In 2023, 80 per cent of all A-level grades awarded were A* or A, while nearly all grades (97 per cent) achieved by Tonbridge students were either A*, A or B. A total of 43 per cent of all grades were at A*.

GSCE results in 2023 were also highly impressive: 48 per cent of grades were at 9, the highest possible grade, and 77 per cent were at 9 and 8 (with both grades the equivalent of A*). In addition, 94 per cent of grades were at 9, 8 or 7, which is the equivalent of gaining either an A* or A. 

Our curriculum has been inspired by the skills identified by The World Economic Forum as having the greatest value in the future, such as complex problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, leadership, resilience and flexibility.

We offer 26 subjects taught by outstanding subject specialists, often with an impressive reputation in their field. All are passionate advocates for their subjects and their students, encouraging our boys to go beyond the curriculum in order to gain a mastery of the topic.

The rapport between boy and adult is not based on authority of the command and control kind, but on mutual respect and on a shared aim – the aim to grow. The Housemaster and Tutor system supports this ethos, ensuring that each boy has a wide network of support, both academically and pastorally. 

Curriculum Guides

What they are saying about us

Fiercely academic without the heat of London, Tonbridge suits driven, hardworking but – critically – normal boys. Understated yet excelling across the board, this is one of our favourite schools in the country.

Talk Education

The poet W. B. Yeats called true education ‘the lighting of a fire’. To join Tonbridge is to enter a learning community that seeks to ‘light a fire’ in each and every student.

Peter Carpenter, Former Head of English

Bright boys are inspired to move from asking the right questions to challenging the answers in a meriotic environment brimming with community spirit.

Talk Education

2023 Statistics

A-LEVEL RESULTS

97%

97 per cent of all A-level grades are at A* - B.

GCSE RESULTS

94%

94 per cent of all GCSE grades are at 9-7 (equivalent to A*/A).

UNIVERSITIES

90%

90 per cent of our 2023 Leavers secured a place at Russell Group and higher tariff universities. Tonbridge boys gained places at Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, Columbia and the University of Hong Kong, among many others.

ACADEMIC NEWS

Recent Stories

Up Next

Higher Education and Careers

Our Higher Education and Careers team helps pupils gain the confidence, skills and experience to achieve their academic and professional ambitions.

Learning Strategies

At Tonbridge, learning diversity is recognised and planned for. Our aim is to provide all pupils with learning strategies that will equip them for life at university and beyond.

 

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