Centenary Celebrations

We started our centenary celebrations at the beginning of the academic year 2018-19 with the children being given a centenary badge by FoHOS. At the end of October 2019, the Archbishop of Canterbury was visiting Tonbridge and the children were invited to sing for him. Following a blessing on the school, the Archbishop presented the head boy and head girl with an oak centenary plaque. In February 2019 every Hilden Oaks family received an oak sapling to plant and the children participated in two Creative Curriculum days, where they explored the history of the school and other events during the past one hundred years.

On 7th May we celebrated Founder’s Day with a special service at St Saviour’s Church and in the afternoon, we were delighted to welcome Mary Benjamin (Alys Keith-Lucas’ granddaughter) and Sarah Keith-Lucas (her great granddaughter) to Hilden Oaks. Sarah very kindly talked to the children about her role as a BBC meteorologist and weather presenter.

The following Saturday over five hundred past and present pupils, parents, staff, trustees and members of the Keith-Lucas family came together for a Centenary Tea Party. We were thrilled that two of the former headmistresses, Mrs Bacon and Mrs Webb were able to join us and they, together with Mrs Joiner cut a special centenary cake. The children danced through the decades, around the maypole, and played and sung music written by Mrs Bottle. In June, FoHOS organised a Centenary Ball for the parents as well as a family picnic at Riverhill. The highlight for the children, however, was a surprise ‘Pop-up Circus’ which was set up on Hillside for the day. They learnt a variety of circus skills in the morning and then were treated to a performance by the professionals in the afternoon. The final celebration of the school year was Prize Giving and Speech Day when we again welcomed Mary Benjamin as our guest speaker, Sarah Keith-Lucas and several other members of the family to join us. 

Hilden Oaks has changed much over the past one hundred years, moving with the times in terms of the education and the resources we provide, yet fundamentally we have maintained the traditional values set by our founding headmistress, at the heart of the school. We have seen many boys and girls step over the threshold and go on to lead fulfilling and successful lives. We are extremely grateful to the past and present principals, trustees and staff who have made and continue to make Hilden Oaks so successful.

We look forward to seeing what the future will bring. 

A full history of Hilden Oaks was published in May 2019 to mark our Centenary.
Copies are available from the school office or email: publicity@hildenoaks.co.uk

Since 2019

Learning in Lockdown 2020

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, we had to quickly adapt to new ways of working. Click here to find out how.

Building for the Future 2021-2022

During the summer holidays in 2021 we embarked on a building development project to extend and improve our teaching spaces, music suite, hall and kitchens. The project was completed in Spring 2022. Click here to find out more