Earlscliffe opened in September 2012 in newly refurbished accommodation. It is a co-educational, independent international school offering residential and educational facilities for up to 60 students. It is owned and operated by Sussex Summer Schools Ltd and situated close to the centre of Folkestone. The school offers a range of courses aimed at enabling young people, predominantly from overseas, to gain access to top-ranked British or overseas universities. There are currently 30 male and female students on the school’s roll, aged between 14 and 19 years. Almost all are boarders and most are taking courses of one or two years' duration. The school aims ‘to provide an arena of academic stimulus, intelligence rigour, cultural enrichment, vigorous internationalism and ultimately, personal success, in which students perform to their very best abilities’. A small number of students have special educational needs, none is disabled and none has a statement of special educational needs. The college does not make use of alternative off-site provision. This is the first full inspection of the college and only refers to the school’s educational provision.