United Kingdom · Crowthorne
Wellington College is a co-educational day and boarding school in Crowthorne. Its main entry points are 13+ and Sixth Form, with a small 14+ intake and a separate 11+ route through Wellington College Prep. Current fees are £21,690 per term for boarding and £15,930 for day pupils, including VAT.
Wellington College is a co-educational day and boarding school in Crowthorne, Berkshire. The senior school begins in Third Form, or Year 9, and continues through Sixth Form.
The school says about 260 pupils join each year. Around 200 enter at 13+, a small number enter at 14+, and about 50 enter the Sixth Form. Approximately 80% of new pupils board.
Wellington may suit families seeking a large co-educational boarding environment with a day option. The Sixth Form offers both A levels and the IB Diploma Programme.
The school says new intakes have been split equally between boys and girls since 2025. Its admissions overview also reports pupils from state, grammar, independent and international backgrounds.
This is a selective school. It considers academic potential alongside character, interests and likely contribution to school life.
The main senior-school routes are:
An 11+ route exists through Wellington College Prep, which is a separate school on the same estate. Children joining the Prep in Years 7 or 8 later move to the College in Year 9.
Do not use the senior fee table as the Prep’s fee schedule. Ask the Prep directly about its day, flexi, weekly and bi-weekly boarding arrangements.
The standard 13+ registration deadline is 30 June of Year 5. The current registration fee is £400 and is non-refundable.
The selection process has two stages:
Offers are made in March of Year 6. They remain conditional on a satisfactory report at the end of Year 8.
Wellington recommends registering for boarding if a family is genuinely undecided between boarding and day. It says a later move from day to boarding is possible only in exceptional circumstances.
Registration date can affect house choice, although it does not replace assessment. Early registration can improve the chance of receiving a preferred house.
The school publishes two late routes, but neither should be treated as equivalent to standard registration.
Late Route 1 is for children registered by 30 June of Year 6. They follow the standard two-stage process one year later, with more limited house choice.
Late Route 2 is for families who approach during Year 7. A two-month window opens from May to June in the year before entry. Candidates submit a personal statement and school report, then take online tests in September.
A positive Late Route 2 outcome initially gives a waiting-list place, not an immediate offer. The school may make a small number of offers during the following terms.
Sixth Form applicants choose between the A-level and IB routes. Wellington expects around 60 new Sixth Form pupils for September 2027, joining an existing year group of roughly 200.
For September 2027 entry, the registration deadline is 21 September 2026. Applicants submit a personal statement and their latest school report, including predicted grades and summer results when available.
The school uses reports and statements to select candidates for assessment. Final decisions draw on examination results, interviews, Harkness discussion groups and references.
Initial decisions for September 2027 are due on 1 December 2026. Further offers may be made from the waiting list up to the start of the school year.
Wellington says it recruits about 20 to 30 international pupils across 13+ and 16+ each year. Overseas 13+ candidates may take the ISEB test at the British Council or another approved centre.
Families should ask about visa sponsorship, guardianship, travel days and arrangements when boarding houses close. These practical requirements are separate from winning a school place.
The published current termly fees, including VAT, are:
| Pupil type | Fee per term |
|---|---|
| Boarding | £21,690 |
| Day | £15,930 |
At three terms, that is £65,070 for boarding or £47,790 for day tuition before additional charges. The calculation does not include registration, deposits or optional expenditure.
The public fee page does not give the acceptance deposit or any additional overseas deposit. Request the full payment schedule for the applicant’s entry year before budgeting.
Means-tested assistance may range from 10% to 100% of fees. For 13+ applicants, requests for fee assistance are accepted only in Years 5 or 6.
Families seeking less than 90% assistance use the full-fee registration route and indicate that they want to apply for support. A separate route exists for applicants likely to need 90% to 100% assistance.
Use the standard route whenever possible. A late route may keep an application alive, but its house choices and offer prospects are more limited.
Official pages and documents we read. If a figure matters to your budget or your application, open the link and confirm it is still current.
Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.
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Crowthorne is a village in Bracknell Forest, between the M3 and M4 on the Berkshire–Surrey edge. Families here usually weigh good local state schools against independent day and boarding options, with Reading and Guildford as the nearest rail hubs.
8 minStart with the child and a realistic weekly timetable. Then confirm who provides care, which nights are covered, and what happens when plans change.
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