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
| 2025 Entry | 2026 Entry (first intake of girls) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Register | by 1 October 2024 | by 1 October 2025 |
| Free and subsidised places application deadline | 11 November 2024 | 10 November 2025 |
| Entrance Assessments for boarding places | 30 October - 6 November 2024 | 8 - 16 November 2025 |
| Entrance Assessments for day places | 1 February 2025 | 31 January 2026 |
| Interviews | Individually arranged following assessments | Individually arranged following assessments |
| Results letters sent out | Early December (boarding) Late February (day) | Early December (boarding) Late February (day) |
| Acceptance to be received | Mid December (boarding) Mid March (day) | Mid December (boarding) Mid March (day) |
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 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.
Girls may apply for a Sixth Form place from 2026 onwards.
Students 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.
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.
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. Registrations should be received by November 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
There are two assessment points for Sixth Form entry. International and UK-based boarding candidates sit their assessments in November of Year 11. Day candidates usually sit their assessments in February of Year 11. Please contact the Admissions team to discuss the most suitable dates for your situation.
International students may take their assessments at one of our preferred invigilation centres.
We will also request a confidential reference from the candidate’s Headteacher covering their character, academic strengths and interests.
Details of papers
Candidates sit papers in their four preferred A Level subjects, plus a Reasoning test. The papers are designed to be accessible to those students following a GCSE or iGCSE curriculum. We offer a number of new subjects which are not offered at GCSE, for example Economics and Politics. For these papers, no specific knowledge is required, but candidates will be expected to demonstrate their interest in the subject, and the key skills required to be successful at A Level will be tested.
International candidates may also be required to take an extra English Grammar and English Essay paper.
Interviews
Results of the assessments are reviewed, along with the school reference, before deciding which students are invited for an interview. Those students whose application is not being progressed to interview will be notified.
The interview is a friendly affair, providing the School with an opportunity to assess a candidate’s interests outside the classroom. The majority of interviews are conducted in person at Abingdon School, though we will conduct some interviews using video conferencing platforms (such as Zoom), particularly for international candidates.
Offers
Following the interview, all information from the assessments, interview and confidential reference is carefully considered, and parents will receive one of the following outcomes:
- an offer of a place for their child at the school
- an offer to put their child’s name on a waiting list
- a decision that their child’s application will not be taken forward
Parents who receive an offer of a place for their child will be asked to give a firm acceptance of the place, and to pay an acceptance fee.
Candidates on the waiting list will have their application reviewed as a place arises at the School.
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.
