Cardiff Sixth Form College

Course Description: Cardiff Sixth Form College

🎓 Programme Overview

Cardiff Sixth Form College is a co-educational boarding and day school for ambitious students aged 14–18, specialising in A levels and GCSEs. It has been ranked the top private school in the UK for A-level results for more than a decade (The Times, Daily Telegraph), and it prepares students for the world's most competitive universities, especially in medicine, engineering, economics and the sciences.

The college has two campuses, Cardiff (Wales's capital, about 2.5 hours from London) and Cambridge (45 minutes from London). From September 2026 the Cardiff campus moves to a brand-new waterfront site in Cardiff Bay, with modern teaching space and en-suite boarding rooms for 400 students. It is part of Dukes Education, a family of more than 50 schools across the UK and Europe.

🏆 Results and University Destinations

The 2025 A-level results at the Cardiff campus:

• 68% of all grades at A*, 94% A_–A and 99.6% A_–B

• 81% of students won places at a QS top-100 university

• 55% went to Russell Group universities and 35% to G5 universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, UCL)

• 6% gained places at Oxford or Cambridge

• 48% went on to study medicine and healthcare courses

Recent graduates have gone to Imperial College London, UCL, King's College London, LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and HKUST, and in the USA to Columbia, NYU, Georgia Tech and Rice, among many others. Over a decade, the college reports an average of *more than 90% A–A**, the only school in the UK to do so.

📚 Academic Programmes

A levels (2 years, ages 16–17 at entry)

• Students choose four subjects in the first year and continue with three or four in the second.

• 27–28 hours of lessons a week, with an average student-to-teacher ratio of 1:7, which is significantly more teaching time per subject than most schools.

• Subjects include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Economics, Psychology, Computer Science (Cambridge), English Literature, History, Geography, Government & Politics, French and Art.

• Many teachers have served as examiners or inspectors.

• An 18-month A-level course with a January start is offered at the Cambridge campus.

GCSEs (Cardiff campus, ages 14–15 at entry)

• Two-year GCSE course for students who want a broad, rigorous foundation.

• Intensive one-year GCSE course for students who are new to the British system or slightly older.

• Supporting curriculum: English for Academic Purposes, critical thinking, leadership, PPE and university preparation.

Also included: group IELTS preparation for international students.

🩺 University Preparation (Oxbridge, Medicine, US)

Preparation runs throughout both years of sixth form:

• One-to-one careers interviews, UCAS personal statement guidance and mock interviews

• Timetabled preparation for admissions tests: UCAT, ESAT, LNAT, TSA, STEP and Oxford/Cambridge tests

• Oxbridge programme: extra STEP classes, interview training with Oxbridge alumni and Dukes' Oxbridge Applications experts

• Medicine, dentistry and veterinary science: medical work-observation placements, visits from medical schools and interview training with The Medic Portal

• US and international applications: Common App guidance with A-List, plus support for Hong Kong, Canada, Australia and Europe

• Two weeks every October and February for work experience, in placements such as hospitals, GP surgeries, law firms and engineering companies

🔬 The Cambridge Edge (Cambridge campus)

A STEM-focused programme that uses the city's academic life: Cambridge University lectures (including by Nobel Prize winners), work experience at Addenbrooke's Hospital, ARM and the UK Atomic Energy Authority, mentoring by Cambridge alumni, and trips to Bletchley Park, Silverstone and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

🌍 Beyond the Classroom

• Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), Model UN, debating, the Young Enterprise scheme and science Olympiads

• Career societies in medicine and healthcare, law, engineering, business and finance, computer science, architecture and the humanities

• Sport: football, tennis, basketball, badminton, netball, gym access and the college "Iron Man" challenge

• Music and drama: choir, orchestra, private lessons and the annual Glee Club show at a professional theatre

• Duke of Edinburgh Award, around 25 clubs (robotics, journalism, film, philosophy, yoga and more) and an International Citizenship Experience every July in countries such as India, Nepal and Tanzania

• Subject trips, for example geography in Iceland, history in Poland and business in Munich

🏡 Boarding and Student Care

• University-style en-suite rooms, superfast broadband, communal kitchens, leisure areas and laundry

• 24-hour security and CCTV, with full-time House Parents in every boarding house

• On-site medical centre at both campuses; all students are registered with a local NHS doctor

• Buffet meals with halal, vegetarian, vegan and special-diet options

• Life-skills sessions (cooking, money management) and House events such as MasterChef, Sports Day and the Fashion Show

• More than 40 nationalities in the student body

✅ What's Included (boarding fee)

• Tuition and exam fees (excluding re-takes)

• Group IELTS preparation (exam fee not included)

• Accommodation and meals during term (catering is not included over the Christmas and summer holidays)

• Use of all college facilities, a bedding pack, weekly room cleaning

• One complimentary airport pick-up on set arrival dates

❌ What's Not Included

• Registration fee (£300 for international boarders) and refundable acceptance deposit (£9,500 for international boarders)

• CAS visa letter (£55) and guardianship

• One-to-one tuition, private IELTS or music lessons

• School uniform, textbooks and stationery, most off-campus activities, the optional UCAS preparation course

💷 Fees (2026–27, for reference)

• A level, boarding: £77,250 a year at Cardiff, £74,900 a year at Cambridge

• A level, day: £31,050 a year

• GCSE, boarding: £62,200 (2-year course, per year) or £63,400 (1-year intensive)

• Fees for 2027–28 will be confirmed by the college.

📝 How to Apply

1. Apply through Best Parents (click Apply). We'll guide you and pass your application to the college.

2. Send your passport, latest school report and birth certificate. The college then invoices the registration fee.

3. Your child takes the college's entrance tests, an interview and a GL aptitude test.

4. The college reviews the application and sends an offer.

5. Accept the offer and pay the deposit to secure the place. Pre-arrival information and the CAS (visa letter) follow from June.

Entry is competitive: the college looks for able, hard-working students who are ready for an intensive academic programme.