Hurtwood House, Surrey
Set in the Surrey Hills, Hurtwood House is England’s only independent boarding school exclusively for sixth-formers. Renowned for its performing arts, the school’s annual Christmas musical is no ordinary affair. The ten-night production is staged with a full West End orchestra and professional directors, choreographers and lighting designers. It is no surprise that alumni include Emily Blunt and Hans Zimmer. Hurtwood can also boast a high level of academic achievement: last year 54 per cent of A-level results were graded A*-A. Fees for boarders start at £22,405 a term and prospective pupils are interviewed by the headmaster and his wife, setting the tone for a familial community in which there is no uniform, staff are addressed by their first names and students receive weekly grades to monitor their progress.
Millfield, Somerset
It is hard to imagine a school more synonymous with sport than Millfield. Old Millfieldians have competed at every Olympic Games since 1956, possibly thanks to the school’s approach to sport, putting it on a par with academic achievement and pastoral wellbeing. Students have access to indoor cricket and golf centres, an indoor riding arena, fencing salle, Olympic-size swimming pool and numerous playing fields. Access to such a vast array of facilities is no doubt part of the reason why 36 pupils in the Upper Sixth were offered a US university scholarship in 2024. Fees for boarding start at £12,770 a term, with many students coming from their pre-prep and prep school, which takes children from two to 13 years old. Notably alumni include Formula One driver Lando Norris, who first began kart racing as a pupil at Millfield.
Ron Dearing UTC, Hull
Named after the civil servant and education reformer Lord Dearing, Ron Dearing is a technical college in Hull. The school specialises in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. Students aged 14-18 complete projects designed by the school’s business partners alongside studying for traditional qualifications. Through a constantly evolving curriculum and initial support provided to all its graduates, Ron Dearing has fostered an environment in which 40 per cent of students go on to apprenticeships, 50 per cent go to university and 10 per cent either start up their own businesses or take up employment. Alumni have gone on to degree apprenticeships at Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, Oxbridge, the London Fashion Academy and, this year, one sixth-former has a place to study ceramics at Central Saint Martins.
Brighton College, Brighton and Hove
Established in 1845, Brighton College is a co-ed boarding school recently awarded UK Boarding School of the Year. The school takes pride in its life skills programme, including presentation skills, cooking and AI. Its facilities include a 400-seat theatre, music and performance spaces, university-standard laboratories and a 25-metre pool. Pupils at the college – where fees start at £17,659 a term for weekly boarders – have consistently achieved some of the strongest results of those at any co-educational school in the country. This year, 85 per cent of A-levels were scored at A*-A, while roughly a third of applicants were offered Oxbridge places. The headmaster, Steve Marshall-Taylor, says he finds it ‘a privilege to live and work alongside so many engaged, inquisitive and enthusiastic girls and boys’.
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