Sixth form boarding schools and entry without GCSEs (overseas)

[Jammiedodgery]

im looking at schools like Wycombe abbey/CLC for dd for sixth form for when we return to the uk (any other school suggestions in our circumstances would be appreciated too)

Dd is about to enter year 9 in September at an IB school, (we are English but living abroad).

How will it work if DD doesn’t sit GCSE’s and wants to enter these schools? Will she not be able to or will they have their own entrance tests?

I can see they have their own tests but they do mention requiring GCSE’s a few times, I’m probably being daft but I’m assuming they must take girls on without gcse from abroad?

Or will it go against dd regardless ie do they have a preference for gcse? I could possibly arrange for dd to sit her Igcse if that is the case but it wouldn’t be overly easy to do so.

thank you

Most of the large private schools offer alternative entry pathways. You need to ask each individually.

I think most schools could work around this. Do you have a particular area in mind? If you’re looking at the SW, I’d recommend looking at Truro School, Marlborough College and Shebbear.

You have to ask each school, but for example Clifton college (co ed boarding in Bristol) definitely takes kids who have not done GCSEs, they get a lot of students arriving from different education systems.

Well, @MaybeItWasMe I don't think I have ever seen Marlborough and Shebbear included in the same sentence before and never expected to, unless it was to describe schools that were entirely different. Out of interest, what is the basis for your recommendation?

Because I don’t know the OP or her child so was suggesting schools that are very different but have good reputations. Simple as that, really. Truro is different again. Clifton College also a great option, as above.

According to ISI, Truro currently has 5% of students boarding and Shebbear has 11% of students boarding. Unless I was living very locally and planned on my DCs coming home every weekend, I would not send them to a school with those numbers.

I'm not suggesting they are not both great schools if OP is in that position, but they are probably not suitable for most parents looking for a boarding school.

In your opinion. I have taught in a number of boarding schools and know that small boarding communities can provide just as happy and satisfying an experience as schools which have a majority of boarders.

OP is looking at CLC and WA - what I could see for free on the Good Schools Guide says that 25% at Shebbeare get 7-9 at GCSE so I imagine this isn’t going to work for them…

In response to OP’s question both the schools you mention take international students at sixth form so will def accept alternative pathways to GCSEs.

Does she have to board?
Aren’t there any good private day schools near where you will be?

CLC takes more into the 6th form and might well have their own tests for non GCSE applicants. WA is hard to get into full stop! As is Marlborough. The op would need to be certain her DD is very very bright. I would ask the schools for specific info about 6th form entry. They will have varying procedures.

Hi @Jammiedodgery good luck with your move back to Uk. Looking at the replies above it might be helpful if you clarify a bit what you are looking for in a school - is DD very academic, sporty, musical, social, small and nurturing vs bigger and different etc?

Otherwise these threads do tend to throw out a lot of options that are difficult to wade through.

@RecoveringLawyer72 Anyone considering WA must be bright! However with no GCSEs, the transition to A levels is probably tougher. Whether this profile suits WA is up to them. I know of dc coming from South Africa and they had to lower sights a bit but finding the right fit isn’t impossible.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner i don’t know that anybody considering WA must be bright, if moving from abroad they don’t necessarily know much about all the different schools - an acquaintance was moving to the uk, told me she was targeting Eton for her son - didn’t want to apply anywhere else in case that made Eton think they weren’t serious - he turned out to be a nice enough, very average kid who’d never had more than middling performance in their home country and didn’t have fluent English!

I do know WA and CLC fairly well and have been to see both but not overly recently, am open to other schools too but these are the ones I am more familiar with for a sporty academic dd, I am happy to return to the U.K. to visit them.

Dd is very very sporty, very competitive (annoyingly so), she currently does two sports competitively and two more for fun none seem to easily fit into boarding school easily (sailing and polo?! Also is in a competitive swim club and trains almost every day which probably is easier to get into in the U.K.

She picks up sports with ease and would be fine in most sporty environments. She does play an instrument but it’s more for fun than with any serious talent. She wants to sit maths and sciences at a level. I could probably get her to sit the gcse maths paper as she can already get through those easily (I made her sit a couple of past papers to check) but not sure if I want her to do a lot of GCSEs on top of her IB school work and imagine she can’t sit the sciences without lab work.

I will contact them but wanted to see if anyone had more knowledge before I do so as well as make sure I’m helping dd where I can to get into a schools

Wouldn't it be better to look for a school that does IB?

She should consider doing GCSEs if she is intending to work in the UK (I mean the UK outside Scotland, they have a different system that I know sod all about).I don't mean a full set but English, maths and a science.

@Jammiedodgery Stowe has polo. It’s probably easier to get into with non standard academics too. Marlborough and Cheltenham college offer polo. Does WA and Clc?

Sailing is a lot more difficult to find and most dc don’t have time for 4 sports. I do know dc who sail, but it’s parent driven and they have honed their skills on parent owned boats. A few schools do offer sailing but most are around the coast.

Each school will make its decision independently but they won't insist on actual GCSEs. What they will expect is a level of maths and english skill equivalent to GCSE level as well as similiar levels of knowledge in at least 3 other academic subjects including the subjects of expected sixth form study except those which are normally taught from scratch at in sixth form (eg Economics) in which case good performance in related subjects will be expected. They are unlikely to just accept testimonials from your child's current school and will set their own tests to establish if your child is performing at an appropriate level.

Sailing and polo are tough ones to fit in with boarding life - I mentioned Clifton college above and I believe there is sailing there, but not polo,

If she’s competing at a high standard in both of those you could try checking British Facebook groups or associations for those sports and see which boarding schools people recommend?

There are UK boarding schools which offer IB so these may be worth considering. Our DD has played CLC at sport and the facilities were great but the girls weren't particularly sporty
I would find out which schools are winning the competitions for the sports your child is playing to avoid disappointment.