In May 2024, Abingdon announced its decision to move to co-education. We will be welcoming girls to our Sixth Form from September 2026. View a video message from Mike Windsor here.
Abingdon welcomes applications from students wishing to enter the Sixth Form as day or boarding pupils. We receive applications from students attending a wide variety of schools ranging from the local independent and maintained sector schools to those attending international schools.
We offer a broad and flexible range of A Levels, and a large number of students also study the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), preparing them well for the academic rigours of university education. However, we believe a broader education, preparing students for life beyond school, is of equal importance to academic studies. With this in mind, we offer all sixth formers our Mindsets personal development education programme, alongside our comprehensive After Abingdon programme, which provides personalised university and careers advice. Further information is available on our Sixth Form pages.
Key Dates
| 2026 Entry (welcoming both girls and boys) |
|
|---|---|
| Discover Abingdon Sixth Form | 3 March 2025 |
| Taster morning | 10 May 2025 (registered candidates only) |
| Free and subsidised places application deadline | 29 September 2025 |
| Registration deadline | by 10 October 2025 |
| Stage 1 assessments | 10 May or 18 October 2025 |
| Stage 2 assessments | 8 November 2025 |
| Results letters sent out | Early December 2025 |
| Acceptances to be received | Mid December 2025 |
If you are looking for 2025 entry please contact the Admissions team: [email protected]
Visit opportunities are available throughout the year – book here.
Late assessments may be possible subject to availability of places. Please contact us to discuss.
For information about scholarship assessments, please visit our scholarship pages.
Who can apply?
We will be co-educational from September 2026. We welcome applications from students of all educational backgrounds, who would thrive in our academic environment. This typically means candidates are on track to achieve a minimum of an average of 6s in their GCSEs (or equivalent), with at least a 7 in the subjects they wish to study at A Level (a grade 8 in GCSE Maths if Further Maths is to be studied). Both day and boarding places are available. We are happy to advise on whether an Abingdon education may be a good fit for your child, and a recent school report would be a helpful guide for us.
Book a visit
We would be delighted to welcome you to Abingdon School and offer a number of visit opportunities throughout the year. Visits can take place at any stage of the Admissions process, and you can book a visit to our school here. Registered candidates will also be invited to our Taster Morning in the summer term of Year 10.
Register your child
We welcome registrations for a Sixth Form place from students who will be aged 16 on 1 September of their year of entry. If your child’s age falls outside this, please contact the Admissions team for advice.
Registrations should be received by October in the academic year in which they are 15 (Year 11 in the UK National Curriculum). Late applications may be considered, subject to availability of places. Please contact the Admissions team for advice.
Parents interested in applying for assistance with fees (a bursary) can indicate this on the registration form.
Entrance Assessments
Entrance assessments are held in November at Abingdon School. International students may take their assessments at one of our preferred invigilation centres.
All students will sit two papers: a written paper, designed to test the transferable skills required for A Level study, and a maths paper. The written paper requires the analysis of sources of information, and candidates will be credited for their critical analysis, structured arguments and logical reasoning of the material provided. No specific subject knowledge is required and revision is not necessary. Candidates wishing to take Further Mathematics A Level will sit a more advanced maths paper instead of the standard maths paper.
All candidates will also take a verbal and non-verbal reasoning test. Students for whom English is not their first language will also sit a short English grammar test.
Most candidates will also have an interview, either at the assessment morning, or shortly after. We will also request a confidential reference from the candidate’s Headteacher covering their character, academic strengths and interests.
Following the interview, all information from the assessments, interview and confidential reference is carefully considered, and parents will be notified of the outcomes.
Scholarships and Financial Assistance
At Abingdon, we offer a range of scholarships which supports our ethos of encouraging the very best academic achievement, as well recognising contribution at an exceptional level across our Other Half extracurricular programme. You will be asked to indicate whether you are interested in applying for a scholarship following registration.
Find out more about scholarships
If you are interested in assistance with fees (free and subsidised places), please visit our free and subsidised places page.
