Whitgift School

At Sixth Form, Whitgift offers both A Levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, with recent IB cohorts averaging around 39 points out of 45. Pupils follow IGCSE courses lower down the school, and the school provides English as an Additional Language support and visa guidance for international boarders.

Whitgift is a boys' school organised in three stages. The Junior Years open the journey, with an emphasis on natural curiosity, independent learning and exposure to new ideas and activities. The Middle Years, covering ages 13 to 16, add emotional maturity to academic preparation so that pupils build a firm sense of their own identity and ambitions. In the Sixth Form, from 16, pupils work with tutors who guide them towards university applications; in 2025 Upper Sixth leavers secured Russell Group places and the school reported twice the national rate at A*/A. Entry points include local and overseas boarding places, with entrance examinations, interviews and invitation-only scholarship assessments.

Whitgift nurtures the whole person, balancing academic challenge with character, service and strong pastoral care. Every boy is known and valued as an individual and is encouraged to develop intellectual curiosity, integrity and resilience alongside a genuine commitment to others and to the wider community.

Whitgift's Croydon campus combines teaching space with sports and arts provision that stays open beyond lesson times. Pupils can reach the fitness suite and gym before lessons, between them and after the timetabled day, and use a swimming pool, basketball and badminton courts and a music school that also open at weekends. Two sports halls are purpose-built for indoor hockey, and the school completed a third hybrid pitch on Edridge, following earlier installations on Big Side and Puntabout. Other specialist spaces include an on-site golf facility used for practice sessions, an indoor rifle range and a darkroom where photographers process and print their own film.

Whitgift runs an extensive school bus service for families without direct public transport links, and the site is reachable by rail via South Croydon and East Croydon. Fees cover classroom tuition and support, textbooks, most stationery, games lessons and co-curricular clubs and societies, with First Formers receiving a term of free music lessons; lunch is charged at a fixed rate for the youngest year group and priced by item from Second Form upwards, and weekend meals are served in the main dining room. A compulsory uniform list is costed separately, as are public examination and UCAS entry fees, individual music tuition, trips and exchanges. Fee assistance and scholarship or fee remission are decided as part of the admissions process.

Co-curricular life is exceptional, with a renowned programme spanning sport, music and drama, the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, outdoor education and a wide range of clubs and academic societies.