Sidcot School

Independent day and boarding school for girls and boys age 3 - 18, offering A Levels and the International Baccalaureate.

Originally established in 1699 to teach boys of Quaker families, Sidcot opened to girls in 1808 and is one of the oldest co-educational boarding schools in the UK. Today we have a vibrant community of around 590 pupils aged 3 – 18 years, from nearly 30 different countries. Sidcot welcomes pupils and staff of all faiths or none. About one third of our students are boarders. Boarding has a key role in Sidcot life that enriches the friendly, family orientated atmosphere and provides opportunities for our students to engage with each other and the facilities, beyond the normal confines of the school day. Established in 160 acres of beautiful countryside in the rolling Mendip Hills, Sidcot’s secure campus also benefits from being close to the cities of Bristol and Bath. We have excellent transport links and run private buses each day to Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and surrounding villages. London is only 2 hours away and Bristol International Airport is about 20 minutes door to door by car. Sidcot has over two hundred years experience in coeducational boarding and this philosophy has very much been woven into the fabric of the boarding houses and approach at the school. As a boarding school, Sidcot is a community in which people live, work and play and this contributes to the inclusive family atmosphere where children can be themselves and feel happy and secure. Students may board from age 11 and nearly half our senior school students do so. Flexi boarding is available and can be an attractive option for those who live just beyond an easy daily commute. A new Sixth Form Boarding House is planned for 2014. Sidcot has some outstanding facilities to inspire our students. The latest development is a Creative Arts Centre that bridges the traditional genres with modern technology. Professional, state of the art facilities for fine art, music and drama include studios for painting; sculpture; photography and a digital media suite; a music school with a dedicated performance hall; practice rooms; recording studio and music technology suite; a drama department providing a studio for performances that can become a theatre for film. To meet other interests, there is a Sports Centre with a superb 25 metre indoor heated pool, multi gym, sports hall, squash court and a BHS approved Equestrian Centre. Students of all ages can learn to ride or join the Pony Club to work towards their badges. The centre also provides tuition in dressage, riding our cross country course and jumping. Students are very welcome to bring their horses to Sidcot and a full livery service is available. Sidcot excels in building children’s self-esteem by encouraging all their abilities and not just focusing on academic excellence. We believe that, by enabling children to be adventurous in thought and free from negative peer pressure, they will develop self-assurance and reach their full potential as rounded individuals. We challenge our students to think with greater depth to reach a better understanding of themselves and the world they live in. We believe that this in turn leads to academic excellence- Sidcot’s examination results are amongst the best in the South West. The learning ethos at Sidcot originates from our Quaker heritage of over 300 years of education. The School has always been forward-looking and has promoted experimentation, original thinking and the nurturing of individual talent. This ethos is just as relevant today as it has been throughout the School’s history – there is a deep-rooted conviction to provide a creative and stretching education that inspires children to want to learn. To achieve this, our curriculum is shaped to meet government requirements but without an exam-obsessed and prescriptive syllabus. As a school that accepts children with wide ranging strengths and abilities, we are very proud that we achieve some of the strongest results in the South West, ranking consistently with some of the best selective schools in the region for results at GCSE, A Level and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Our curriculum and teaching methods are designed to harness our children’s natural intellectual curiosity and encourage independent thinking and creativity. We want to educate rather than train to pass tests, to foster self motivation and enable our students to take responsibility for their learning. This will prepare them with the skills and knowledge they will need for further education and foster a love for lifelong learning. Reflecting Sidcot’s aim of providing a stimulating and creative curriculum, we offer students the opportunity to follow either the International Baccalaureate Diploma or A Levels in the Sixth Form.We believe the ethos of the International Baccalaureate, with its broad curriculum and emphasis on study skills, community service and internationalism fits perfectly with our Quaker values. Sidcot School is an inclusive learning community; this includes students who are ‘gifted and talented’ and those with specific learning difficulties. We are not selective, beyond our expectation that the student will cope with mainstream curriculum. Students can be accepted throughout the year from Nursery to Year 9.