Bromsgrove school

• Year of foundation: 1548
• Location: Bromsgrove
• Age of students: 7-18 years
• Type of education: Mixed
• Number of students: 1560
• Programs: Primary, Secondary, GCSE, A-level, IB
• Accommodation:Guest house
• Price: from 10400 GBP for the term with accommodation
• Ranking: the school is included in the TOP-100 schools by the results of examinations A-level
• The average score for IB is 38 (2016).

The school is one of the most prestigious secondary schools in UK. On the outskirts of Bromsgrove it was moved about 300 years ago. Located in the homeland of the great Shakespeare institution is one of the oldest educational institutions in Britain. The campus is 2 hours drive from London.

Bromsgrove school is a leading member of the "Conference of Directors of Schools". The educational institution specializes in a significant number of humanitarian and full-scale exact sciences. More than 86% of students receive the A * - B exam grades in the A-level programs, GCSE. The average score for IB is 38.

The institution provides high-quality preparation of children to continue their studies at universities in Britain and the world. Many of its graduates enter the most prestigious universities in the country. The institution strictly controls the quality of academic education of its students, encourages independent work. The fulfillment of tasks assigned to schoolchildren is ensured by modern equipment of educational buildings.

At school, along with general academic disciplines, children learn ethics, art, develop in the circles and sections corresponding to their interests. Particular attention is paid to sports and creativity. Children are offered to study mugs of photography, drama, video production, drawing, studying ancient history, and many others. Young athletes can show themselves in cricket, squash, swimming, football, tennis, field hockey, basketball, dancing, rock climbing, netball.

As for free time, excursions to English cities are organized at weekends for students living in residences. Foreign trips are also practiced.

Henrietta Lightwood

Marketing and Admission Director at Dukes Education

What advice can you give to potential applicants who choose UK schools?

I would advise you to actively study English, read more - it actively develops understanding of the language, knowledge of grammar, construction of sentences and phrases. Try to talk to as many people as possible, look for resources on the Internet, watch movies - be more active!

The educational process at Bromsgrove combines traditional teaching methods with modern approaches: each child is assigned a personal tutor who guides them academically and pastorally. In the Preparatory School, every pupil has a teacher/tutor, and the team of tutors in each year group reports to the Head of Year and Deputy Head Pastoral. In the Senior School, high academic standards are expected, while the school consciously avoids excessive pressure on children, choosing a holistic, interdisciplinary approach oriented towards humanistic values.

In the Lower Sixth, all pupils who have chosen A-Level and BTEC complete the compulsory Enrichment Core Programme: this includes university-style lectures, debates, a final extended project, and a concluding lecture week after the summer exams. Oxbridge preparation is carried out as a continuation of programmes from Lower Fourth through to Fifth Form.

Pupil support includes an EAL/ESL (English as Additional Language) programme for international students — individual and group sessions during school hours and in the evening during prep time, leading to IGCSE (ESL) qualifications, English language tests, and Cambridge Proficiency. Bromsgrove Futures — the career and UCAS department in the Library Resource Centre — organises university fairs, working groups, and prepares pupils for interviews and personal statements. MedVet Society serves future doctors and veterinarians.

The digital environment is built on a Bring Your Own Device strategy; pupils actively use laptops in lessons. Free access to Microsoft Office 365 is available to all pupils, with support for Apple devices. The Online Safety Team regularly updates recommendations for parents.

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) programme is integrated across all three sections of the school. Emotional wellbeing is supported by the Wellbeing Hub with an Adolescent Mental Health Nurse, a Director of Health and Wellbeing serving as Mental Health Lead, a Mental Health Co-ordinator in the Prep School and Pre-Prep, and external specialists. The Boarders' Clinic, with a team of nurses led by the School Medical Officer, provides assistance when needed, and the team works in conjunction with NHS Doctors from Churchfields Surgery.

• Bromsgrove Pre-Preparatory & Nursery School — Nursery (from age two), Reception, Years 1-2 (at Avoncroft House, Hanbury Road).
• Bromsgrove Preparatory School — Years 3-8 (approximately 500 pupils aged 7/8–13, including more than 100 boarders).
• Bromsgrove Senior School — Years 9-13, divided into Fourth and Fifth Form (with preparation for GCSE) and Sixth Form (approximately 400 pupils).
• Available Senior programmes: three-year GCSE (Year 9), two-year GCSE (Year 10), one-year intensive GCSE (Year 11, primarily for international pupils), A-Level with Extended Project Qualification (usually 3 subjects, sometimes 4), International Diploma (six subjects — three Higher and three Standard Level — plus Theory of Knowledge, Creativity, Activity & Service and Extended Essay), and BTEC in Sport and Business, which can be combined with A-Level.
• Bromsgrove Futures (UCAS and career advice) — a dedicated department in the Library Resource Centre with a qualified career advisor and MedVet Society.
• Tennis Academy (BSTA) and Swimming Academy (BSSA) — dedicated sports academic programmes.
• International Summer Camps — summer English language programmes for children aged 8–16.
• One-Term Placements — a one-term programme (September, January or April) for children aged 7–13 (Years 3-8).
• Team Super Sports Activity Day Camps — summer and holiday camps from Easter 2026: Super Sports Camps (6+) on the Senior campus and Super Stars Camps (3-9) at Winterfold.
• International campuses: Bromsgrove International School Thailand (Bangkok, opened in 2005), Bromsgrove School Mission Hills (Shenzhen, 2015), Bromsgrove International School Cambodia (BISC, first intake in September 2025) — all teaching from Kindergarten to International Diploma and A-Level.

The school consistently ranks in the top ten (sometimes top five) British co-educational boarding and day schools — the Good Schools Guide describes it as «inhabits the academic stratosphere» with «outstanding leadership». The Senior School and Prep School received the highest rating, «Outstanding», from OFSTED, and the Independent Schools Inspectorate confirmed full compliance with all standards based on the 2023 reports and the Non-Routine Inspection Report 2025. The Nursery department was recognised with the Top 20 Award 2025 from the UK's dedicated nursery rankings.

In the sports schools ranking, Bromsgrove holds 5th place among British schools, placing it in the top 1% of the country. The debate team has won national competitions and represented the country in the international final of the European Youth Parliament, and regularly participates in the English-Speaking Union Competition and the Oxford and Cambridge university debates. The Chapel Choir and Choral Society perform at St George's Chapel (Windsor), York and Gloucester Cathedrals, Pershore and Bath Abbeys.

The school's pupils regularly represent England and Great Britain at national and international level. Among the achievements of recent seasons:

• school representatives played for the England U15 football squad (a trip to Croatia with matches against Morocco, the USA, Croatia and France),
• for the U17 NPL netball (Loughborough Lightning),
• Birmingham Panthers U19,
• for U18 Gloucester Academy and the England U18 training camp in rugby,
• on the GB Pony Eventing pathway in equestrian sport,
• at Swim England Winter Nationals (10th place in England and 11th in Britain in the 50m backstroke),
• Swim Wales Development Programme,
• at the England Athletics National Championships (bronze in the 3000m),
• at the English Schools' Cross-Country Championships and Cross-Country Cup,
• at international fencing championships at the English Institute of Sport,
• the school has won NatWest Schools' Cup rugby finals at Twickenham and set track records at Lee Valley.

The memory of alumni is preserved in the Memorial Chapel, where five alumni awarded the Victoria Cross are commemorated. Talk Education and the Good Schools Guide include the school among the leading schools in the United Kingdom for A-Level and the international diploma.

• Despite its scale, the school campus is hidden from casual view: half of the central part of the town of Bromsgrove belongs to the school and its grounds — it is literally a vast, walled garden.
• Housman Hall is the only mixed-type residence, the only one exclusively for the Sixth Form, and the only one located in the town of Bromsgrove itself. It is the former home of Old Bromsgrovian A. E. Housman, the English poet.
• All pupils (day students and boarders) are attached to one of the Houses — a small community of approximately 60 students aged 13–18.
• 100% of the electricity for the school's four sites comes from renewable sources, no waste is sent to landfill, all food waste is recycled (Anaerobic Digestion), along with metal, cardboard and packaging. Plastic bottles are banned, and Cafe 1553 uses reusable cups. The Greenfingers project operates at Winterfold, where pupils grow plants for all school sites.
• In a single season, the school planted more than 10,000 bulbs and around 800 trees, and the gardeners reduced purchases of ornamental flowers by 90% over the past ten years.
• Beekeeping and Greenpower Kit Car are among the signature activities, alongside CCF — Combined Cadet Force with an RAF section, where pupils even have the opportunity to pilot an aircraft.
• Bromsgrove Connected is the school's own online database for more than 10,000 alumni, parents and staff. The annual publication Bromsgrovians Connected shares news from alumni.
• Every Remembrance Day, the school holds an alumni gathering and an archive exhibition in Old Chapel.
• Sir Thomas Cookes Legacy Society brings together benefactors who have named the school in their will — their names are immortalised. The Donor Tree in the Hospitality Suite is decorated with engraved leaves for donations from £1,000.
• Cafe 1553 takes its name from the year the school was founded — 1553; the café opened in 2012.

The school offers predominantly separate living. In the men's and women's buildings students are accommodated in the rooms for 5 - 12 people. Senior children (from 16 years old) can live in separate apartments. To accommodate students on campus, 7 buildings are provided. Of these, 2 are women, 3 men, 1 mixed. In the building with children there is a tutor. He provides the necessary support to students at any time.

Meals are organized according to the full board system. For younger students there are 5 meals, for seniors - 3. Additionally, children can eat in residences. For cooking modern kitchen is equipped.

Subject list: Accounting, Art, biology, business, chemistry, Classical civilization, design, drama, economics, electronics, English literature, ethics, geography, history, Information Technology, law, maths, Modern language, music, physics, Political science, Religious studies
Activity list: aerobics, Aqua aerobics, Ceramics, chess, Chorus, Circle of foreign languages, computer Club, cross, dance club, dancing, Debating circle, fitness, Fotomasterstvo, hockey, horseback riding, Kayaking, music studio, netball, Photostudio, Pilates, rowing, rugby, Sound recording, Squash, swimming, tennis, underwater swimming, yoga

Bromsgrove offers more than 300 extracurricular activities, with over 290 activity options built into the school day. Saturday events are included in the tuition fee and are available to both boarders and day students.

Sport is developed across 26 disciplines: key ones — hockey, rugby, netball and cricket, swimming, athletics, cross-country, tennis, basketball, football and volleyball. On the grounds there is a Tennis Academy (BSTA) and a Swimming Academy (BSSA) ranging from ASA Duckling Awards to Stage 7 National Plan for Teaching Swimming. School athletes regularly represent national teams at national and international competitions.

Creative and intellectual areas: music, choir, orchestra, an «open microphone» show, jazz bands and rock groups, evening performances (such as literary readings). A chapel choir has been formed, and there is a whole choral community for students of all year groups. The drama studio uses a 300-seat theatre and regularly produces major productions.

Other clubs and programmes:

• Young Enterprise,
• Greenpower Kit Car,
• Beekeeping,
• Robotics,
• Weightlifting,
• Shooting,
• Horse riding,
• LAMDA course for creative students,
• Photography,
• Music, 
• School magazine Two Zero One,
• Podcasting,
• Debating,
• Crafts,
• Chess. 

Bromsgrove Service brings together volunteering projects for local communities and counts as part of the Creativity, Activity & Service component of the international diploma, as well as participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme (bronze/silver/gold across the Physical Recreation, Skill, Service, and Expedition sections).

A strong point of the school is its off-site programme of excursions and travel: studying art and theatre in New York, Bilbao and Barcelona, business trips across Eastern and Central Europe for those interested in international business, World Challenge expeditions, concerts at Symphony Hall (Birmingham), productions by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, and exhibitions at the National Exhibition Centre. School exchanges are established with St Vincent in Rennes (France), Gymnasium Hermannswerder in Potsdam (Germany), and St Luis (Spain).

Bromsgrove has a CCF (Combined Cadet Force) unit with the opportunity to obtain a BTEC First Diploma in Public Services and a Standard Adult First Aid Certificate; there is also a special Bromsgrove Badge course for Lower Fourth with a camp at Symond's Yat. The Old Bromsgrovians alumni community is active, with OBEC (outdoor), rugby 7s, music, tennis, netball, golf, cricket and hockey clubs.

• Qualitative academic preparation. The acquired knowledge gives graduates the opportunity to enter prestigious university in the UK or in the world.
• A wide range of additional courses. By opportunities for self-development, the school is one of the best in England.
• Bromsgrove school provides grants, scholarships to encourage talented students, which are given according to actual achievements.

A computer center, a library, an audio laboratory are opened on the campus for solving educational problems. There is also a recreation center on the territory. Each of the groups has modern equipment. The pride of the institution is a special department for students suffering from dyslexia.

The school year in the Bromsgrove school traditionally provides three terms. Studying begins on the second of September. The autumn college vacation in 2014 was held from October 18 to November 1. Completed autumn trimester was up to December 12. After the break for New Year's holidays began the spring term. It started on January 4, 2015. Spring break lasted two weeks (February 14 - 21), and the trimester ended on March 27. The last trimester of the academic year began on April 19, 2015. Summer vacations, like in most English colleges, took place in May (23-30). The summer term was completed on June 31, 2015.

The Bromsgrove School establishes a small list of additional tuiton fees. Foreign students will be forced to pay for English courses, the cost of which will be 1.2 thousand pounds sterling for a trimester. Confirm intention to learn in the institution is necessary by making a deposit for the place. Its size is equal to the cost of one trimester. The registration fee is 100 pounds. Supervisory support and registration with the guardianship agency will also require small deductions.

Extras:

• Registration fee (for a programme/course) 200 GBP
• Deposit for a course/programme 10385 GBP
• Deposit on accommodation 3000 GBP

1. Contact the admissions office to check availability and get a consultation.
2. Fill out the online registration form and attach copies of documents (student's passport, school report, copies of passports of parents who are not UK citizens).
3. Pay the registration fee; for international applicants, the agent additionally sends two recent school reports and a motivational letter (200 words).
4. Complete the online CAT4 (Cognitive Ability Testing) test and, depending on the year of entry, English language and Creative Writing tests.
5. Attend an interview with an admissions representative — in person on campus or online.
6. Receive the admissions decision: an offer of a place, a conditional offer (for Sixth Form, confirmed by GCSE results), or a rejection.
7. Confirm the place with an Acceptance Deposit and, if required, an Additional Deposit (for boarders).
8. Arrange a visa (for international students), and if necessary — undergo a medical examination and submit a Health History Form.
9. Arrive on campus and attend orientation events.

The school organises Open Mornings, taster days, a short-term «study + accommodation» format, and individual visits. Smapse specialists will guide you through every stage of the admissions process.

Bromsgrove graduates are admitted to leading universities in the UK and abroad every year. In 2025, 223 Upper Sixth students achieved impressive results: 90% received places at their first-choice university, 10 students were admitted to Oxford and Cambridge, 13 to medical, dental and veterinary programmes, and a quarter of graduates to top-50 universities according to the QS World rankings.

The level of academic results is reflected in the 2025 exam figures. In A-Level and BTEC, 61% of grades were A*/A (or equivalent), 83% — A*/B; 88% of BTEC entries received at least a Distinction grade, including 20 Distinction* (equivalent to A* at A-Level) and 36 Distinction. The EPQ programme showed that almost two-thirds of the 61 projects received a grade of A or above. In Core Maths, 13 out of 17 students achieved the two highest grades.

International Baccalaureate students in 2025 achieved the best result in the school's history: an average total score of 39.81 against a world average of 30.58. Bromsgrove rose to second place among British co-educational IB schools, with its results ranking among the top three in the world among co-educational schools. Of 53 students, 31 scored 40 points or above — a threshold accessible to only 10% of students worldwide; five received the maximum score of 45 (fewer than 1% of all students worldwide), and another six received 44 points. Across 159 Higher Level subjects, 87 grade 7s (55%) and 47 grade 6s (30%) were awarded, with the UCAS A*/A equivalent at 84%.

At GCSE 2025, grade 9 was the most frequently awarded — nearly one in four results, with almost 2/3 of all grades at 7 and above. Historically, Bromsgrove's A-Level results have remained in the top range: an overall pass rate of 100% in recent years, with an A*/A share of 60–62% over the last seven years.

• All candidates take the Bromsgrove School entrance exams; for 13+ the Common Entrance Examination is also applied.
• Years 3–4: online CAT4 (Cognitive Ability Testing) and Creative Writing — 30 minutes.
• Years 5, 6 and 8: online CAT4 and Creative Writing — 45 minutes.
• Year 7 / 11+ and Year 9 / 13+: online CAT4 (completed at home) and, on the exam day, English language tests and Creative Writing.
• Sixth Form: interview with the principal, confidential reference, GCSE results. Conditional offer is confirmed after reviewing GCSE grades.
• Scholarship candidates complete a separate form and sit separate examinations.
• Documents: valid passport of the student and parents, most recent school report (or nursery report), copy of passport page, two most recent school reports, a 200-word personal statement from the student (for international candidates).
• Language requirements: Oxford Online English language test or equivalent. A moderately high level of English proficiency is expected (with additional EAL support if needed).
• Taster days, individual visits are possible; applicants are sometimes invited to stay for a few days of lessons and boarding.
• The Health History Form is mandatory for all new students; international candidates provide detailed medical and vaccination history.
• Admission is available for all year groups except Year 13.

In the Sixth Form, the school annually awards scholarships in the Academic, Art and Design, Drama, Music and Sport categories. These awards are designed to recognise outstanding pupils: they do not imply a reduction in tuition fees, but open access to a well-developed scholarship programme. Sixth Form Scholarships are assessed in the Fifth Form or upon entry to the Sixth Form, and are considered highly competitive.

For pupils at 11+ and 13+, a Scholarship Pathway Programme operates across the same five categories. The Music Scholarship requires a minimum Associated Board Grade 4 at 11+ and Grade 5 at 13+ on the principal instrument. Pupils accepted into the music programme may attend one additional lesson per week; Sports Pathway pupils receive support from a professional analyst, physiotherapist, S&C coach, and an individual plan from a nutritionist.

Foundation Scholarships are available at 13+ for day pupils, cover up to 50% of tuition costs, and may be supplemented by other grants and payments. One or two such scholarships are awarded each year, with preference given to candidates from Bromsgrove and the surrounding area.

The Old Bromsgrovian Means Tested Bursary is available to children and grandchildren of Old Bromsgrovians alumni.

Means-tested financial assistance is available at Years 9 and 12, and is possible for families with an income of £25,000 and below (a sliding scale applies up to approximately £90,000). Applications for a scholarship and financial assistance may be submitted simultaneously. The Bromsgrove School Foundation, as a charitable organisation, additionally raises funds through the Endowment Fund and the Sir Thomas Cookes Legacy Society.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision