It was founded in 1992 by Hiroshi Kawashima, the head of the Shumei Foundation, and opened on 13 October 1992, and is located in a prize-winning building featuring a combination of western and oriental architectural styles on the campus of the University of Kent at Canterbury.
Chaucer College, as a purpose-built academic institution and self-contained campus, contains over 200 single study bedrooms, leisure facilities (student common room, games and music areas, an "English Room"), full catering facilities, a large, well-equipped lecture theatre, an excellent Library and a score of classrooms.
Kingsgate College has similar teaching, catering and leisure facilities (although no lecture theatre) and 30 bedrooms (a mixture of singles, doubles and triples).
Their role is to socialise with the college's students by offering one-to-one conversation classes to enhance fluency in spoken English and to introduce them to various aspects of British society, typically through their own cultural and sporting interest groups.
Teacher Education students also undertake a programme of visits to local partner schools to observe UK teaching methods.
In accordance with this expectation, the college's students engage in a variety of activities, including participation in local cultural festivals and an extensive community volunteering programme.