Ardingly College Named Best Sixth Form in the UK by The Week

ARDINGLY, 28 October 2026. Ardingly College, the independent day and boarding school in West Sussex, has been named Best Sixth Form in the UK by The Week, according to the school. The recognition covers its A Level and IB Diploma pathways and its Enterprise and Employability programme.

The school shared the news in early September. It describes the award as a recognition of its Sixth Form students, who follow either A Levels or the IB Diploma, and of the staff who provide the academic and pastoral support that lets each student take the pathway that suits them.

According to the school, the Sixth Form is its most over-subscribed point of entry. It points to the wide choice of subjects, the teaching, the small class sizes and the facilities, including Godwin Hall, where all Upper Sixth students, whether day or boarding, boys or girls, live together in one university-style house. The school says this shared space builds camaraderie across the year group and asks students to take more individual responsibility before they leave for university.

The award also recognises the Enterprise and Employability programme, which the school says develops the skills and aptitudes sixth formers will need beyond school and university in a changing world of work. The Sixth Form programme also includes life skills teaching, a range of leadership opportunities and advice on university applications from a team of specialists.

Academic results sit alongside that. Ardingly says it is regularly the top school in West Sussex for A Levels and in the top 50 nationally, and one of the top 10 schools in the UK for the IB. Each year the Lower Sixth also welcomes new joiners from other British schools and from overseas, often attracted by the chance to study for the IB Diploma.

The award came in the same week as another piece of national recognition. On 4 September the school announced that it had been shortlisted by the Independent School of the Year Awards in the Independent Boarding School of the Year category. It notes that around half of its pupils choose to board by the time they reach the Sixth Form, with full, weekly and flexi boarding on offer, and that it was the first independent school in the UK to be awarded a significant strength in boarding by Independent Schools Inspectorate inspectors.

About Ardingly College

Ardingly College is an independent school in Ardingly, West Sussex, with a Prep School and a Senior School. The Senior School offers full boarding, weekly boarding and flexi-boarding alongside day places, and the Sixth Form offers both A Levels and the IB Diploma.

Families comparing options in the region can browse the best international schools in the South East of the United Kingdom, where Ardingly College is listed.

What this means for families

For families thinking about sixth form entry, the school says the Lower Sixth is a popular point of entry and that its intake includes students from other British schools and from abroad. The choice between A Levels and the IB Diploma, together with the shared Upper Sixth house and the employability programme, is what the school highlights as the basis for the award.

The school invites families who are considering 16+ entry to find out more about its admissions process and its Sixth Form prospectus.

You can contact Ardingly College here.