Welcome to Sidcot School! At Sidcot, we are an international boarding school at heart. We welcome students and staff of more than 30 different nationalities to live adventurously and learn together. We are experts at providing a warm, welcoming and safe environment for our students so that they can achieve their best results in courses from A Levels to the International Baccalaureate. At the same time, we know that this is an exciting experience for our international students and we want to provide as many opportunities as possible to make the most of your time with us, from cultural trips to a huge range of extracurriculars!
Why Choose Sidcot International Boarding School?
The International Baccalaureate
At Sidcot, we have a vast range of course options available to our students, allowing them to pursue their passions and achieve their best. One of our most popular courses is the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. This is often a preferred choice as it is a challenging course that aims to develop students holistically and prepare them for university. It is also a globally recognised qualification, allowing our students to continue their studies in the UK, Europe, and beyond. Find out more about all your Sixth Form course options here: The IB, A Levels, BTEC, and EPQ.
Extracurricular Opportunities
Outside of academics, we encourage our students to discover new passions and develop existing skills in our award-nominated extracurricular programme. Every Thursday afternoon, all students take part in the Programme of Activities for Sidcot Students (PASS) or Sixth Form Games. Activities range from popular favourites, like surfing, snowsports, and football, to fun alternatives, such as circus skills and candle making. Some of our most popular extracurricular opportunities for international students include our Tennis, Basketball, and Equestrian programmes, all of which offer professional coaching and development, state-of-the-art facilities, and the chance to compete.
Our Environment
We are fortunate to offer not only a safe and secure environment to our students, but also a beautiful one. Sidcot School is based on 150 acres of countryside campus, close to cities like Bristol and Bath. This allows our students to take advantage of all the city has to offer, while providing a quiet retreat ideal for focusing on studies and connecting with nature. Our environment is made only more pleasant by our welcoming community, who make Sidcot a warm and friendly place to live and learn. Our boarding staff create a true home away from home for our boarders. Year group tutors are always on hand to provide support during school hours. Most importantly, our friendly students are always excited to welcome a new face. We are committed to ensuring every student receives the best pastoral care, enabling them to thrive personally and academically.
Boarding
At Sidcot, we have created a true 'home away from home' for our boarders. Students are cared for by a small, supportive team in one of four boarding houses. They often share rooms, helping to establish lifelong friendships, and are encouraged to decorate! We also ensure there is never a dull moment for our boarders, with a full agenda of boarding activities and weekend trips outside of regular school hours, ensuring they make the most of their experience with us. Find out more about boarding, including taking a virtual tour of the boarding houses, here.
Our Quaker Values
Our Quaker heritage is fundamental to how we live and how we learn. Quaker values underpin all we do at Sidcot, from shaping our Learning Wheel pedagogy to creating an environment that allows student voice to thrive. While many students who join us do not come from a Quaker background, they often comment on their positive experience with Quakerism at Sidcot, truly feeling an environment of respect, integrity, equality, and community.
Results & Leavers' Destinations
We are very proud of our students at Sidcot. We accept children with a wide range of strengths and abilities, and every year they delight us with the results that they achieve and the university destinations they go on to. We are particularly proud of our international students, who often sit exams in their second language and still achieve top marks. This year, we are pleased to share that across our A Level, IB and BTEC results, grades achieved were equivalent to 31.5% A* to A. Our top scorers achieved fantastic results, including 43 out of 45 points in the IB, Distinction* Distinction* in BTEC, and A* A* A A in A Levels. Our students are now pursuing their passions at university, in fields as diverse as their interests and talents, including Medicine, Languages, Fashion Design, Commercial Music, International Business and Chemistry. 95% of our students went on to their preferred choice of university, with 49% choosing to study at Russell Group or top creative/research institutions. We are also pleased that 21% of students chose to study at international universities, continuing to live adventurously beyond their time at Sidcot. Read all about our latest results here.
Find Out More
Frequently Asked Questions
To travel to Sidcot from Bermuda, we recommend flying into London Heathrow, where we will arrange a coach transfer at the start and end of school holidays for our students. You can find out more about our airport transfers here.
If you’re applying for an international student place, you can either apply directly or through an education consultant (or agent). If you’re contacting Sidcot directly, without using an agent, the admissions process for international students is the same as for UK students and can be found here. If applying via agent, they will work on your behalf to move the application process forward. A key component of the application process is entrance assessments in English and Maths, which determine whether a student has the required level of English to participate in school life and whether they can cope with the curriculum. 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 Head or Deputy Head. After this point, you will be contacted to confirm whether you will be invited to study at Sidcot and be asked to accept your place. Find out more about the full international admissions process here.
Overseas students joining Sidcot School without a UK passport (and planning to stay with us for more than 6 months) must apply for a child study visa and will receive specialist international student visa support from the School. Students joining Sidcot for less than 6 months and who do not usually need a visa, will need to register for an Electronic Travel Authorisation. If, at any point, students decide to extend their stay at Sidcot, we can assist them in applying for their visa. Find out more about international student visas here.
During their time at Sidcot, all of our international students must have an educational guardian. This may be a relative or family friend who meets the criteria to be a guardian, or it may be a professional guardian. The guardian provides a link between parents and the school. They provide support and advice to the student and have several responsibilities including: arranging travel to and from the UK in conjunction with the parents, making sure the student does not leave the school early or arrive late, providing a home at half term, and taking responsibility for a student during an emergency. Find out more about guardians and how you can find one here.
Our boarding community at Sidcot strives to create a supportive, respectful, and inclusive environment where each boarder can flourish academically, socially, and personally. We believe in fostering independence, resilience, and compassion while nurturing a sense of responsibility and integrity. Our boarding experience is designed to help boarders develop the skills, values, and friendships to last a lifetime. If you want to know what boarding life is really like, check out our boarding reviews here, and take a tour of our boarding houses here.
Upon being offered a place at Sidcot, you will receive detailed information on what you need to bring with you to School and what is provided or can be bought by the School on your behalf. This will be tailored to you, but general joining information for boarding students can be found here.
Do you have more questions? Then, please get in touch with our friendly admissions team, who will be happy to help!