A welcoming cosmopolitan community

Chigwell School has a unique boarding system, designed specially for international students coming to study A levels in the UK. Overseas boarders at Chigwell get the best of the British education system, supported by experienced staff.

Students live in family boarding houses in the school grounds – each house has just 7 or 8 students, with a mix of different nationalities, cared for by house parents who are academic staff. House parents include senior staff such as the Director of Studies, Heads of academic departments, and several Oxbridge graduates, so students have access to a high degree of academic expertise.

Our small boarding houses are situated close together in the school grounds, and other staff including the Headmaster and Chaplain also live nearby on site with their families. We have a warm and friendly community life, which provides a secure and supportive base for students entering an English school.

Getting to know people in a friendly environment

It's easy to get to know people in our small friendly boarding houses. Getting to know people in the wider school community is easy too, because of our Day Houses.

Students at Chigwell School are divided into four Day Houses. In order to help new international students settle in, they are each given their own student mentor. The mentor is a local English student in the same Day House who has volunteered to help a new international student. The mentor will email their student before they arrive, come to meet them in the boarding house before lessons start, take them into school on their first day, help them find their way, show them round and introduce them to other students.

The path to university in the UK

Boarders at Chigwell contribute greatly to the life of the Sixth Form as a whole. In today's global society the experience of living and working closely with students from all over the world is invaluable. Sixth Form study is the stage at which students benefit most from the independence and international dimension that boarding at Chigwell offers. In the Sixth Form we provide a structured programme designed to prepare students for life beyond school, and the Head of Sixth Form, Mr Andy Long, guides each individual student through the university and career choices before them.

Chigwell's A-level results are impressive and the school ranks in the top 100 of all UK independent schools. International students at Chigwell are extremely successful, with 25% gaining entry to Oxford and Cambridge, and many more to other top universities like LSE, Imperial and UCL.

Applying to Chigwell School

All you need to do is download the Registration Form here, complete it and send it to the Admissions Registrar together with a copy of your most recent school report , the payment of the Registration Fee (£50) and a personal statement.

Your personal statement should be between 1000 - 1500 words, in English, and it should tell us about yourself and be entirely your own work. These are suggestions as to what you might include:

1. Your interests and the things you are most involved in and why you enjoy these so much.
2. What achievements have you had? Have you held any special positions in or out of your present school?
3. Do you have artistic, sporting, musical or other cultural interests and talents?
4. What are your plans for the future? What do you see yourself doing in your adult life? What ambitions do you have?
5. Explain why you want to join Chigwell School and tell us what you would bring to the community here.

Your application should be sent to:
Mr A Long Head of Sixth Form,
Chigwell School, High Road, Chigwell, Essex, IG7 6QF

E-mail: along@chigwell-school.org
Tel: 0044 (0)20 8501 5758
Fax: 0044 (0)20 500 6232

If you are offered a place, and you decide to accept it, an admission fee of £400 is payable, of which £150 will be deducted from the final account. This admission fee will secure your place at Chigwell. Please note this admission fee is non-refundable in the event the place is not taken, and a term's fee in lieu of notice will be charged.

For more information on subjects available in the Sixth Form, you can download the Sixth Form Handbook here.

For more information on life at Chigwell as an International student and how to apply, you can download our guide for International students HERE.