United Kingdom · Kent
Sevenoaks does not offer A-Levels in the Sixth Form. Every sixth-former takes the IB Diploma. The rest is dates, houses, a Saturday that includes lessons and sport, and an inspection from September 2025.
Este retrato ainda está em inglês. As outras línguas chegam escola a escola.
Currículo como a escola o publica:IGCSE and GCSE · Middle School diploma alongside those courses · International Baccalaureate Diploma (all Sixth Form)
Línguas de ensino:English
Sevenoaks is a co-educational day and boarding school for ages 11–18, on the High Street in Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 1HU. The school says it was founded in 1432 by William Sevenoke. Boarding starts at 13. There is no Lower School boarding. The admissions welcome page says over 40% of students aged 13–18 board — about 450 — and that boarding is full, not flexi, with Saturday morning lessons and afternoon sport. Day and boarding students share that Saturday. The “at a glance” page currently prints 1,238 students, 75 nationalities, a 50:50 gender mix, 450 boarders and eight houses. The ISI visit of 9–11 September 2025 recorded 1,218 pupils and 449 boarders. Treat both as snapshots. They are close; they are not the same day.
The Sixth Form is the International Baccalaureate Diploma for all pupils. The school has offered it for “nearly 50 years” and, on the at-a-glance page, dates the first British public-school IB teaching to 1978. There is no A-Level pathway to fall back on if the Diploma feels too wide. That is the first conversation, before you fall in love with the park.
The useful questions follow from that. Can this child live a six-subject Diploma plus Theory of Knowledge, an Extended Essay and CAS? If you want boarding, can they be in residence Monday to Friday every week, and some Sundays, without a flexi option? If you want a day place and help with fees, do you meet the bursary rules — financial assistance is not available for boarding candidates? And have you read the 2025 inspection’s SEND next step as well as the service paragraph?
The school calls itself modern, fully co-educational, unstuffy, diverse, non-denominational and open-minded. It also calls itself “strongly academic” and selects children it believes will flourish in an intellectually exciting environment. Character is assessed in a 40-minute group discussion. Co-curricular interests are gathered on a parent form (11+ and 13+) or a 600-word personal statement (16+).
About 80 places at 11, a further 100 at 13, and roughly 80 to 90 at 16, when the cohort grows by nearly a third. Occasional 12+ and 14+ places exist; email to join a waiting list to test. The school never takes new students into Year 11 or Year 13.
Most students, the welcome page says, are British, with a long international intake from Europe, Africa, Asia and America, occasionally Australasia — more than 70 nationalities on that page, 75 on at-a-glance. For FCDO families, the lack of Lower School boarding does not affect the Continuity of Education Allowance; admissions will talk you through that. Agents may apply; the school pays commission only to a handful with a formal agreement and says it takes the Agent Quality Framework seriously. Families may also apply directly.
The IB sixth form is “over 400 students from more than 50 countries.” Every student takes at least one modern foreign language at both GCSE and IB, the school says. If you want a narrower A-Level three, this is the wrong sixth form.
The inspectorate address is the High Street. The at-a-glance page claims 100+ acres, 12 lawns, 6 ponds, gardens and thousands of trees; 16,600 meals a week cooked from scratch; a Health Centre with 24/7 medical support; 66+ staff as Mental Health First Aiders; 145 tutor groups, with tutor time every morning; and 10 Divisional Heads. Those are the school’s numbers. Ask to see an ordinary tutor room and a boarding kitchen, not only the view over the pitches.
Boarding is eight single-sex houses. Six take ages 13–18: School House, Johnsons and Aisher for boys; Park Grange, Sennocke House and New House for girls. Two are Sixth Form only: the International Centre (IC) for boys and Girls’ International House (GIH). The IC opened in 1962 for international sixth-formers and moved to its present building in 1997, on the Park Grange estate, near Aisher, Park Grange and New House. Lower Sixth in the IC typically share; Upper Sixth have singles. Some 25 nationalities are typically represented there, with a substantial British group. New House opened in 2023–24 for about 60 girls, as a sister building to Aisher (2019). The school says it now has equal boarding capacity for boys and girls.
A boarding booklet on the site says families may visit, and pupils may go home on Saturday once sport is finished; typically around 60% of boarders stay in for the weekend. Boarders are expected in residence Monday to Friday every week and occasional Sundays. Houses are card-access; the 2025 inspection noted CCTV on external entrances, separate staff accommodation, and an independent person for boarders.
Open Mornings and Group Visits run through the year, with a house visit if it applies, then an individual meeting with admissions. Virtual events exist if you cannot travel. A Mini Open Morning is listed for 19 September 2026.
Lower School (from 11). Day only. The inspection describes a curriculum that emphasises languages and an understanding of different cultures from the start.
Middle School (Years 9–11). IGCSE and GCSE “alongside our own core curriculum,” which the welcome page says encourages critical thinking. The 2025 report names a middle school diploma and GCSE courses, plus a learning-skills programme. Every Thursday afternoon from Year 10 is given to service activities, the at-a-glance page says, through to Year 13 — 36,000+ volunteer hours a year, 6,000 local primary children taught by Sevenoaks students in those sessions, 100% of students in service learning. Inspectors called that service and partnership programme a significant strength.
Sixth Form. The IB Diploma, six subjects, Theory of Knowledge, CAS (creativity, activity, service) and an extended research project. The school’s 2025 results page says 245 Diploma students averaged 39.4, about ten points above the world average that year; eleven scored 45; more than half scored 40 or more. The at-a-glance page later prints an average of 39.6, “over half” on 40 or more, and eight scores of 45 “in 2026.” Those are the school’s own published snapshots for two seasons. We are not forecasting your child. Destinations the school prints: 24% to overseas universities “including all Ivy League institutions”; one in eight UK applicants to Oxford or Cambridge; one in three US applicants to the Ivy League; one in three UK applicants to the “top four London universities.” That is the school talking about itself.
Co-curricular lists on the same page: 77+ clubs, 200+ trips a year of which 50 are residential, 40% of students playing at least one instrument, 11+ drama productions a year, 550+ in CCF and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Again, school figures. The inspection said club-attendance monitoring had already led to more provision for younger years.
All candidates are assessed through entrance tests, the group discussion, and a reference or report from the current school. Pupils should normally be the right age on 1 September of entry. The school will consider a date of birth up to three months outside the usual boundary if you email first. At 16+, the published window is over 15.5 and under 17.7 on 1 September.
Year 7 (11+), day, for 2027
Registration fee £260 including VAT. Deadline 21 September 2026. Music-scholarship deadline 13 November 2026. Assessment day at Sevenoaks 5 January 2027. Between July and September of Year 6 you confirm you still want to proceed, add co-curricular detail, and declare medical or learning-support needs. Day families who want a means-tested bursary apply at that confirmation stage. The current school is then asked for a confidential reference.
Stage 1 is a pre-test in the autumn. Candidates take the ISEB online pre-test if their school offers it. If they have a Kent Test or other grammar-school score, that may be submitted instead. If the school is independent, does not offer ISEB, and no grammar test is planned, email the Registrar during confirmation. Most candidates then come to the January assessment day: written Maths and English (past papers are available) and the 40-minute group discussion. Offers, including academic and music scholarships, go out by email in mid-February of Year 6. A Post-Offer Morning follows. Some children go on a Reserve List — a pool, not a ranked queue — which often moves in early March after grammar-school places are announced. Accept by paying a £2,000 day deposit and returning the form by the early-March date on the offer.
Year 9 (13+), day or boarding
Two doors. Early Decision is only for children who will stay at their current school for Years 7 and 8. Register by 21 September, three years ahead — so Year 9 2029 Early Decision closes 21 September 2026. Later Decision registers by 1 November of Year 7 — Year 9 2028 Later Decision closes 1 November 2026. A substantial number of places are held for Later Decision. Applications for 2026 and 2027 (all routes) and for 2028 Early Decision are closed. Honorary scholarships exist at 13+ in academia, music, sport, drama and art. Financial assistance is for day candidates who meet the criteria, at confirmation; not for boarders.
Lower Sixth (16+), for 2027
Deadline 1 September 2026. Assessment 17 October 2026. Decisions 1 December 2026. Registration £450 boarding / £260 day, both including VAT. Deposit £2,000 day / £5,000 boarding. By the end of August the year before entry you confirm, send the latest report, and the student submits the 600-word personal statement. Day financial-assistance applications sit at that stage.
UK-based candidates come to Sevenoaks in October. The school also holds assessment days in Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai (there is a charge). Other candidates can test at their current school or a British Council, with the group discussion online. Everyone sits three papers: English; Maths; a combined Science and Humanities paper. Higher Level Maths applicants sit an extra extension paper. Academic scholarships are examined after the assessment day, by invitation. Reserved candidates are again a pool, not a list.
Visa administration is £500 + VAT for students who need sponsorship.
From 1 January 2025, VAT at 20% applies. The schedule below is the school’s VAT-inclusive termly table. Lunch every school day including Saturdays, plus textbooks and exercise books for timetabled subjects, are included. Extra tuition and clubs — music, drama, sport, languages — are priced separately and attract VAT.
| Fees per term, including VAT | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Day, Lower and Middle School | £12,514 |
| Day, Sixth Form | £12,734 |
| Day entering at Sixth Form | £14,461 |
| Boarding, Middle School | £20,472 |
| Boarding, Sixth Form | £20,639 |
| Boarding entering at Sixth Form | £22,383 |
Three terms at the Lower/Middle day rate are £37,542 a year before extras. A new sixth-form boarder is £67,149 before the visa charge and clubs. Pay by UK direct debit, bank transfer, cheque or bankers’ draft in sterling — not cash. A fees-in-advance scheme exists. Confirm the live page; governors move numbers.
We are not inventing a published bursary percentage or an income cap. The admissions pages say day candidates who meet the eligibility criteria may apply at confirmation, and that boarding candidates cannot. Read the current bursary page and write to admissions if that is your path.
Ten inspectors visited on 9–11 September 2025. All Standards were met. The service and partnership programme is the significant strength: buddying in Year 8, structured service in Years 10–13, peer mentoring in the sixth form, foodbank produce from a school allotment, a Christmas party for more than 100 local refugee children, education boxes for local schools, and long-standing links with schools in Morocco and South Africa, plus online English teaching for Bali and Ukraine.
Inspectors found high IB outcomes, good progress, engaging lessons and pupils who seek help in class and in houses. Behaviour was calm; routines were consistent. Boarding was well led, with thoughtful induction, supervised study, and attention to sleep and nutrition. Safeguarding was effective, including boarding, online filtering, and safer recruitment. Governors’ oversight was described as rigorous.
The recommended next step is specific: teachers should apply the SEND strategies on IEPs more consistently in lessons, so that pupils with SEND make consistently good progress. The school had identified 282 pupils with SEND and no EHC plans, and 401 pupils with English as an additional language. EAL support was found effective. Ask, on the tour, how an IEP is actually used in a Year 10 IGCSE class, not only in the learning-support office.
Inspectors also considered a request to raise registered capacity from 1,250 to 1,260. They recommended that the material change be approved: houses and classrooms had space, no building work was planned, and safeguarding and boarding arrangements were likely to remain suitable.
The report names Mr Jesse Elzinga as Headteacher and Ms Alison Becket as chair of governors. Charity number 1101358. Previous inspection: 8 June 2022.
Ask whether you are looking at a day Lower School, a 13+ house, or a sixth-form-only IC or GIH — they are different Tuesdays. Ask how a child who is not already an IB-minded all-rounder is counselled in Year 11. Ask what “full boarding, not flexi” means if a Kent day family later wants the odd night. Ask whether your 13+ route is Early or Later Decision, and which of those doors is still open. Ask how the Reserve List moved last March. Ask to see Thursday-afternoon service, not only the IB results page. Ask the learning-support lead how the 2025 IEP recommendation is being trained into ordinary lessons.
We are not ranking Sevenoaks among IB schools. We are not treating 39.4 or 39.6 as your child’s score. We are not inventing a boarding bursary that the school says it does not offer. Confirm the live fees table, the 11+, 13+ and 16+ calendars, and the 2025 ISI report before you pay a deposit. This is a map. The High Street still has to be the right Saturday.
Páginas e documentos oficiais que lemos. Se um número importa para o orçamento ou a candidatura, abram o link e confirmem que ainda vale.
Orientação amiga, não uma candidatura. Datas, propinas e programas mexem-se. Confirmem tudo com a escola.
Algumas crianças florescem num corredor de baús e chocolate. Outras precisam do quarto delas e do cão. As duas coisas valem. O trajecto também é uma espécie de internato.
15 minAs letras do diploma importam. Não são a criança inteira. Aqui vai como distingui-las sem dor de cabeça, e sem fingir que todas as portas continuam abertas.
16 minNão precisam de um algoritmo perfeito. Precisam de algumas verdades sobre o vosso filho, uma lista aborrecida no frigorífico, e a coragem de ignorar um campus bonito que não serve.
15 minAs propinas são o número da página inicial. O PDF é o que chega em Março. Aqui vai como ler o segundo, sem inventar um euro, uma coroa ou um prazo.