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Sevenoaks School is a British independent school, located in the town of Sevenoaks, Kent. It is the oldest secular school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1465. Almost 1,000 day pupils and boarders attend, ranging in age from 11 to 18 years. There are approximately equal numbers of boys and girls.
The school is considered a leader in liberal education and was a pioneer of coeducational schooling in the 1960s and International students in the 1980s. Today, it continues to attract foreign students (especially in the sixth form) and the pupils represent over 40 countries.
In 1999 it featured in the media by becoming the first major UK school to switch entirely from doing A level exams to the International Baccalaureate. The school consistently achieves good exam results, and was regularly in the top 30 schools based on A level results before it switched to the IB.
The main school grounds are close to the center of Sevenoaks town, straddling the A225 Tonbridge Road. Knole Lane also runs through the site, providing access to Knole House, which is situated in the park behind the school. Each January, the school hosts the annual Knole run, which is raced over a 7.2 mile cross-country course in the park. School teams from across the UK (and abroad) compete in the race, which is often characterised by mud and rain. The tradition began with the idea that if a race was held in such conditions, it would give the home team the greatest possible advantage. Unfortunately, Sevenoaks has never won the boys' race, although they have had success in the (smaller) girls' event. The run has grown to become known as the unofficial schools cross country championships.
Apart from cross country, the school participates in many sports such as football (soccer), rugby, hockey, cricket and athletics. However, it has had most success in sailing and shooting, with its teams of national, and even international, standing. In fact, the sailing team (coached by Bruce Hebbert) were once on track for second place in the international championships until they were disqualified because one sailor was actually too young to enter.
Despite its age, the school has remained relatively free from the archaic traditions that often feature in old British schools. Many of the traditions that the school does maintain, such as the Knole run, annual "slave auction", Sevenoaks festival, Sevenoaks vs. Tonbridge rugby match and lunchtime music recitals date back to the 1960s and 70s.
The facilities are mostly modern and there are only 3 buildings dating prior to the 20th century - the Old School House (15th century), and the old gymnasium and cottage blocks (18th and 19th century respectively). The school also has an extensive library of 120,000 books, athletics track, indoor tennis centre, auditorium (the Aisher hall) and theatre (Sackville theatre).
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