Kensington Park School

Two buildings, one school, split by a royal park. Kensington Park School runs its Senior School from Bark Place beside Kensington Gardens and sends its sixth formers south to Queen's Gate, where the windows look out at the Natural History Museum. KPS is a selective, co-educational independent for ages 11 to 18, with day places and a rare central-London boarding option. Class and tutor groups are deliberately small, and the academic results sit comfortably above the England average at both GCSE and A-level. The March 2026 ISI inspection confirmed that all relevant Standards are met, including a strong safeguarding culture. With around 200 students on roll, this is an intimate school for families who want close attention rather than a large institution.

KPS feels less like a sprawling campus and more like a pair of London town-house schools, each tuned to a different stage of education. The Senior School, for Years 7 to 11, occupies Bark Place a few steps from Kensington Gardens; the Sixth Form sits separately at Queen's Gate in South Kensington, a deliberate shift that treats older students as near-undergraduates rather than overgrown school pupils.

Headmaster Antony Faccinello, an Oxford graduate, describes an overtly personal approach in which every student is known and valued, and the teaching model backs that up. Lessons run in small-class groups where each pupil is expected to contribute by asking and answering questions rather than sitting quietly at the back. The intake is international by character, with more than 30 nationalities represented in the Sixth Form, and the school provides timetabled English language and IELTS support where students need it.

Students build confidence and a clearer sense of identity through the school's culture of courtesy and peer respect. The atmosphere is studious and courteous rather than competitive for its own sake, and pupils with additional needs, including those with SEND and those learning English as an additional language, are supported to make good progress from their starting points.

The school's identity is shaped as much by its setting as by its size. The Senior School site sits next to Kensington Gardens, with the Sixth Form a short hop south beside the Natural History Museum, so the museums, galleries and parks of South Kensington effectively become the school's extended grounds. Religious education develops understanding of world faiths and moral reasoning across a genuinely multinational student body, and pupils are taught to value diversity and treat one another courteously. The result is a school that reads as cosmopolitan and outward-looking rather than insular, a deliberate fit for families relocating to London or wanting an international peer group for their children.

At GCSE, KPS performs above the England average and clearly above the local field. More than two in five grades fell in the top band, with 43% awarded a grade 9 to 7, including 27% at the very top of grades 9 and 8 and a further 17% at grade 7. For GCSE outcomes the school is ranked 475th in England and 9th in Westminster, a proprietary FindMySchool ranking built from official results, which places it above the England average and within the top 25% of schools in England.

That standing carries through to A-level, where the picture is similarly strong. Just over 60% of grades reached A* to B, against an England average closer to 47%, and 16% were the highest A* grade, comfortably ahead of the England figure for A* and A combined. For A-level results the school is placed 465th in England and 9th in Westminster, again a FindMySchool ranking drawn from official data, and it sits above the England average in the top 25% nationally. Taken together across GCSE and A-level, KPS holds a combined position of 388th in England, a useful signal for families weighing both stages under one roof. For a school competing in one of the most academically crowded boroughs in the country, holding a top-25% national position across both phases is a creditable result.

Two points are worth keeping in proportion. These results come from a small cohort, so a single year group shapes the headline figures more than at a large school. And teaching in the Senior School does not always stretch the highest prior attainers, an area leaders were working to address. In the Sixth Form, by contrast, the teaching is uniformly rigorous and challenging.

The teaching method is built around the small group. With Sixth Form classes of roughly eight to ten students, and similarly modest sizes lower down, there is little room to hide and a great deal of direct contact with subject staff. Teachers are knowledgeable and skilled, and a defining feature is patience: explanations are reiterated and repeated until pupils fully understand, which suits a roll that includes students arriving from many different school systems and languages.

The curriculum is broad and flexible, and the Sixth Form provision in particular is adapted to individual interests, with 25 A-level subjects on the menu. That breadth lets students build unusual combinations rather than being funnelled into a handful of standard blocks, and it is one of the practical advantages of small numbers: the school can run a wider subject list than a larger institution of comparable resources might attempt. The teaching is described by the school as a knowledge-and-skills-rich curriculum delivered in small-class settings designed to build curiosity and deep subject understanding.

Teaching enables the majority of senior students, and all of those in the Sixth Form, to approach their work responsibly, showing determination and a willingness to think for themselves. The patient, dialogic style works particularly well for students who join mid-school or from overseas, because the small classes give teachers the time to fill gaps individually rather than moving on with the loudest voices. For students who arrive with limited English, timetabled language and IELTS support runs alongside subject lessons, so language need not hold back academic progress.

The honest caveat is one of pace and behaviour management in the Senior School. Low-level disruption from some senior students is not always managed effectively, and the most able are not always pushed hard enough, whereas sixth-form behaviour is excellent and bullying rare.

University is the clear destination for KPS leavers, and the school publishes a credible record. From the Class of 2024, around 60% of leavers went on to Russell Group universities, a strong proportion for a school of this size. Recent destinations span the most selective end of the system: students have accepted places at Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College London, LSE, UCL, King's College London, Durham, Bristol, Warwick, Edinburgh, Exeter and Newcastle, among others.

The subject spread is genuinely wide, taking in Medicine, Law, Engineering, Mathematics, Economics, Psychology, Neuroscience, PPE and European Social and Political Studies, alongside creative routes such as Fashion Business and places at University of the Arts London and Istituto Marangoni for art-focused students. A handful each year also head overseas, to institutions including Boston University and Stanford.

A dedicated University and Careers programme supports students through the application process. That said, careers education across both the Senior School and Sixth Form is currently under-developed, with limited information on future pathways, so families should expect to supplement school guidance with their own research, particularly for competitive routes such as medicine.

The Sixth Form is treated as a distinct stage with its own building and culture. Moving across Kensington Gardens to Queen's Gate puts students within walking distance of the Natural History, Science and Victoria and Albert museums, and the smaller, more adult setting is meant to bridge the gap between school and university. Classes here run at roughly eight to ten students, and the 25 A-level subjects on offer allow specialists to go deep while keeping broader combinations open.

Enrichment is where the Sixth Form distinguishes itself. A Wednesday enrichment afternoon mixes volunteering, health and fitness, a Culture Club and skills sessions, and the society list is unusually ambitious for the school's size: Model United Nations, Young Enterprise, a BAFTA Young Games Designer strand, Coding, a STEM society, Finance, Current Affairs, Psychology and a Drama and Public Speaking club, plus essay-competition awards that push academic writing beyond the syllabus. Sixth-form teaching is uniformly rigorous and challenging and behaviour is excellent, a marked contrast with the challenge and behaviour points raised lower down the school.

Entry into Year 12 is selective and open to external applicants as well as the school's own Year 11 students, so the Sixth Form is not simply a continuation cohort. The two honest gaps for post-16 families are physical education, where provision is currently limited to joining a senior lesson once a week, and careers guidance, which remains under-developed. Both are worth raising directly when visiting.

KPS is academically selective, and the main entry points are at 11+ into Year 7 and 13+ into Year 9, with occasional places in other year groups. The 13+ intake is where boarding becomes available. Candidates sit written assessments in English, Mathematics and Non-Verbal Reasoning, which the school says are designed to identify potential and require no specific preparation, followed by an interview with the Head or Head of Senior School covering academic and co-curricular interests.

The selection process looks for genuine intellectual curiosity and interests beyond the syllabus, rather than polished exam technique alone, and the school stresses that the assessments need no specific preparation. That framing matters: it signals a school looking for potential and fit rather than the most heavily tutored applicant, which can reassure families who are not running a competitive prep-school exam campaign. For families considering Sixth Form entry, KPS recruits externally into Year 12 as well as progressing its own Year 11 students, and direct entrants pay a slightly higher fee than continuing students. Applicants should be ready to submit a recent school report and, where relevant, any educational psychologist report, alongside the registration form.

For September 2027 entry, registration is already open. As a guide to timing, the school's recent September-entry cycle set a registration deadline in mid-November, assessment days in late November, offers in mid-January and an acceptance deadline in early March. Open mornings and evenings typically run in October and November, with private Sixth Form tours offered through the summer term; booking is required, so confirm current dates directly with the school. Because KPS sets its own admissions, there is no Local Authority catchment and no last-distance-offered cut-off to weigh, which makes it worth using the FindMySchool map to compare the two sites against your home before committing to the daily journey.

Wellbeing is a genuine priority rather than an afterthought. There is a strong emphasis on mental health, with specialist staff support available, and pupils grow in confidence within a culture of mutual respect. Religious education develops understanding of world faiths and moral reasoning, and students learn the value of diversity and treat one another courteously.

Safeguarding is a clear strength. Inspectors found a strong, well-led culture of safeguarding overseen by knowledgeable, well-trained staff, with staff alert to concerning behaviour and positive relationships established with outside agencies. All required safer-recruitment checks are completed and recorded, and an advisory board provides rigorous oversight of safeguarding policies and practice.

For boarders, pastoral cover is built around resident house parents offering 24-hour care, with comfortable, welcoming accommodation and suitable medical provision. KPS is one of relatively few schools offering boarding in central London, available from 13+ entry, and some families use it during exam periods as well as full-time; the boarding accommodation is welcoming and the National Minimum Standards for boarding are consistently met. The small overall roll means pastoral staff can know individual students well, which is one of the practical advantages of a school this size, and the buildings are clean and well maintained.

KPS turns its central-London location into a co-curricular asset, partnering with nearby venues rather than relying on extensive on-site grounds. The programme runs at lunchtimes and after school three times a week, and the named clubs are specific rather than vague: Chess Club, Debating, Creative Writing, a Book Club, the Languages and Classics Club, a French Club, Maths Club, Science Club, Music Composition, Dance, a Pride Club, Dodgeball, LAMDA drama and a student-run KPS CAN group focused on charity and sustainability. Many of these are student-led societies built around shared interests, which suits older pupils who want to shape their own programme.

Sport is delivered through some of the best facilities in the area. Tennis and netball run at Will to Win in Hyde Park, swimming uses the 30m pool at the Porchester Centre, ice skating takes place at Queen's, and the Westway Centre provides climbing and the rare game of Eton Fives. On-programme sports include football through KPS FC, fencing, kickboxing, table tennis, running and cycling, giving students a broader menu than many town-house schools manage.

Music and drama are woven through the week, with a school Band, a Choir and regular productions supported by LAMDA coaching. The Sixth Form leans into ambitious enrichment: a BAFTA Young Games Designer strand, Model United Nations, Young Enterprise, coding and a STEM society, alongside a Wednesday enrichment afternoon of volunteering, fitness and culture. Students also pursue the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which adds outdoor challenge to an otherwise urban offer. One genuine gap is dedicated physical education for sixth formers, who currently have limited timetabled exercise beyond joining a senior lesson once a week.

For 2026-27, day fees for UK residents in Years 7 to 11 and for continuing Sixth Form students are £9,950 per term, or £29,850 per year, with direct-entry Sixth Form places at £10,350 per term. International students pay more, and tuition is inclusive of lunch, all textbooks, practical lab costs and timetabled English language or IELTS lessons where required. Boarding is charged on top of tuition and ranges from £8,510 per term for a shared en-suite room to £12,200 per term for a single premium en-suite, including meals and 24-hour resident house-parent care.

On financial support, KPS leans towards merit awards rather than published means-tested aid. Scholarships are offered for academic achievement, art and design, drama, music and sport, and take the form of a tuition-fee reduction reviewed annually. At Sixth Form, the Kensington Scholars programme offers academic scholarships of up to 30% of fees, and music applicants are expected to hold at least Grade 3 on an instrument or voice. The school does not publish a bursary scheme, so families needing substantial means-tested help should ask the admissions team directly about what is available. A younger-sibling discount of 5% on tuition also applies.

The school day follows a standard independent-school pattern across both sites, with the co-curricular programme extending three afternoons a week. Wraparound or holiday childcare is not a feature of an 11 to 18 school, though boarding provides a residential option for families who need it, including some who use it during exam periods.

Travel is one of the practical realities to plan for. The two sites sit on opposite sides of Kensington Gardens, so students moving up to the Sixth Form change location entirely, from Bark Place in Bayswater to Queen's Gate in South Kensington. Both are exceptionally well served by the Underground and bus network, with Bayswater and Queensway stations near the Senior School and Gloucester Road and South Kensington serving the Sixth Form, which makes KPS realistic for families across a wide swathe of central and west London.

Challenge for the most able. Senior School teaching does not always stretch pupils with higher prior attainment, and low-level disruption is not always managed well. Sixth Form teaching is consistently rigorous, so the issue is concentrated lower down; ambitious families should ask how the school extends top-end students in Years 7 to 11.

A small cohort shapes the results. With roughly 200 students in total, headline GCSE and A-level percentages rest on small year groups and can swing more than at a large school. Read the multi-year trend rather than a single year's figures, and use the FindMySchool hub to compare KPS against other Westminster independents side by side.

Careers and community engagement need bolstering. Careers guidance is under-developed across both phases, sixth-form PE is limited, and there are few opportunities to contribute to the local community. Families aiming at competitive courses should plan to supplement the school's support.

Fees and limited means-tested aid. Day fees sit near £29,850 a year before boarding, and while scholarships of up to 30% exist at Sixth Form, no published bursary scheme is advertised. Affordability rests heavily on merit awards, so discuss financial support early.

Kensington Park School is a small, selective, internationally minded independent that delivers above-average results at both GCSE and A-level, sends around 60% of leavers to Russell Group universities, and pairs that with genuinely personal teaching in small classes. Its central-London setting turns into a co-curricular strength, from Hyde Park tennis to a Sixth Form perched beside the Natural History Museum, and it is a secure, well-safeguarded school where all Standards are met.

It is best suited to families who want close attention and an academic, university-focused environment rather than the scale, grounds and sporting infrastructure of a large school, and who value a flexible Sixth Form with breadth of subjects and a boarding option in the heart of the capital. The main caveats are honest ones: teaching does not always stretch the strongest younger students, careers guidance needs strengthening, and the fees demand careful budgeting given limited published bursary support. For the right child, the intimacy and individual focus are exactly the point.