[1] Today Skinners' remains an all-boys grammar school, recently awarded specialist status in science and mathematics in recognition of these disciplines' excellent teaching.

An Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspection in November 2021 graded The Skinners' School as "good".

This 'Free Grammar School' was founded in 1553 by Andrew Judde a wealthy London fur trader and native of Tonbridge.

Skinners Company proposals for a second school "at Tonbridge or at some adjacent locality" first emerged in 1870, and after a prolonged row between the two towns Royal Tunbridge Wells was chosen as the location.

Skinners was maintained as a day school until 1894 when the governors allowed borders to be taken on the understanding that the total number would not exceed 50.

While the total number serving in the forces appears to be unrecorded, it is known that 61 Masters and Old Boys died, and are recorded alongside those from the First World War on the School memorial.

The main building is entered via heavy wooden doors, and a gothic stone, entrance hall, overlooked by an oriel window, designed to provide the original headmaster with a full right and left view from his office.

In 1903 the School acquired a magnificent organ from St. Johns Church, which still takes pride of place, alongside a narrow stage.

Beneath, and to the back of the main hall there used to be a covered playground, the scene of many early, break-time, football matches, now reassigned as toilet facilities.

Given this historic injustice it was fitting that the Hall should be officially opened by another more celebrated Admiral, Charles Davis Lucas, the very first recipient of the Victoria Cross.

During the Crimean War a live shell had landed on the deck of his ship in the midst of a fierce artillery exchange with the Russians.

Instead of hitting the deck, he ran forward, picked up the still fizzing shell, carried it to the rail and dropped it overboard a fraction of a second before it exploded with a tremendous roar.

He later married Lady Byng's niece, and was no doubt more than happy to play his part in restoring the good name of the family.

It fell to Skinners' first headmaster Reverend Frederick Knott to lead the vote of thanks for Admiral Lucas' heroism and the Byng family's generosity in funding the building of the Hall.

Skinners' received grants from central government and ran an appeal in school and through the old boys network to raise the funds for the buildings purchase and renovation.

The final building received a conservation award from the Tunbridge Wells Civic Society for the sensitive restoration[11] which now enables Byng Hall to be used by the music and drama department; school drama productions and music recitals in The Thomson Theatre are prominent features in the school calendar.

It became too small to meet the sporting needs of the pupils and so temporarily acted as a careers office and gallery room for the art department.

There had been plans for a while to convert the old gym into an "Expressive Arts Building" with classrooms for the English department, a library and a large area for the sixth form.

The laboratories were completely renovated on the school being awarded special science status in 2005 which prompted the biology department's move.

Inside the main hall can accommodate four badminton courts, five a side football, basketball, hockey training and cricket practice nets.

At the far end it holds a large indoor climbing wall and upstairs houses a state of the art fitness suite, dance studio and classroom.

[13] Southfields Skinners' owns a large set of playing fields just along the main road that runs outside the school on the border of Tunbridge Wells and Southborough.

The sixth form are provided with their own common room, featuring recreational seating and an adjacent study centre equipped with computing facilities.

There is also a common room for Sixth Form English students equipped with computing facilities and recreational seating area.

The following report on a speech he made at Skinners Day in 1900 provides a strong indication of the ethos he imbued the school with during its formative years.