Sidcot School is incredibly proud to be a leading international school welcoming overseas students.
If you’re applying for an international student place at Sidcot School, you can either do this directly or via one of our Agents around the world. Read on to find the most suitable method for you.
How to apply for an international student place at Sidcot directly
If you’re contacting Sidcot directly, without using an Agent, the admissions process for international students is the same as for UK students.
What’s more, if the international student applying has a globally recognised English qualification, they won’t need to sit our English entrance assessment (as long as the score meets our entry requirements). Find out how to apply for a place at Sidcot School directly.
How to apply to Sidcot using an International Schools Agent
Many of our families decide to use an Agent to help them find the best UK boarding schools for international students, or independent international schools that have facilities catering to their particular area of interest.
Find out more about the international Agents we partner with around the globe.
How applying via an agent works
If you choose to apply via one of our Agents, please identify the Agent in your country you’d like to use when completing your application. We work with many Agents across the world, but even if yours is one we haven’t worked with before, they’ll be able to contact the school on your behalf and take your international student application forward. We don’t recommend one agency over another - that decision is yours to make.
Your Agent will contact our Admissions office to register your interest in Sidcot School and send through your most recent school reports. Our academic leadership team will consider these and decide whether they wish to take your application further. We use these reports to make an early assessment of your child’s abilities, so we can be sure that Sidcot can provide the appropriate education.
International student entry requirements
If you’re successful in the preliminary assessment, your child will be invited to take our entrance assessment in Maths and English. These tests take place under exam conditions at the current school or Agent’s office, and all exams are retested on entry to the school at the beginning of the academic year. These tests make sure the student has the correct level of English to take part in the life of the school, and that they can cope with the curriculum.
For entry to our Senior School and Year 11 Pathway (ages 12 to 16 years), international students need to be able to speak and understand the English language to a minimum of B1 on the Common European Framework. Entry into Sixth Form to study A Levels requires a minimum of B2. For IB, a minimum of C1 is required.
We offer an EAL (English as a second language) programme, which is designed to develop international students’ language skills.
These tests can also be taken as part of a visit to Sidcot, where families can enjoy a tour of the school, and meet other students (including international students), as well as teachers and Boarding staff. On these occasions, there would also be an interview with the Headmaster or Deputy Head.
Prospective students’ ability in English may be assessed during the interview, or using examination results in English IGCSE or IELTS. In cases where a visit is not possible, we request an interview via Skype. These arrangements will always be made by your Agent.
What happens when an international student is offered a place
When the offer of an international student place is made, offer documentation will be sent to you or your Agent by post. You’ll need to read and sign the Parents’ Agreement and Acceptance Form, and return this to our Admissions team along with the deposit, the completed medical card, and UK Guardian details. Find out more about Educational Guardians and how they help international students make the transition to their new UK international school.
On acceptance you’ll also receive a pack of information, including our uniform list, insurance details, and term dates. A further pack of joining instructions including transport and boarding house information will be sent prior to the start date. View our Sidcot School parent information hub to find out more.
Please note: Students holding international passports (other than UK) will require a Confirmation of Acceptance to Study letter (CAS) to support their international student visa application to the United Kingdom Visa and Immigration office (UKVI). This will be issued on completion of all of the above steps. Your Agent will be able to help you with this. Sidcot School will not issue a CAS unless all criteria are met as per the UKVI regulations and in accordance with the Sidcot School Admissions policy, Appendix 2.