Haileybury

In the Sixth Form Haileybury offers two pathways: A Levels, usually three subjects studied in depth with an Academic Extension Programme, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, with six subjects at Higher and Standard Level plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service. Younger pupils prepare through GCSE courses and a Pre-Diploma year, and native speakers can take IB literature courses in their own language, such as Italian.

The school covers Year 7 to Year 13. The Lower School (Years 7 and 8) offers a broad core curriculum including English, maths, sciences, French, Spanish and Latin, humanities, art, music, drama and computing. Year 9, known as the Removes, is a transition into the Senior School, followed by GCSE courses in Years 10 and 11 and a Pre-Diploma option. The Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13) offers a choice between A Levels and the IB Diploma.

Haileybury describes its aim as an education that develops mind, body and spirit and leaves pupils equipped with the values and skills to make a positive impact on the world. Kindness, empathy, integrity and service to others are presented as part of everyday life, alongside ambition, hard work and self-discipline. The school motto, Sursum Corda, means lift up your hearts.

The 500-acre campus mixes historic buildings around the main quadrangle with modern facilities. It includes 13 boarding houses, five performance venues, a dining hall, a library, the chapel and a SciTech centre for science and technology. Sports facilities comprise a 25-metre heated indoor swimming pool, a gym and sports hall, all-weather pitches, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, squash and rackets courts, a golf simulator and indoor putting green, and 22 pitches for rugby, football, cricket, hockey, lacrosse, netball and athletics.

A minibus network brings day pupils from towns across Hertfordshire, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Kent and North London, with Sunday routes for weekly boarders. The Health and Wellbeing Centre is open around the clock, staffed by nurses, counsellors and a physiotherapist working with GP doctors. The Learning Support Department helps pupils with dyslexia, ADHD, autism and other needs, and there is EAL tuition. Meals in the dining hall are provided by a specialist caterer that also caters for special diets. Scholarships and means-tested bursaries are available.

Haileybury offers full, weekly and flexible boarding. Lower School boarders in Years 7 and 8 live in Highfield House, which has separate wings for boys and girls, while from Year 9 every pupil joins one of 13 houses that combine boarders and day pupils. Full boarding in the Senior School is available for up to seven nights a week, and flexi-boarding options allow day pupils to stay some nights, subject to space.

Sport is a central part of school life, with around 20 teams in each of the core sports of rugby, hockey, netball and cricket and more than 1,000 fixtures a year across over 25 sports, including football, lacrosse, tennis, swimming, water polo, golf, squash and rackets, badminton and basketball. A High Performance Programme supports elite athletes. The co-curricular programme also covers music ensembles and an orchestra, drama productions, dance from ballet to street dance, academic societies, chess, robotics, climbing, the Combined Cadet Force and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.