This guide answers the questions international families ask most about Bromsgrove School: which programmes exist for which ages, what the entry requirements and assessments look like, how 2026/27 fees are structured, how boarding works, and how the application process fits together. Every fact below comes from the school’s official website, bromsgrove-school.co.uk, as accessed on 5 August 2026; where the school has not published a figure, the guide says so rather than inventing one.
About Bromsgrove School
Bromsgrove School is a co-educational, boarding and day school in Worcestershire, England, describing itself as offering “outstanding education from 2 to 18” with the motto “Flair. Discipline. Academic Rigour.” The campus occupies around 100 acres and the school’s website describes its community as including pupils of almost seventy different nationalities; of the roughly sixteen hundred pupils across the school’s constituencies, more than twelve hundred are British. Bromsgrove School is a registered charity (No. 1098740) and company (No. 4808121) in England. The school’s own site states that in 2025 it was ranked a Global Top 10 IB school and that 223 Upper Sixth leavers achieved 61% A*/A grades; these are the school’s self-statements. The international admissions page explains that the school deliberately aims to produce pupils who “respond” to change rather than merely react, and that its international mix is part of that mission.
Programs and School Structure
Education at Bromsgrove School runs continuously from age 2 to 18 across three sections. The Pre-Preparatory and Nursery takes children aged 2 to 7: the Nursery accepts children from their second birthday, and Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 follow, with transfer to the Prep School after Year 2 subject to a required standard in Literacy and Numeracy. The Preparatory School serves ages 7 to 13 (Years 3 to 8), co-educational with day and boarding places, established in 1940 and now based in its own grounds adjacent to the Senior School. The Senior School serves ages 13 to 18. In the Fourth and Fifth Forms, most pupils take three years of GCSE preparation and normally sit around eleven GCSE subjects, with a core of English, Maths, the Sciences and a Modern Language; a reduced but intensive one-year GCSE course is available for pupils, mainly from overseas, who join the Fifth Form and intend to go on to the International Baccalaureate. The Sixth Form, which the school says numbers around four hundred pupils, offers the International Baccalaureate, A Levels or a limited BTEC option; most A Level pupils take four AS levels in the Lower Sixth and three A2 levels in the Upper Sixth, while IB pupils study for terminal examinations over two years. A Futures (Careers and UCAS) department with a full-time qualified Careers Adviser supports university applications, and the school’s own site reports that over 90% of students gain their first-choice university place.
Entry Requirements and Assessments
Bromsgrove School requires all candidates to sit its entrance examinations before an offer is made; at 13+ the school also accepts the Common Entrance examination. Registration must be completed and the registration fee paid before sitting the examinations. For Years 3 and 4 the assessment is an online CAT4 (Cognitive Ability Test) plus a 30-minute creative writing task; for Years 5, 6 and 8 it is the online CAT4 plus a 45-minute creative writing task. For Year 7 (11+) and Year 9 (13+) entry, candidates sit the online CAT4 at home before the assessment day and then complete English tests and a creative writing task on the day. Entry into the Sixth Form from another British school is based on an interview with the Headmaster, a confidential reference and GCSE results, with a conditional offer confirmed once GCSE results are published; Sixth Form applicants from the UK register but do not sit entrance examinations. The school expects a reasonable level of English fluency from the outset and provides substantial language support where needed; its EAL department runs small group lessons during the week, individual class support and evening help with prep for boarders, and EAL lessons can lead to IGCSE (ESL), IELTS and Cambridge Proficiency qualifications. The school does not publish a minimum language test score on its website; current requirements should be confirmed against the site. For pupils applying from outside the United Kingdom, the school’s website states that applications are made through an educational agency, partly because the entrance examination must be administered by a registered body; it also suggests that families arrange a guardian through AEGIS or BSA registered bodies. Registration requires the applicant’s passport (and parents’ passports if not UK holders), a recent school report or nursery report, and payment of the non-refundable registration fee: £120 for a day place or £240 for a boarding place.
Fees and Deposits for 2026/27
Bromsgrove School publishes termly fees from September 2026, with VAT applied from Reception year upwards. Senior School fees (all years) are £7,055 per term for day pupils (£8,466 with VAT), £10,455 for weekly boarders (£12,546) and £15,775 for full boarders (£18,930). Preparatory School Years 3 to 6 are £4,915 day (£5,898), £7,475 weekly boarding (£8,970) and £10,250 full boarding (£12,300); Years 7 and 8 are £6,375 day (£7,650), £9,055 weekly boarding (£10,866) and £12,645 full boarding (£15,174). Pre-Preparatory fees are £3,410 per term for Reception (£4,092 with VAT) and £3,760 for Years 1 and 2 (£4,512). Fees are due on or before the first day of term, may be paid by direct debit from a UK bank account at no extra charge, and include lunch for day pupils and all meals for boarders, as well as curriculum support and special educational needs teaching. Extras are charged separately for transport, trips, school shop purchases, lost books and public examinations, which the school estimates at approximately £400 to £600 per year. Deposits: the acceptance deposit is £500 for a day place or Forces boarder, £3,000 for a boarding place where parents are resident in and fees are paid from Europe, plus an additional deposit of £12,775 for a non-European boarding place; deposits are refunded once the final term’s fees and extras have been settled. The Sixth Form fee is a two-year fee spread equally over six terms, and no change of status is allowed in the Upper Sixth or from the Lower Sixth to the Upper Sixth. Boarding fees include all EAL lessons and relevant support. A Fees in Advance scheme allows payment for more than one academic year in advance across the Bromsgrove schools.
Boarding Options and Campus Life
Boarding at Bromsgrove School can begin at age 7 (Year 3). The Prep boarding house, Page House, opened in September 2012 and accommodates up to 100 boys and girls aged 7 to 13. In the Senior School there are four single boarding houses and one co-educational Sixth Form house (Housman Hall), all staffed by resident Houseparents with Assistant Houseparents, Housemothers, tutors and support staff; houses are communities of around 60 pupils, and the school operates thirteen day and boarding houses in total. There are no exeat weekends: the school says it never closes at weekends, with organised Saturday activities and Sunday trips for boarders. Full boarding covers the Saturday morning activity programme and transport on weekend trips, with only trip entry fees and a weekly tuck allowance as extras; weekly boarding runs Monday to Friday with transport included in the fee. One-term placements are available for children aged 7 to 13 (Years 3 to 8) starting in September, January or April, and taster days or weekends can be arranged. During most holidays except the long Christmas and Summer breaks, boarders may stay on site with the school’s Guardian Angels team for a small nightly charge. The campus includes a Health Centre with nurses and a School Doctor, freshly prepared meals, a laundry service for boarders, and a 100-acre site; the school’s website notes it is well placed near the motorway network in the heart of England.
Term Dates and Application Timeline
For 2026/27 at Bromsgrove School, the Michaelmas Term 2026 runs from 6 September (boarders) / 7 September (day pupils) to 16 December 2026, with half term beginning 23 October and return on 8/9 November; Lent Term 2027 runs from 6/7 January to 19 March with half term from 12 February; Summer Term 2027 runs from 11/12 April to 3 July with half term from 28 May. For 2027/28, Michaelmas Term 2027 runs 5/6 September to 15 December; Lent Term 2028 runs 5/6 January to 31 March; Summer Term 2028 runs 23/24 April to 1 July. The admissions pages show that 11+ and 13+ assessments take place in the autumn and other year-group assessments in the January round, but the school does not publish a single fixed application deadline for all routes; families should check the current registration timeline on the official website. Results days for the 2026 cohort were A Level Results Day on 13 August and GCSE Results Day on 20 August.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age range does Bromsgrove School take? The school’s website states 2 to 18, split into Pre-Preparatory and Nursery (2-7), Preparatory (7-13) and Senior (13-18). Which qualifications are offered in the Sixth Form? The International Baccalaureate, A Levels and a limited BTEC option. Is there an entrance exam? Yes — every candidate sits the school’s entrance examination; 13+ also accepts Common Entrance, and Sixth Form entry from UK schools is based on interview, reference and GCSE results. How do international families apply? The school’s website says pupils applying from outside the UK apply through an educational agency, and all applicants complete registration with a passport, school report and the non-refundable registration fee (£120 day / £240 boarding). What do 2026/27 fees look like? Senior full boarding is £15,775 per term (£18,930 with VAT); exact figures vary by section and boarding status, and fees are due before the first day of term. Do boarding fees include EAL support? Yes — the school states boarding fees are inclusive of all EAL lessons and relevant support, and EAL lessons may lead to IGCSE (ESL), IELTS and Cambridge Proficiency qualifications.
Summary
Bromsgrove School is a well-documented option for international families looking at British boarding education: a continuous 2 to 18 structure, a large Sixth Form with IB, A Level and BTEC routes, published 2026/27 fees with a clear VAT line, boarding from age 7 with full, weekly and one-term options, and a transparent entrance assessment process. The school publishes no single fixed application deadline, and fees, dates and requirements all move over time, so current details should always be checked against the official website before planning. If you would like help weighing your child’s age, year group, English level and family budget against what Bromsgrove School publishes, our advisers can walk you through the current information step by step.