Tonbridge School is a British independent all boys boarding school in Tonbridge, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde , under 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 Judde and other benefactors is honoured in an annual Commemoration Service, held on Skinners' Day at the very end of the Summer Term.
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.
It has 7 boarding houses (Park, Hill Side, Parkside, Ferox Hall, Manor, School, Judde) and 5 day boy houses (Welldon, Smythe, Whitworth, Cowdrey, Oakeshott).
Notable old boys include Colin Cowdrey; Maurice Denham; Richard Ellison ; E. M. Forster; Frederick Forsyth; W.D. Hamilton; Lord Mayhew; Vikram Seth; David Tomlinson; Ben Whitrow ; Tom Chaplin; Richard Hughes; Tim Rice-Oxley .
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