Kent School
About Kent School
Kent School is an independent coeducational college preparatory boarding school serving grades 9-12, with a Post Graduate option, located in Kent, CT.
Motto
Kent’s motto was established when the School was founded more than 100 years ago. These timeless principles address our focus on what is essential.
Simplicity of Life
Directness of Purpose
Self-Reliance
Mission
We are guided by our motto — Simplicity of Life, Directness of Purpose, Self-Reliance — to educate our students intellectually, socially, ethically, and spiritually so that they will be prepared to contribute to the common good in the world beyond Kent School.
Kent School Competencies
Kent School is an intentional community with a central focus on equipping you with the skills that will empower you to make an impact on the broader world. We call these skills the Kent School Competencies, and they are taught in every context of our shared life—in our classrooms, in St. Joseph’s Chapel, on the stage, in our dormitories, on our playing fields, courts, rink, and river.
Kent Traditions
Rock Day
Each spring, fifth form students hike up to Numeral Rock to paint their class number on the rock. This tradition marks the start of the passage from fifth form to sixth form. Students come back from the hike with colorful clothes as they often “accidentally” splatter one another with paint.
Ring Ceremony
Fifth form students ask a sixth former to present them with a ring or other item of significance during the Ring Banquet. This tradition creates an informal lineage and ties students to Kent’s long history. Though this tradition uses the terms like “ring mom,” students anywhere on the gender spectrum are welcome and encouraged to participate.
Tapping
After the entire school votes in the spring to elect Senior Council members from the fifth form class, the current Senior Council announces the newly elected members during the Tapping Ceremony. A “Passing of the Torch” bonfire and ice cream social follow the Tapping Ceremony as Kent celebrates another generation of student leadership.
Student Jobs
A tradition that stretches back to Kent’s founding in 1906, each student has a regularly scheduled obligation to contribute to the community through an assigned job. Examples of jobs include washing dishes in the Dining Hall, helping the facilities team tend to the campus, and much more. Jobs are assigned randomly to new students, and students can apply for special positions that require specific expertise.
Senior Traditions
To honor the hard work and responsibility of being a sixth form student at Kent, sixth formers enjoy specific traditions such as access to the Student Center during Study Hall, relaxed dress code in the spring term, preferred Chapel seating, and membership opportunities of school-wide councils and committees.
Kent Students by the Numbers
520
Students
29
U.S. States
31
Countries
93%
Boarding students who live on campus.
29%
Students of color
51%
Boys
49%
Girls
100%
Of students matriculate to a four-year college or university.