Kensington Park School (KPS), also known in Chinese as 肯辛顿公园学校, describes itself on its official website as a vibrant day and boarding school in the heart of London, educating boys and girls aged 11 to 18. The school operates across two sites on either side of Kensington Gardens and takes its main intakes at Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+) and Year 12 (16+). This guide is written for international families and is based entirely on the school’s own website as accessed on 5 August 2026; fee figures refer to the published 2026-27 schedule and application dates refer to September 2027 entry unless stated otherwise.
School Profile and Location
Kensington Park School runs its Senior School (Years 7 to 11) at 40-44 Bark Place, London W2 4AT, and its Sixth Form at 59 Queen’s Gate, London SW7 5JP, overlooking the Natural History Museum. The boarding house sits in a quiet, leafy part of Earl’s Court, a 15-minute walk from the Sixth Form and a short tube journey from the Senior School, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Entry points at Kensington Park School are Year 7 (11+), with around 24 students joining each year across two forms, and Year 9 (13+), where a further 24 spaces make up a four-form entry; occasional places open in other year groups. The Sixth Form welcomes around 30 new students into Year 12 (16+) each year alongside internal progression from Year 11. The website banner notes that places remain available in certain year groups for September 2026. On the international side, the school states that one in three KPS students comes from overseas, the community spans more than 45 nationalities, and 25 percent of Sixth Formers are boarders.
Programmes: Years 7-9, GCSE and A Levels
In Years 7 and 8, Kensington Park School students study English, Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, Religious Education, French, Mandarin, Spanish, Art, Drama, Music and Computing. In Year 9 the curriculum narrows toward GCSE: students keep English, Mathematics and Computing as core, begin iGCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and choose one Humanities subject, one Modern Foreign Language and one Creative Arts subject plus three further options, with Classical Civilisation introduced at this stage.
The two-year GCSE programme begins in Year 10, with students typically studying ten subjects in a mix of GCSE and IGCSE. Core subjects are Mathematics, English Language, English Literature, one Modern Language, and three Science subjects chosen from Biology, Chemistry, Physics (Triple or Double Science) and Computer Science. Three further subjects complete the programme and can include a fourth Science, a second Modern Language, a Creative Arts subject, another Humanities subject, or Business Studies, which is only available from Year 10. The school reports an average of 12 students per class and states that 66 percent of grades in its own cohort were at 9 to 6; these are the school’s own figures. There are no set option blocks, so timetables are built around each student’s choices.
In Years 12 and 13, Kensington Park School offers a two-year A level programme on its dedicated Queen’s Gate site, where students study three or four subjects in depth; many start with four in Year 12 and continue with three in Year 13. The subject list spans Art Craft and Design, Biology, Business Studies, Classical Civilisation, Chemistry, Computer Science, Drama and Theatre, Economics, English Literature, Film Studies, French, Further Mathematics, Geography, Government and Politics, History, Latin, Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, Photography, Physics, Physical Education, Psychology, Sociology and Spanish. Sixth Form classes average 6 to 8 students with a maximum of 10 per group, and the extended curriculum includes the Extended Project Qualification, essay competitions and independent research.
International Entry Requirements
Kensington Park School is a Student and Child Student Route sponsor and welcomes international applications. Visa sponsorship is available for students applying for full boarding from Year 9 (13+). International applicants to Year 7 (11+) or Year 8 (12+) must be self-sponsored or have care arrangements that meet UKVI guidance, and students living in the boarding house must appoint an educational guardian who resides within one hour’s travelling distance of the residence.
The admissions process for international families is direct: applicants are first asked to submit a copy of their passport and their most recent school reports for an initial assessment before making a formal application. Senior School applicants, international or not, sit assessments in English, Mathematics and Non-Verbal Reasoning and attend an interview with the Head or Head of Senior School. The tests are written in-house against the national curriculum, and the school states that no specific preparation is required. Applicants unable to travel to the UK can take the assessments at their current school or a local British Council office, with interviews arranged remotely.
Sixth Form entry carries higher academic expectations. Kensington Park School looks for a minimum of six subjects at Grades 9 to 5 at GCSE or the international equivalent, including Mathematics and English, with at least Grade 6 in the subjects chosen for A level; Further Mathematics requires Grade 8 in Mathematics at GCSE. International applicants to the Sixth Form must show evidence of English proficiency and attend an interview with the Head of Sixth Form; those without a suitable certificate can sit the school’s English language assessment, and students intending to take Mathematics at A level also sit a Mathematics assessment.
Application Timeline for September 2027 Entry
Registration for Senior School entry to Kensington Park School in September 2027 is now open. The key dates published on the website are: registrations close Friday 13 November 2026; assessment day is Wednesday 25 November or Saturday 28 November 2026; offers are made Friday 15 January 2027; and the deadline to accept is Friday 5 March 2027. Registration requires a completed and signed form, a scanned passport, the latest school report, any applicable Educational Psychologist or medical details, and a non-refundable fee of 300 pounds; the school also requests a reference from the applicant’s current school.
Sixth Form applications are considered on a rolling basis, and the school advises applying early to secure preferred A level subjects; most offers are issued in the autumn term of the year before entry. Scholarship applications should be submitted by the end of October 2026. Sixth Form registration documents mirror the Senior School list and add a portfolio for Art applicants; the registration fee is again 300 pounds. Applicants who meet the academic requirements are invited to interview with the Head of Sixth Form, and the school communicates outcomes within seven days of the interview. An acceptance deposit is payable when a place is accepted.
Costs and Fees for 2026-27
Kensington Park School publishes a full fee schedule for the 2026-27 academic year, with all amounts quoted exclusive of VAT. Day fees for UK residents are 9,950 pounds per term (29,850 pounds per annum) for Years 7 to 11 and for Sixth Form students continuing from Year 11, and 10,350 pounds per term (31,050 pounds per annum) for direct Sixth Form entry. International day students pay 11,200 pounds per term (33,600 pounds per annum) for Years 7 to 11 and continuing Sixth Formers, and 11,550 pounds per term (34,650 pounds per annum) for direct Sixth Form entry.
Boarding, available from Year 9, is charged by room type: 12,200 pounds per term (36,600 pounds per annum) for a single premium en-suite, 11,342 pounds per term (34,026 pounds per annum) for a single en-suite, and 8,510 pounds per term (25,530 pounds per annum) for a shared en-suite room. Boarding includes care from 24-hour resident house parents, all meals and snacks, bed linen and towels, weekly cleaning and high-speed internet; rooms have a single bed, desk, wardrobe, kitchenette with microwave, sink and fridge, and an en-suite bathroom. Rooms must be vacated during the October and February half-terms and the Christmas and Summer holidays.
Tuition fees include lunch, all textbooks, practical lab fees and timetabled EAL or IELTS lessons where required; examination fees, uniform for Years 7 to 11 and some trips and activities are charged separately. One-off costs are a non-refundable registration fee of 250 pounds, a tuition deposit of one term’s fees, a boarding deposit of 5,000 pounds, insurance at 605 pounds per annum, and airport transfers at 190 pounds each way from Heathrow or 245 pounds each way from other London airports. Deposits are returned after the final term less any sums due, and are subject to VAT. A sibling discount of 5 percent applies to the younger sibling’s tuition while both are enrolled. Visa sponsorship for qualified international candidates carries a minimum processing fee of 650 pounds plus VAT, with the total depending on the applicant’s immigration history. Term invoices are due two weeks before the first day of term, payable by bank transfer, yearly or termly, or through the Flywire portal.
Boarding Life and Term Dates
Boarding at Kensington Park School starts in Year 9 (13+). Students in Years 9 to 11 select twin or triple rooms, and Sixth Formers can request singles; every room has an en-suite bathroom and a small kitchenette. Boarders get hot breakfast and dinner in the house on weekdays with lunch at school, and brunch and dinner at weekends. Prep, the structured evening study period, runs Sunday to Thursday, supported by daily registrations, house meetings and strict curfews. An on-site school nurse runs a morning surgery each weekday, and the termly activity programme includes West End theatre, museums and galleries, and trips around the city, with global festivals such as Lunar New Year, Halloween, Christmas and Nowruz celebrated in the community.
For the 2026-27 academic year, the published term dates are: autumn term Monday 7 September to Friday 18 December 2026, with half term 19 to 30 October; spring term Monday 11 January to Wednesday 24 March 2027, with half term 15 to 19 February; and summer term Monday 19 April to Friday 2 July 2027, with half term 31 May to 4 June. Boarders return on the Sundays before each term starts and depart on the Saturdays at the end.
Planning Your Application
The practical starting points for an international family are the entry-point decision and the registration deadline. If your child is 10 or 11, the Year 7 (11+) route with its 13 November 2026 registration close is the immediate calendar anchor; if they are 12 or 13, Year 9 (13+) entry brings boarding and visa sponsorship into play; and for students already in Year 11, the Sixth Form route runs on rolling admission with scholarship applications due by the end of October 2026. Fees, deadlines and policies change, so the current version of the Kensington Park School website remains the authoritative source for the figures in this guide.
Every family’s situation differs, and the fit of a school depends on your child’s age, academic record, English level and your own timeline. If you would like help weighing whether Kensington Park School suits your child’s profile, or support mapping the application steps and budget against your family’s plans, speak to our counsellors with your specific situation in hand — we can help you work through the options and prepare the next steps.