WHAT? WHERE?

The Granville comprises a pre-school for boys and girls aged 3-4 years and a prep school for girls aged 4-11 years. Tucked away in a quiet residential area to the north of Sevenoaks (and within easy walking distance of Sevenoaks railway station) it’s a bit of a hidden gem.

School prep Kent Sevenoaks pupils outside

Non-selective but academically a little powerhouse, The Granville is a school that is forward-looking and innovative, offering a vibrant and challenging environment, whilst also embracing its long-held traditions and bringing them into the 21^stcentury.

There’s currently around 210 pupils on roll, which means the school is at its fullest ever. This is in part due to Walthamstow Hall Junior girls school collapsing the younger years (they no longer take anyone under Year 3) so Granville swelled in those year groups.

They had the capacity and physical space to do this and now start with 3 classes in the Pre-School. It’s only fair to point out that the healthy number is also in part due to the school’s excellent reputation and success in retaining girls when they join.

FACILITIES

The original building is an attractive Victorian red brick mansion house and comprises the Great Hall. as well as being where the older girls (Year 5 & Year 6 Seniors) are based.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks school grounds

Over the years, the site has been altered, adapted and extended and the newer purpose-built additions feature specialist teaching areas, large airy and bright classrooms and smart sports facilities (pictured above).

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent climbing wall

For a prep school in a premium town location it boasts a decent outdoor offering and strong raft of facilities.

On the compact site there’s no less than five acres of woodland, plus three courts for tennis and netball, a field and an on-site swimming pool. Plus little touches like a climbing wall for outdoor fun (pictured above) and a new Pre-School climbing frame.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks outdoor learning

There’s a new outdoor play area, camp circle, bug hotel, Woodland Trail – it’s a proper explorers paradise.

Girls swim from Pre-School in the on-site pool which is shallow and perfect for beginners and from Year 3 at the Sevenoaks town pool. There is a separate hall used for assemblies, indoor PE and drama productions.

SPORTS

School prep Kent Sevenoaks children playing

Granville is proud of its sporting track record (pun intended) – and sport is very strong when you consider the size of the school. And being single-sex there’s a good number of girls from which to select A, B, C and D teams – meaning everyone gets to participate as well as pushing for success.

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent girl playing rugby

They are known for their county tennis players (external coaches come to the school for optional additional lessons) and strong netball and cross country. Runners have the benefit of nearby, and rather spectacular, Knole Park, complete with its wild deer heard. Granville has repeatedly qualified for IAPS finals in netball, cross country and, more recently, hockey.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks children in pool swimming lesson

Having said all that, simply being active is encouraged rather than any need to be ‘sporty’. All children start with ballet from Pre-School and there are yoga and relaxation techniques taught.

Plus of course there’s the swimming pool. With the vast array of extra-curricular clubs before and after school there is something for everyone. Girls can take part in gymnastics, fencing, jujitsu, tag rugby and cricket among other clubs.

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent girls karate

The younger ones can get water confident in the on-site pool in small groups with a specialist teacher. Then, from Year 3 onwards the girls swim at the pool in Sevenoaks, taking advantage of the town’s brilliant facilities on their doorstep. In fact they have just expanded the hockey provision with access to nearby Sevenoaks Hockey Club, where the girls now train.

ARTS, TEXTILES AND DESIGN

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent design

Girls from Year 1 to Year 6 benefit from Art & Design Technology lessons taught by specialists in the purpose-built art studio. This is a particularly impressive space, with a high ceiling and this light bright room is bustling with creative energy and the many colourful pieces produced from imaginative little minds.

There’s a kiln for ceramic work, as well as a kitchen for the teaching of Food Technology. Girls have the opportunity to gain experience in drawing, painting, textiles, sculpture work, modelling clay and woodwork.

Students can also enjoy painting outdoors with easels. Art & DT work is linked to the wider curriculum where possible. So creative types will be fully stretched here.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks art lesson

Everything is geared to instilling confidence, and an understanding that we all have creative ability. Girls are encouraged to experiment and to enjoy flexing their artistic muscle across many mediums. Each year, a number of the Year 6 girls are awarded Art Scholarships to senior schools.

DRAMA & MUSIC

The school has dedicated Music and Drama Studios. Drama is strong here, with full productions happening in Pre-School, Reception, and Years 1, 2, 4 and 6.

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent school production drama

LAMDA examinations are also taught in Verse and Prose, Acting and Public Speaking, with the majority gaining Distinctions. The Year 6 production takes place at the town’s theatre, The Stag, giving pupils the memorable experience of putting on a show in a professional theatre.

Music plays a very important and much-loved role in everyday life at The Granville, from daily singing in assemblies to large-scale performances and informal concerts.

Specialist class music, taught by the Head of Music, begins in Pre-School and, as they progress through the school, the focus is on a practical and ‘hands on’ approach which gives every child the chance to engage in some form of music-making, including improvisation and composition.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks orchestra music

In fact, The Crown’s Emma Corrin was an ex-pupil and apparently her Show & Tell was always very animated – maybe this is where the building blocks of her performance skills began? As we know confidence in children all starts here, at this crucial age.

ACADEMICS

Granville has a reputation for strong academics. However while there are high levels of expectation it is a non-selective school and they take particular pride in their focus on preparation, not pushiness.

The GranvilleSchool prep Kent Sevenoaks science lesson

The secret of their success is attention to detail when it comes to each and every child, so that they achieve their potential in a happy, secure and stimulating environment.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks child and teacher

To that end the Learning Development offering is strong and they take a whole school approach – every teacher knows what’s going on with each child and teaching assistants are trained in supporting girls with a range of additional needs within the classroom setting. In short, no girl enters an exam or interview situation that she was not fully prepared for.

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent girls playing

Preparation for senior school exams is tailored to each pupil and the type of exam they will sit, be that the Kent test, ISEB Pre-Test or other exams and scholarships.

PASTORAL CARE

A strong team of form teachers combined with the small class sizes means pupils are known very well and this in turn develops a culture of sharing and openness.

The school subscribes Positive Education, a fully resourced, researched based wellbeing programme. Children are actually taught a toolkit to help them develop skills that nurture the six domains of – Positive Relationships, Positive Emotions, Positive Health, Positive Engagement, Positive Accomplishment and Positive Purpose.

Pastoral concerns are discussed at every weekly staff meeting. As well as this bigger structure, the pastoral ethos also filters down to the detail – there’s a school dog, called Teddy; a visiting Play Therapist; Wellbeing Wednesdays and every pupil’s birthday is celebrated in assembly.

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent girls with martial arts gloves

LEAVERS AND NEXT STEPS

Granville prides itself on being very transparent with parents about each child’s development and achievements as they pass through the school. Staff always feedback on tests, they have a detailed programme advising parents on Open Days for the next stage schools – when they are, what the schools require, who offers the best scholarships – and so on.

They make sure everyone is fully briefed on what’s required in terms of exams and interviews, all of which can vary greatly from school to school. This way parents – but most importantly – girls are fully prepared.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks school dog

Usually around half to two thirds of girls sit the Kent Test, and the vast majority (95% in recent years) are offered a grammar school place. Last year, the cohort of 20 girls was offered a total of 50 school places and 15 scholarships.

Offers were received for Sevenoaks School, Walthamstow Hall, Caterham, Wycombe Abbey, City of London, Benenden and Woldingham among others. Of those girls who passed the Kent 11+, the majority of offers were to the more selective Tonbridge Girls Grammar School.

Another dynamic, that sets it apart from some other preps in the area, is that Granville is not attached to a Senior School. Now, there are many benefits in preps that are attached to Senior Schools, but what this does mean is that Granville can remain completely unbiased about the next steps for pupils – rather than preparing their girls to make the ‘natural’ move to the Senior School – there is a wide selection of schools that the girls move onto.

HEADTEACHER

Mrs Louise Lawrance has been head since 2018 and is very friendly and approachable. A hands-on leader, she has her own daughter, currently in Year 4.

Brought up in South Africa, where she used to volunteer at a school for street children, Lawrance is polished but without an ounce of pretension. She’s very down-to-earth, thoughtful and open.

Yes, the school are proud of their academics, but they certainly don’t want to be known for just that. Her girls succeed in all areas: sport: drama: music and art. As Lawrance puts it: ‘The staff and pupils at The Granville have a close, unique relationship – that’s the result of a real family atmosphere. We are a happy school – all girls know each other across all year groups.’

Kindness and ‘can do’ are paramount here, but the approach is never pushy. Taking Lawrance’s lead, there’s a gentle, easy – and probably more motivating – expectation.

PRE-SCHOOL & RECEPTION

The Early Years setting is a smart purpose-built building, consisting of Pre-School and Reception, with boys in the Pre-School and then it’s all-girl from Reception onwards.

The youngest pupils begin their school life in Squirrels class, where they can join the term after they turn three. Children move up according to stage, rather than age. Meaning once they are established, confident and settled they can move across to one of two parallel classes – Foxes and Hedgehogs, which have a shared play area in the middle. This means that each of those different age groups can get the appropriate attention they need.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks pre school

Learning is free-flow and the rooms lead on to a good Outdoor Play Area with artificial grass. Outdoor learning is big too and there is Forest School in the school woodland (the Pre-School teacher and the Head of Middle School are both Level 3 Forest School leaders).

Everything is overseen by Elise West, Head of Early Years, who is passionate about the job and a really safe pair of hands having worked in education for more than 15 years.

The Granville School prep Kent Sevenoaks children playing

The offering for little ones is extensive with a new 50-week provision since the introduction of Little Doves – a holiday camp for Pre-School and Reception, run by staff members.

WHAT ELSE?

This might be a girls-school that embraces traditions but make no mistake – it is not prissy or twee. No gender stereotypes here, and the head, Mrs Lawrance, remarks on a phenomenon that’s been proven – single-sex schools see girls doing well in subjects that were once traditionally seen as ‘boys subjects’.

Science and maths (STEM subjects) are strong and the school has recently refurbished their Science Lab. In fact, both the school’s science teachers happen to be women and both are scientists (one is a microbiologist and the other an engineer) all good inspiring stuff.

Construction Club is thriving, as is Code Club. Year 6 girls challenge themselves with the iDEA (Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award) scheme, which is undertaken by some Senior Schools. However here, by the time they leave Granville, most of Year 6 will have completed the Bronze Level and half will even have done Silver – which is pretty impressive.

The Granville June School prep Kent Sevenoaks technology computer science

There are lots of reward schemes – a particularly nice touch is the School Values Points – for being respectful, showing team spirit, being courageous etc. These are totted up every week and the winning prize? Break-time with the school dog – how’s that for a treat?

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent girls reading with dog

USP & QUIRKS

Strongly anchored in history and heritage – some traditions have survived since the school was founded in 1945 – the school blends this history with a modern twist for example Year 6 volunteering at a local foodbank after Autumn Festival.

The school was founded on VE Day – this is why the school symbol is a dove and the school motto is ‘love and service’ and so much of the heritage you find today stems from that.

Another strong tradition is the famous annual Spring Festival – started by the school founder – and is a great example of the family feel of the school with Year 6s writing songs and teaching them to children throughout the school to be performed to parents.

WRAP AROUND CARE

In term-time, childcare is available between 7.30am – 6pm depending on what’s needed (there is a charge). Parents have the flexibility of opting for the Before and After School Care services on a day-to-day basis or to make a termly commitment.

Outside of term time they run camps through every half term and holiday, for all year groups.

The Granville School Sevenoaks Kent outdoor play

TRANSPORT

The school is very close to Sevenoaks station, so while there are many local families some also come from destinations along the trainline. Also parents can Drop Off and then catch the train into London if that’s where they work.

There’s a council carpark right opposite the school front gate – parents can get a pass to park here while they drop their children off. Or there’s the choice of drive through Drop Off – all good options for such a town-based school.

FEES

Pre-School (mornings to 1pm): £3,210; Pre-School (Full day): £4,395. Reception: £5,460; Year 1 & Year 2: £5,838; Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6: £7,542.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Definitely a real buzz and purposeful feel around the school – they do feel like happy girls. We spoke to several parents at Granville and the words ‘happy’ and ‘nurturing’ popped up frequently to support this. Girls clearly enjoy the benefits of a small school and all the support that brings but one that can also throw its weight around in terms of academics and sports. Plus pupils are very well prepared for bigger senior schools too.

The phrase ‘hidden gem’ pops up a lot. When passing the entrance gate from the suburban Sevenoaks street it gives little away of the scale and expansiveness of the school within the grounds.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: There’s a big ‘give it a go!’ feel here and the idea that preparation, not pushiness, is the key to success. So those with this mindset will obviously thrive, but it’s also a mindset that can be gradually grown in more cautious individuals.

Not for: Can’t compete on acreage with rural schools and no rolling fields here – although plenty of space for a town-based setting. So if it’s a large school environment you’re after you may choose to look elsewhere.

See for yourself: Join the Winter Explorers open evening on 14 Nov 2025, 4-6pm (details her e). The Granville also offers individual tours of the school with the Headmistress, Mrs Louise Lawrance, all year round.

The Granville School, 2 Bradbourne Park Rd, Sevenoaks TN13 3LJ, Tel: 01732 453039, granvilleschool.org

The Granville School, Sevenoaks

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