The Top 100 Co-Educational Senior Boarding Schools by A Levels
In this section we give you our own assessment of the Top 100 co-educational independent
senior boarding schools in the UK for 2012. These positions are compiled
from the % of A* and A grades scored at A levels. Note that this table EXCLUDES schools
taking the International Baccalaureate, which are included in the separate table
for IB schools.
Click on the name of a school to find out its type, contact details, day or boarding
and the annual fees.
Use the links in the right column to select how you would like sort the Top 100 Co-Educational Senior Boarding Schools by A Levels.
| A + A* % | Name | Day / Board | Boy / Girl | Day £ | Board £ |
| 1 | 94.71 | Cardiff Sixth Form College | Both | Co ed | 12,000 | 27,000 |
| 2 | 77.44 | Brighton College | Both | Co-ed | 19,509 | 34,500 |
| 3 | 75.23 | Concord College - Shrewsbury | Both | Co-ed | 11,940 | 28,600 |
| 4 | 71.81 | Abbey College - Cambridge | Both | Co-ed | 21,000 | NA |
| 5 | 70.64 | City of London Freemen's School - Ashtead | Both | Co-ed | 14,814 | 23,589 |
| 6 | 70.35 | Queen Ethelburga's College - York | Both | Co-ed | 11,985 | 38,085 |
| 7 | 69.93 | Caterham School | Both | Co-ed | 15,030 | 28,044 |
| 8 | 67.77 | Ruthin School | Both | Co-ed | 11,750 | 22,500 |
| 9 | 63.64 | Canford School - Wimborne | Both | Co-ed | 22,275 | 28,500 |
| 10 | 63.46 | King's School - Canterbury | Both | Co-ed | 23,295 | 31,140 |
| 11 | 62.70 | Hurtwood House - Dorking | Both | Co-ed | NA | 35,175 |
| 12 | 61.52 | Cambridge Tutors College - Croydon | Both | Co-ed | 18,360 | NA |
| 13 | 60.11 | Wellington College - Berkshire | Both | Co-ed | 23,610 | 31,500 |
| 14 | 60.00 | Denstone College - Staffordshire | Both | Co-ed | 12,549 | 21,852 |
| 15 | 59.50 | Bromsgrove School | Both | Co-ed | 13,500 | 28,995 |
| 16 | 58.89 | Repton School | Both | Co-ed | 21,726 | 29,280 |
| 17 | 58.87 | Bishop's Stortford College | Both | Co-ed | 15,660 | 23,316 |
| 18 | 57.62 | Rugby School | Both | Co-ed | 18,900 | 30,099 |
| 19 | 56.60 | Cranleigh School - Surrey | Both | Co-ed | 25,005 | 30,690 |
| 20 | 56.55 | Oundle School - Peterborough | Both | Co-ed | 19,035 | 29,670 |
| 21 | 56.42 | Dauntsey's School - Devizes | Both | Co-ed | 16,050 | 30,675 |
| 22 | 56.27 | St Peter's School - York | Both | Co-ed | 14,916 | 24,015 |
| 23 | 56.11 | Leys School - Cambridge | Both | Co-ed | 17,940 | 26,970 |
| 24 | 56.00 | Marlborough College | Both | Co-ed | 26,640 | 31,350 |
| 25 | 55.94 | Epsom College | Both | Co-ed | 20,655 | 30,222 |
| 26 | 55.87 | Clifton College - Bristol | Both | Co-ed | 21,870 | 31,500 |
| 27 | 55.50 | Uppingham School - Rutland | Both | Co-ed | 21,300 | 30,429 |
| 28 | 54.69 | Ashford School - Kent | Both | Co ed | 15,198 | 29,805 |
| 29 | 54.00 | Dean Close School - Cheltenham | Both | Co-ed | 21,180 | 29,880 |
| 30 | 53.58 | Strathallan School - Perth | Both | Co-ed | 18,489 | 27,249 |
| 31 | 53.44 | Cheltenham College | Both | Co-ed | 23,958 | 31,671 |
| 32 | 52.86 | Eastbourne College | Both | Co-ed | 19,020 | 28,875 |
| 33 | 52.46 | Kimbolton School - Huntingdon | Both (Boarding from 11) | Co-ed | 13,020 | 21,555 |
| 34 | 51.69 | Queen's College - Taunton | Both | Co-ed | 15,300 | 24,690 |
| 35 | 51.48 | Abbey College - London | Both | Co-ed | 17,000 | 35,000 |
| 36 | 51.30 | Kingswood School - Bath | Both | Co-ed | 12,177 | 26,241 |
| 37 | 51.03 | CATS Cambridge | Both | Co-ed | 21,450 | 35,940 |
| 38 | 50.64 | Ampleforth College - York | Both | Co-ed | 19,110 | 29,241 |
| 39 | 50.54 | Wells Cathedral School - Somerset | Both | Co-ed | 15,207 | 25,542 |
| 40 | 49.75 | Sidcot School - Winscombe | Both | Co-ed | 14,700 | 26,400 |
| 41 | 49.31 | Bradfield College - Reading | Both | Co-ed | 24,708 | 30,885 |
| 42 | 49.19 | Bootham School - York | Both | Co-ed | 15,675 | 26,400 |
| 43 | 48.96 | D'Overbroeck's College - Oxford | Both | Co-ed | 19,260 | 29,115 |
| 44 | 48.95 | Chetham's School of Music - Manchester | Both | Co-ed | 23,988 | 30,987 |
| 45 | 48.94 | Christ's Hospital - Horsham | Both | Co-ed | 17,505 | 27,000 |
| 46 | 48.92 | Fettes College - Edinburgh | Both | Co-ed | 21,075 | 28,110 |
| 47 | 48.44 | Berkhamsted School | Both | Co-ed | 17,460 | 27,815 |
| 48 | 48.39 | Battle Abbey School | Both | Co-ed | 14,376 | 25,140 |
| 49 | 48.06 | Bryanston School - Blandford Forum | Both | Co-ed | NA | 29,970 |
| 50 | 48.01 | New Hall School - Chelmsford | Both | Co-ed | 16,182 | 24,843 |
| 51 | 47.55 | Lancing College | Both | Co-ed | 20,997 | 29,988 |
| 52 | 46.76 | St Edmund's School - Canterbury | Both | Co-ed | 17,571 | 27,342 |
| 53 | 46.70 | Bosworth Independent College - Northamptonshire | Both | Co-ed | 18,000 | 26,000 |
| 54 | 45.75 | Wellington School - Somerset | Both | Co-ed | 12,510 | 24,735 |
| 55 | 45.71 | Brentwood School | Both | Co-ed | 14,811 | 26,589 |
| 56 | 45.50 | Ipswich School | Both | Co-ed | 12,252 | 22,677 |
| 57 | 44.30 | Padworth College - Reading | Both | Co-ed | 12,525 | 26,100 |
| 58 | 44.00 | St Edward's School - Oxford | Both | Co-ed | 24,681 | 30,849 |
| 59 | 43.95 | Ratcliffe College - Leicester | Both | Co-ed | 13,938 | 24,129 |
| 60 | 43.90 | St Bees School - Cumbria | Both | Co-ed | 15,444 | 26,022 |
| 61 | 43.81 | Christ College - Brecon | Both | Co-ed | 15,480 | 23,910 |
| 62 | 43.52 | King's Bruton - Somerset | Both | Co-ed | 19,422 | 27,135 |
| 63 | 43.28 | CATS Canterbury | Board | Co-ed | 16,230 | 29,880 |
| 64 | 43.08 | Kent College - Canterbury | Both | Co-ed | 15,819 | 28,497 |
| 65 | 43.00 | Royal School - Dungannon, NI | Both | Co-ed | NA | 13,635 |
| 66 | 41.87 | Truro School | Both | Co-ed | 11,505 | 22,005 |
| 67 | 41.86 | Mill Hill School - London | Both | Co-ed | 17,366 | 27,365 |
| 68 | 41.21 | Oakham School - Rutland | Both | Co-ed | 17,100 | 28,500 |
| 69 | 40.81 | West Buckland School - Barnstaple | Both | Co-ed | 12,225 | 22,890 |
| 70 | 40.66 | Leighton Park School - Reading | Both | Co-ed | 18,552 | 28,314 |
| 71 | 40.46 | Bede's Senior School - Hailsham | Both | Co-ed | 17,010 | 28,185 |
| 72 | 40.27 | Rochester Independent College | Both | Co-ed | 15,000 | 27,258 |
| 73 | 40.15 | Rydal Penrhos - Conwy | Both | Co-ed | 14,055 | 28,020 |
| 74 | 40.07 | Prior Park College - Bath | Both | Co-ed | 14,103 | 25,434 |
| 75 | 40.00 | Blundell's School - Tiverton | Both | Co-ed | 18,195 | 28,200 |
| 75 = | 40.00 | Haileybury - Hertford | Both | Co-ed | 21,285 | 28,341 |
| 75 = | 40.00 | Malvern College - Worcestershire | Both | Co-ed | 21,105 | 32,952 |
| 75 = | 40.00 | Ashbourne Independent Sixth Form College - London | Both | Co-ed | 18,900 | 27,000 |
| 79 | 39.40 | Gresham's School - Norfolk | Both | Co-ed | 21,720 | 28,320 |
| 80 | 39.10 | David Game College - London | Both | Co-ed | 13,700 | NA |
| 81 | 38.65 | Glenalmond College - Perth | Both | Co-ed | 19,170 | 28,110 |
| 82 | 38.60 | Ryde School With Upper Chine - Isle of Wight | Both | Co-ed | 10,515 | 21,525 |
| 83 | 38.19 | Chelsea Independent College | Both | Co-ed | 15,975 | NA |
| 84 | 37.78 | Pocklington School - York | Both | Co-ed | 11,970 | 21,624 |
| 85 | 37.70 | Rendcomb College - Cirencester | Both | Co-ed | 19,005 | 26,070 |
| 86 | 37.46 | Taunton School | Both | Co-ed | 15,960 | 26,760 |
| 87 | 37.16 | Woodhouse Grove School - Apperley Bridge | Both | Co-ed | 10,920 | 22,200 |
| 88 | 36.94 | Ashville College - Harrogate | Both | Co-ed | 11,769 | 18,384 |
| 89 | 36.30 | Oswestry School - Shropshire | Both | Co-ed | 13,140 | 23,385 |
| 90 | 36.22 | Lord Wandsworth College - Hampshire | Both | Co-ed | 19,200 | 27,090 |
| 91 | 35.26 | Ackworth School - Pontefract | Both | Co-ed | 12,102 | 28,038 |
| 92 | 34.86 | Lincoln Minster School | Both | Co-ed | 11,973 | 25,377 |
| 93 | 34.63 | Plymouth College | Both | Co-ed | 13,350 | 25,845 |
| 94 | 34.38 | Kirkham Grammar School - Preston | Both | Co-ed | 9,387 | 17,787 |
| 95 | 34.15 | St Edmund's College - Ware | Both | Co-ed | 14,955 | 24,990 |
| 96 | 33.98 | Wycliffe College - Gloucs | Both | Co-ed | 17,130 | 28,545 |
| 97 | 33.80 | Trent College - Nottingham | Both | Co-ed | 14,550 | 25,005 |
| 98 | 33.79 | Welbeck - Loughborough | Boarding | Co-ed | NA | NA |
| 99 | 33.47 | Loretto School - Musselburgh | Both | Co-ed | 18,870 | 27,750 |
| 100 | 33.19 | Downside School - Bath | Both | Co-ed | 15,069 | 27,414 |
Note.1. Sometimes there are a few gaps in our data, because the information is not
freely available or a school will not supply it. In general this applies to lower
graded schools in the TOP 100. Sometimes grades improve as a result of appeals on
exam results and we will update the data periodically. We encourage all schools
to supply corrections or additions (click here).
Note 2. Exam results are not the only criteria by which to judge a school (read
our eGuide on selection factors click here). Indeed some of the schools in this
TOP 100 table are quite selective on their admissions. Be aware your child may not
necessarily thrive in a high pressure academic environment – take advice.
Note: We make a substantial investment of time and effort in preparing these tables, and all copyright and database rights in the tables belong to us. Please respect this by not reproducing the tables or the information within them, in whole or in part, without our consent. If you wish to reproduce any of our tables or the information within them then please contact us for details.