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The school occupies an extensive site of about 150 acres (607,000 m²) on the northern edge of the town of Tonbridge , Kent , and is largely self-contained within that site. Since the foundation the school has been rebuilt twice on the original site. GENERAL INFORMATION The main buildings of the present school date from the second half of the nineteenth century, a time in which the school grew considerably in size and importance. There has been much further building in the twentieth century, notably the Music School (1927), the Smythe Library (1962), the new School House (1990), and most of the sporting and athletic facilities. The magnificent restoration of the Edwardian Chapel, which had been severely damaged by fire in 1988, was completed in October 1995. Its superb new 4-manual organ, built by Marcussen of Denmark, is widely regarded as one of the finest instruments in the country. A £20 million development programme, involving both new buildings and the creation of additional or improved facilities within the existing buildings, was initiated in 1991. The first phase of this programme, resulting in new and enlarged accommodation for three academic departments and new reception and conference rooms, was completed in 1992, and a new Biology Department was built in 1993. The second phase included a new social centre (The Orchard Centre) and a Lecture Theatre, both completed in 1994. In the third phase, a major Arts and Technology complex (the Vere Hodge Centre), providing spacious new accommodation for Art, Technology, Electronics, and Computing, as well as a substantial extension of the Music facilities, was opened in the summer of 1996. The planned addition to the Vere Hodge Centre of a Theatre complex (the E. M. Forster Theatre) with a main auditorium for 400, a Studio Theatre, a theatre workshop, and teaching rooms was completed in summer 2000, resulting in a unique combined and integrated facility for all the creative and practical subjects and the performing arts. The completion of a water-based hockey astro in 2005 and the intended development of a sports complex to go with the school's numerous playing fields will make the Tonbridge's sports facilities among the best in the country. The centre will also be home to a media centre which will be part of a wider development of ICT in the school. More information about the new centre can be found on the Tonbridge School Foundation website . There are currently 752 boys in the school, aged between 13 and 18, of whom 431 are boarders and 321 are day boys. It has 7 boarding Houses (School, Judde, Park, Hill Side, Parkside, Ferox Hall and Manor) and 5 day boy Houses (Welldon, Smythe, Whitworth, Cowdrey and Oakeshott). Tonbridge is therefore predominantly a boarding school, and the general pattern and philosophy of school organisation and practice - the arrangement of the school day and the school week, the range of extra-curricular activities, the high teacher/pupil ratio (about 1:8), the extent of pastoral care - are those of a full boarding school, enjoyed, of course, by boarders and day boys alike. There are no plans to introduce any element of co-education. (See {Link without Title} ) The current Headmaster is Tim Haynes, who has been in post since September 2005. He was previously Headmaster of Monmouth School . HISTORY The school was founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde under the Letters Patent of King Edward VI . The Charter ordained that the Governors of the school after the death of the Founder were to be the Worshipful Company Of Skinners , one of the oldest City Livery Companies . Sir Andrew, himself a distinguished member of this Company, left property in the City Of London and in the parish of St Pancras as an endowment for the school. The income from these estates is at the disposal of the Governors for the general benefit of the Foundation. The memory of Sir Andrew Judd and other benefactors is honoured in an annual Commemoration Service, held on Skinners' Day at the very end of the Summer Term . NOTABLE ALUMNI This list may be incomplete and may contain inaccuracies. A list of confirmed notable Old Tonbridgians is available on this page of the school website.
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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