Application Process 16+

This leaflet is designed to guide you through the admissions process for joining Canford School at 16+.

Places are offered subject to candidates' achieving a minimum of 42 grade points on the best seven GCSEs including English and Maths.  

Normally we would expect at least a grade 7 (or an A grade) in each subject to be studied in the Lower Sixth and at least a 6 (or a B grade) in English and Maths.

After registering for the School, the following is a guide to the Admissions timeline and what happens next.  Some elements may change according to what we are able to offer within given timeframes.  For the latest information please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Admissions office admissions@canford.com.

It is Canford's policy to encourage excellence through the awarding of scholarships and for those awards to be funded by a financial package to enable pupils to come to the school who, without the assistance of a scholarship, would not be able to do so.  As a guide, scholarships are generally worth between 5% and 20% of the fees, which may be enhanced by a bursary if parents are able to demonstrate, through means-testing, that they could not otherwise send their child to the school.

All Canford's scholarships are indexed as a percentage of the fees so that their relative value remains constant throughout the scholar's school career. Awards for new entrants to the school are made at both 13+ and 16+, for excellence and potential in various fields.

Further information regarding Scholarships, Fees and Finance can be found here:

Scholarships, Fees and Finance

Admissions Policy

Please read Canford's Terms and Conditions carefully.

Terms and Conditions

Canford welcomes applications from overseas families.  As a 7 day a week boarding school, we are well equipped to cater for the needs of pupils whose parents live abroad, with a full programme of evening and weekend activities offered.  Overseas families can be reassured that on average at least 70% of boarders are in school on any given weekend, and there are a number of weekends with 100% of boarders on the campus. Currently around 10.5% of pupils are resident abroad, which includes 6.5% who are non-native English speakers.

General School EAL PolicyChinese Student Applications and Enquiries

All enquiries from students or agents relating to Chinese students in mainland China should be directed through the school's representative for China, BE education http://en.be.co/ at the email address beschoolcontact@be.co 

EAL policy in Traditional Chinese

EAL policy in Simplified Chinese

From the 1st of August 2022, any pupil for whom English is not their first language, whether studying in the UK or abroad, will need to provide a UKiset result at the point of registration.

We would strongly recommend that a UKiset result is provided with the initial enquiry to allow a more informed assessment of each candidate, but if this is not possible, we will now be requiring an in-date UKiset result at the point of registration.

We offer excellent EAL support here at Canford. Pupils where English is not their first language are required to attend EAL lessons until their level of English is of the standard required to apply to UK universities.  An Individual Learning Plan is made for each pupil with English support provided through one-to-one lessons each week to assist their learning. Our EAL policy can be found here English as an Additional Language Policy.

Late places sometimes become available. Please email admissions@canford.com to enquire.

Publications

VIRTUAL VISIT

Latest News

sixth form life - youtube playlist 

canford blog

this canford life - podcast

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

REGISTRATION FORM