17 best private schools in Cambridge, UK for international students

Business suit, impeccable manners and brilliant education - everything comes to mind when when we think about best private schools in Cambridge. 

Private schools in Cambridge are free to compose their own teaching programs. In private schools, children learn more compulsory subjects and foreign languages, they are engaged in a lot of controversy and creativity - music, performing and visual arts, etc. Teachers pay special attention to the personal abilities of students, helping to develop their talents. There is a great deal of hobby clubs in private schools in Cambridge, the number of which can reach 60-70. Each club is provided with everything necessary equipment for classes. On the territory of private schools in Cambridge there are libraries, theaters, concert halls, sports grounds, swimming pools, scientific laboratories, music and art studios.

Admission to private schools is organized on the basis of tests. Admission policy is very competitive, families from all over the world strive for entering best schools in Cambridge.  Regardless of which system you choose, children can study at private schools in Cambridge from four years old. From four to five, children study in Reception (kindergarten). Compulsory education is from 5 to 16, however most children go to Reception and most remain in Sixth Form (high school preparatory classes). You can get into the British system from the "outside" at 7, 11, 13 and 16 years old. In these age groups, curricula begin and classes are formed.

The transition to high school (Senior or Secondary school) usually occurs at the age of 11. Children in the state system receive places in accordance with the geography and distance of residence from schools. Private schools are admitted on the basis of test results, which are taken at the age of at least 11 years. Tests include math, English, verbal and non-verbal logic and interviews.

Private preparatory schools (prep schools and junior schools) prepare students for tests and interviews. Children from public schools prepare with their parents and tutors.

In Year 10 and 11 (14-16 years old), all children, regardless of the type of school, study and take exams at the end of 11 years at the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). Everyone must pass Math and English. In addition, it is strongly recommended to take a foreign language, exact science and humanitarian discipline. The most talented students pass about 10 GCSE disciplines. At least five, prestigious universities require six subjects or more.

After GCSE in the 11th grade, most students go to study in the school Sixth Form (or A-level - a certificate of senior secondary education) for 2 years to prepare for a university in grades 12-13. This is where early specialization takes place: only four subjects remain in 12th grade and three in 13th. The choice falls, as a rule, on the subjects necessary for admission to the chosen university.

Kinds of private schools in Cambridge

• By gender: male, female and coeducational schools
• By age: for full-cycle educational institutions (2-18 years old), preschool education (2-7 years old), junior (7-13 years old), secondary (13-16 years old), high schools (16-18 years old) and schools combined cycle (13-18 years)
• By the form of education: day schools and boarding schools. Boarding houses are of full type, weekly (children go home on weekends) and flexible (parents choose the days of the child's stay in the boarding house)