How have our British boarding schools done?
Summertime means results season here in the UK and, with Sixth Form exams being the pinnacle of secondary education, here we ask how have our British boarding schools done in 2025?
With exams rounding off the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) during April and May, its results came first in early July. IBDP pupils study six subjects, three at Higher Level and three at Standard Level, alongside the core programme of Theory of Knowledge (ToK), Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) and the Extended Essay, in which students explore their interests to produce a 4,000-word research project. Subject options cover Literature, Language, Humanities, Sciences, Maths and the Arts, with the maximum grade for each being 7, and an additional 3 points from the core programme making the total score 45.
At King William’s College, the average total points score per candidate was 31.2, with 13 scoring 35 or more, and two achieving over 40. These results have opened the door to a wide variety of universities including Bath, Exeter and Oxford, while favoured European institutions this year are in Austria, The Netherlands and Finland. Several students have exciting gap year plans, while a few are diving straight into employment.
Oakham School’s IBDP pupils’ average score was 33.9 points, with seven achieving 40 or more, including one scoring 44 points and another achieving the maximum of 45. Prestigious university places were secured by these pupils too, including Cambridge, Durham, King’s College London and Manchester, as well as international institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania and ESCP Business School in Madrid.
St Clare’s Oxford celebrated an average score of 35 points, with 93% of students surpassing this benchmark. A remarkable 21 students scored 40 points or more and three achieved 43 points. With 35 nationalities represented, these students will go on to universities in the UK, USA (including Ivy League), Canada, Spain, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Hong Kong and Australia.
IBDP students at Bromsgrove School achieved an exceptional average score of 39.6 points. 31 of the 53 in the cohort achieved 40 points or more, with four students attaining the maximum 45, and an additional six scoring 44. The calibre of these results secured placements at the most competitive institutions, including Oxbridge, top London Universities, and prestigious Ivy League universities in the US.
Some Scottish schools follow the SQA Higher and Advanced Higher curricula, the results of which come next in early August. For example, Dollar Academy celebrated 63% of its pupils achieving grade A. 57% of students at Strathallan School and 60% at Glenalmond College achieved grade A. Both of the latter offer A Levels as well as Highers.
Most 16+ students take A Levels, usually studying three subjects, choosing those which interest them most or will benefit their future studies or careers. Grades run from A*-E, with students needing 40% to achieve an E, 50% for a D and so on, with students averaging 80% across all modules gaining an A*. While some marks are gained from coursework completed during the two years of Sixth Form, A Levels have a strong emphasis on exams that take place during late May into June. Students receive separate certificates for each subject, rather than one overall certificate as with the IBDP, with results being published in the middle of August, together with the more vocational BTEC qualifications.
Wells Cathedral School pupils achieved some excellent results, with 83% securing grades A*-C. 100% of students taking Music, Further Maths, English Literature, Photography, Art, Drama, Computing, and EPQ achieved A*-C. From Oxford to Imperial College London, and from the Royal Academy of Music to UCL, students are heading to some of the UK’s most prestigious universities and conservatoires, studying subjects as diverse as Natural Sciences, Philosophy, Music, Marine Biology, Economics, and Fashion Journalism.
Harrogate Ladies’ College celebrated its highest overall results for more than five years, with 85% A*-C grades. Some international students achieved very highly against any metric and when you think they sit exams in their second or even third language, their results are truly excellent. Alessia from Italy got AAAB and will study Economics at Warwick, and there were two AAB students, Nina from Slovakia going onto study Economics at NY University (Abu Dhabi) and Serina from Spain, who will now study International Relations at Queens University Belfast.
Students at the Royal Hospital School achieved some outstanding A Level and BTEC outcomes, with headline achievements including 86% of BTEC grades awarded at Distinction* or Distinction, 67% of A Level grades at A*-B and 97% of pupils securing a place at their university of choice, including in the US.
Kingham Hill School celebrated 52% of all A Level and BTEC/CTEC results awarded the top A*/A grades and 93% at A*-C. These results secured places for the majority of pupils at their first-choice universities including Bath, Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Leeds, Loughborough, and Royal Holloway University of London.
This is a mere snapshot, so if you’d like to know more about how our British boarding schools have done elsewhere around the UK, please do get in touch.
