Knole Academy is a secondary school in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England, with a

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

band and

Sixth-Form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare ...

. Knole opened in September 2010 as a result of the amalgamation of the Wildernesse secondary school in

and Bradbourne School (for girls) As part of Knole Academy Trust (UID 3664), the organization transitioned to Aletheia Academies Trust in 2024. Gordon Phillips, the lead sponsor chaired the Steering Committee in 2010 setting up the Knole academy and bringing the two schools together on one site in addition to overseeing the building of a twenty million pound new building. He also chaired the Knole Academy Board of Governors for three years from 2010 to 2013

Previous schools

The Wildernesse School was a single sex

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

for boys aged eleven to nineteen. It had Specialist School status for Mathematics and Computing. Other than the English motto taken from a letter to

Sir Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. His works include a sonnet sequence, '' Astrophil and ...

from his father, the school had a Latin motto: ''

Non Nobis Solum ' (English: "not for ourselves alone") is a Latin motto. Common variations are ' ("not for us, but for everyone") and '. It means that people should contribute to the general greater good of humanity, apart from their own interests. Origin Th ...

'' (English: "Not for ourselves alone"). The school closed in July 2010, becoming part of the Knole Academy at the start of the autumn term in September 2010. The Bradbourne School was a girls' 11–18,

with a 6th form that hosted about 860 students. It closed in 2010. Bradbourne School had been renamed in 1974, having previously been Sevenoaks School for Girls, and before that, Hatton School. Its original buildings included the house, Maywood, built in 1874, which had previously been called Hatton House and been the home of Lady Fanny Finch-Hatton. Maywood is now the Sevenoaks Adult Education Centre. Wildernesse School and Sports Hall - geograph.org.uk - 218963.jpg, Former Wildernesse School The Bradbourne School - Sevenoaks - geograph.org.uk - 218972.jpg, Former Bradbourne School

The site

The former Bradbourne site was selected for the new academy. This had to be a sensitive development as the site lies right at the edge of the

metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

. The location of the new building was selected to respect the overall use pattern of the site, and to enable construction whilst the existing buildings remained in use. The site had an existing building footprint of to which would be added – which makes up 8% of the total site area. There is of general recreational space with of sports pitches and viewing areas. There is of landscaping and of parking and service roadways. To the north of the three-storey new building are two sports halls and the music teaching accommodation. To the south set at an angle that follows the contours of the site are the specialist classrooms, toilets and office space. Art has the top floor, science has the middle floor and construction and technology on the ground floor. General classrooms are in the existing building with a capacity of 1550. The sites of the previous schools were used during the construction of the new Academy buildings which weren't completed until 2015. On merger, not all of the students from Wildernesse moved over immediately; the merger of students was only completed in September 2011. Since then, the site at Knole East (Wildernesse) has been used to site Trinity Free School, Sevenoaks and Weald of Kent Grammar School Annex. Before becoming an academy, Bradbourne School was designated as a specialist Arts College. This specialization has carried over to Knole Academy, which emphasises an arts curriculum alongside other subjects. One of the academy’s sponsors is Sevenoaks School.

Academics

, the school's most recent full inspection by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

was in 2017, with an outcome of Good. There was a short inspection in 2022 which confirmed the judgement of Good. The Knole Academy curriculum covers GCSE's, IBCP & IBDP

Notable alumni

* Archie Yates, Actor * Carma hylton, Actor * Anton du Beke, Choreographer *

Jerome Flynn Jerome Patrick Flynn (born 16 March 1963) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Bronn in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–19). His other roles include Paddy Garvey of the King's Fusiliers in the IT ...

, Actor and singer * Murray Lachlan Young, Broadcaster *

John Salako John Akin Salako (born 11 February 1969) is an English former professional football player, coach, and sports television pundit. Born in Nigeria, Salako played as a winger or attacking midfielder between 1986 and 2005. He played in the Premier ...

, Footballer * Matthew Wilson, Garden designer and broadcaster *

Paul Hartnoll Paul Hartnoll (born 19 May 1968) is one of two brothers (the other being Phil Hartnoll) who make up the electronic dance act Orbital. History Hartnoll played in a local band during the mid-1980s, Noddy and the Satellites, featuring avant-garde ...

, EDM musician * Nikki Runeckles, actor in '' Bad Education''

Uniform policy

Knole Academy made national headlines after updating its uniform policy to allow students to wear fake eyelashes, citing mental health considerations. The change aims to improve attendance, as some students were missing school to have their eyelashes removed or were unwilling to attend without them. Headteacher David Collins said that the new rule permits discreet fake eyelashes to ensure students remain in school.

Teacher criminal convictions

A former teacher arrested for brandishing a hammer and threatening a colleague was barred from returning to the profession for four years after working at Knole Academy and an ex-maths teacher was convicted of downloading child abuse films.

Transport

There has been controversy over the overcrowding of school transport.

Headteacher's salary

In 2019 the government has requested Knole Academy to justify the high salary previously received by its former headteacher, though the school has stated that it no longer offers six-figure salaries to any staff members.

References

External links

* {{authority control Secondary schools in Kent Academies in Kent Schools in Sevenoaks Educational institutions established in 2010 2010 establishments in England