One of the UK’s top independent schools, Brighton College, will open this new London prep school in September 2023.

Brighton College is expanding its global family of schools with a new prep school in central London. Brighton College Prep Kensington will open in September 2023, for girls and boys aged two to 13. 

The Sussex-based all-through co-ed day and boarding school has partnered with leading global schools’ group Cognita to re-establish the prep school currently known as Princes Garden’s Preparatory School.

The Cognita-owned Prince’s Gardens is a co-ed day school currently open for Pre-Reception through to Year 6 (three to 11 years). With its prestigious SW7 postcode at 10 Prince's Gardens in Kensington, Prince’s Gardens has a five-storey townhouse campus with two acres of green space, where children can don their wellies for the type of runaround you’d expect in a country school. 

Opened in 2020, Prince’s Gardens is still very much in its infancy – and its first year was filled with unexpected upheavals due to Covid-19. The school dealt with school closures and online learning, as well as the delayed opening of its campus.

Lois Gaffney will continue in her role as Head when the school formally becomes Brighton College Prep Kensington. Commenting on the new partnership, Ms Gaffney said:

“All the values we hold dear - kindness, nurturing a child’s natural curiosity and developing their confidence to grow and make a difference in the world - will only be strengthened by becoming part of the Brighton College family of schools.

"I am delighted to become Head of Brighton College Prep Kensington, a school that will not only continue to build a community of academic excellence, but one that will develop a love of learning and provide our pupils with the greatest opportunities to become the best version of themselves.”

Brighton College - a global family of schools

With a student body of around 1,600 boys and girls aged 3 to 18, Brighton College has a seaside campus in Sussex with a collection of historic and modern buildings, the traditional values of a 175 year-old public school, and a strong sports department particularly – in rugby, netball, cricket and athletics. A leading independent private school in the UK, Brighton College is a school that focuses on the whole student. As well as being academically strong, it has a high level of pastoral care, a strong commitment to co-curricular activities, and the expectation that students will contribute more to the school community, whether in the arts or other areas. 

Brighton College’s academic credentials are impressive. Its GCSE and A Level results are consistently high; and it was ranked as the Top Co-educational School in England in 2019 and named Independent School of the Year by The Sunday Times. 

In the past 12 years, the school has opened three schools in the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain), one school in Thailand (Bangkok), and partnered with leading global schools’ group Cognita to open Brighton College (Singapore), a nursery and primary school. Brighton College is due to open its sixth international campus in Hanoi in August 2023.  

Campus and facilities

The current Prince’s Gardens is spread across four five-storey Grade II listed townhouses in Kensington. The school is immensely proud of its prime location in central London and its purpose-built facilities – and rightly so.

The school combines the heritage of its Grade II listed building (there’s a beautiful, domed ceiling for example) with modern facilities including a music room, a science lab, an art room and the makerspace. (And we have to give that wonderful secret garden just one more mention!)

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