For many people moving to London, Kensington is ranked very highly on the most desirable areas to live in. But for those moving to the Chelsea and Kensington area with children, what are the options for schools in the area? We take a look.

In no particular order, the first school on our list is Bassett House at 60 Bassett Road, which was founded in 1947 with just 6 pupils. Since its humble beginnings, the school has grown to accommodate 200 children across eight-year groups. The eight-year groups begin at nursery age (3-4 years old) and progress all the way through to year/form 6 (ages 10-11). Tatler has recently referred to Bassett House as “one of the most nurturing and creative prep schools in west London”. Headmistress Philippa Cawthorne describes her school’s approach as “through an enticing mix of lessons and activities we inspire all our pupils to be inquisitive about the world and to recognise its endless possibilities.”

The Southbank International School on Kensington Park Road in London is an international primary school that teaches children aged 3-11. Students at Southbank International take the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP), which is an ideal choice if your family moves around from country to country, as the Baccalaureate is an internationally recognised course for students. According to the school’s website, it teaches children from 40 different countries at one time and takes full advantage of having London on its doorstep, “maximise learning in context, visiting cultural sites, galleries, museums, London parks and wildlife centres”.

One of the newest independent schools in London is Kensington Park School for 11-18 year-old students. As well as offering the traditional GCSE and A-level subjects, KPS also offers a modern curriculum that includes Mandarin and Computer Science. At the A-level stage, students can opt to study a wide range of subjects from Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Business, Fine Art and much more. Kensington Park School is ideally located in Kensington but has the option for boarding for students from year 10 and upwards. In the most recent Ofsted inspection (October 2018) one of the headlines on the report was “Students show exceptional attitudes to learning, and their behaviour is excellent”.

Ashbourne College is an independent GCSE and A-level school on Old Court Place, on the borders of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Ashbourne College was founded in 1981 and boasts some very impressive results, such as 50% of their students go on to study at Russell Group universities (such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and UCL). The college is also very proud that 50% of its students being awarded A and A* results in 2018. Extracurricular activities at Ashbourne include the annual Revue showcase of creative arts and music, Ashbourne Allstars football club, critical theory seminars, astro-particle physics club, Bollywood dancing and meditation.

The Kensington area has many excellent schools and colleges and this list is by no means exhaustive. Families that are fortunate to be moving to Kensington will have no trouble in finding a suitable school for their children, whether they are staying there for the long term or short term. If you are considering moving to Kensington, click here to find out more information on our specialist removals service.