Private 6th form options...Help!

[Bowlin]

We are wanting to move our DD for 6th form (next year). She is currently at a large southern private school, but is quickly growing out of petty school rules and the people there. She wants intelligent, fun, naughty but not bad friends....not suck ups, snobs or to be judged on the amount of money/ clothes she wears. She is bright, but doesn't know which direction she wants to go in....probably English, History and one other for A level. She is creative and enjoys art and anything visual, but not sporty or into drama/ public speaking.
Our fantasy set up would be a 6th form college that concentrates on education rather than the private school frills and that has a boarding house, which is a bit more like halls/uni. We would like our DD to feel more trusted and grown up, but still with a degree of structure/ being looked after.
Any advice/ suggestions would be very welcome!
TIA.

Boarding at Peter Symonds? (State 6th form with some v limited boarding, don't know who qualifies for it).

What are your state options like? Hants has large state 6th form colleges which would seem to meet your brief, except they are state not private.

Bedales?

State 6th form would be the dream, or grammar school. Unfortunately, we live in Scotland, where neither are an option. However, happy for DD to board anywhere around the country

You might look into the sixth form college at D'Overbroeck's. No uniforms, no sports/co-curricular requirements, and the housing will be all 16+ with single rooms. There will still be required nightly study periods and curfews.

Hurtwood House is worth looking at - all 6th form and aims to be a college environment rather than school. On the other hand it's eye-wateringly expensive even by boarding school standards and I'm not sure whether that's good value if your DD wouldn't be taking advantage of the arts offerings.

Cardiff Sixth Form is an obvious name if the (very lofty) academic requirements for entry are within reach.

Otherwise you might look at boarding schools with larger 6th form intakes that have designated 6th form boarding houses. I know Wellington and Rugby have them (traditional options), as does Frensham Heights (far less traditional). A boarding house that doesn't have younger students plus things like doing away with uniforms and required sports/co-curriculars can make a massive difference in how "controlling" the environment feels. But in general any boarding environment for minors will always come with some rules that at least seem petty to a 15 or 16 year-old, so I would manage expectations.

It sounds like home is not an easy commute away, so definitely take a hard look at what weekends will look like at any of these places.

You could look some of the York boarding schools (e.g. St Peter’s). Not heaps of boarders but quite a few join for 6th form and I think they have their own 6th form house and are allowed into York. Easy on the train from Scotland maybe too?

Cranbrook in Kent? State boarding grammar with a sixth form.

However it is still very school like - and for boarders even more so. Safe guarding is a big thing.

Thanks - will check these out

Rochester Independent College? A long way from you in Kent but sounds like exactly what you're after.

Heathfield at Ascot in Berks. Fairly laid back and grown up at the same time in the 6th form. Easy access from Heathrow. Great art dept.

My daugher is at Peter Symonds in Winchester although doesn't board as we are local. It's a great 6th form college with plenty of timetabled extra curricular. The boarding is fairly limited as they only have two boarding houses and its circa £27,000 per annum. My daughter is in Upper sixth and we've been really pleased to date.

Not sure how you qualify to board at a state school though. Used to be armed forces and diplomats got precedence. I went to a state school with boarding and parents were usually abroad with posting or for their work in other ways.