The Langton Grammar School for Boys

If your son is the kind who would rather work a problem out for himself than be handed the answer, Simon Langton is a school built around that instinct. It styles itself a community of independent learners, and the Good Schools Guide describes a highly sought-after Canterbury grammar "where independent thought thrives and pupils are immensely loyal to their school". A sign in the foyer reads "we don't have to do this, we get to do this", a line the Guide notes as a reminder that the place leans on boys wanting to be there.

The school has a long memory. It was founded in 1881 alongside its sister girls' grammar, took heavy damage in the 1942 wartime raids on Canterbury, and after the war settled at its present home at Nackington, on farmland to the south-east of the city, where it has stood since 1958. It takes boys aged 11 to 18, with a mixed sixth form. Science and mathematics are a particular strength, with the school promoting STEM strongly and keeping working links to organisations including CERN. Beyond the classroom there is a full programme of activities and a real emphasis on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural side of a boy's development alongside his academic work.

Led since 2017 by headteacher Dr Ken Moffat, the school suits a self-motivated boy who is ready to take charge of his own learning. It is a place that trusts him to think for himself rather than chasing him along, and the boys who flourish here are the ones who take that invitation up.