Private school Clifton College

Start Here, Go Anywhere

Clifton College was founded in 1862 and is now one of the most renowned and advanced colleges in England. The college is located in Bristol, 120 miles west of London, close to Bristol Zoo. The grounds are very picturesque, and the campus is surrounded by beautiful parks.

There is a truly English atmosphere of caring and friendliness here. Teachers who can inspire students, students who are focused on success, caregivers who care about each student's happiness, and an open dialogue with parents are the ingredients of Clifton College's success.

The college is famous for its alumni. The future founder of Bentley Motors, three Nobel Prize winners, academics, ministers, mayors, diplomats, politicians, generals, writers, actors, artists, musicians, and Olympic champions all studied here.

The school has 1,200 students.

There is a purpose-built music school, its own theater and a modern dance studio. The music school has fully equipped classrooms for classes, rehearsal rooms with musical instruments, a professional recording studio. The school's own 320-seat theatre was built in 1966 and is famous for being one of the first private school theatres in the UK to have its own building. The theatre is one of Bristol's city landmarks.

Clifton College has world-class sporting facilities:

• Cricket pitch
• Sports centre which includes a large hall with indoor cricket pitch, indoor swimming pool, sports hall, weight room, cardio room, squash courts, six tennis courts.
• A newly refurbished vaulted indoor sports arena which is a fantastic facility specifically for tennis and netball.
• 90 acres of playing fields at Clifton College which include: football pitch, Olympic hockey pitch, 24 tennis courts, two artificial turf hockey pitches, two indoor sports halls, mountain bike track, shooting range luca. 

Clifton College has a separate building for teaching the Sixth Form, where students can enjoy greater independence and privacy.

Curriculum

The curriculum is designed to give students the opportunity to develop in all areas. They are not afraid to ask questions, love to explore and are eager to try new things. Each student has every opportunity to develop to their full potential and meet the high standards that the school sets. The process always maintains a balance between individual interests of students and the overall scope of knowledge and cultural experience. 

GCSE

Curriculum for the General Certificate of Secondary Education. There are 7 compulsory subjects and 3 elective subjects.
What is the difference between IGCSE and GCSE programmes?

A-Level

A two-year program for entering university. In the first year, 4 subjects are studied, in the second year - 3 subjects at an advanced level.
Find out more about A-level program

BTEC

An alternative to the A-level programme: a pre-university course with a maximum emphasis on developing practical skills and applying theoretical knowledge in real life. BTEC qualifications are available in the following specialisations: sports and digital music production.
Find out more about BTEC program

Accommodation

Accommodation in a residence on the college campus. Boys and girls live in different houses. In each house, mentors live with the children, and the children are always under supervision. Each house has a small kitchen, recreation rooms with table tennis, billiards, TV, games, where children can get together for joint relaxation and communication.

Sport

The college has a long-standing sports tradition, which today is expressed in the motto: "Sports and fitness for everyone." The school has very strong coaches who can train real professional athletes. The most popular sports are rugby, hockey, cricket and netball. You can also take part in athletics, cross-country running, fencing, sailing, tennis, shooting and swimming. Pupils regularly represent the college in all these sports. 

Non-competitive sports are also available to pupils: aerobics, badminton, basketball, kayaking, squash, water polo, rock climbing, horse riding and pilates.

Extracurricular Activities

Drama and dance make a significant contribution to the cultural enrichment of pupils at the college. 

The school theatre stages over 40 productions a year. Theatre arts are studied both theoretically and practically and each pupil can choose the direction that interests them. A special team of teachers teaches schoolchildren how to act on stage, helps develop communication skills and the ability to work in a team. Every year, a grand musical with the participation of schoolchildren is held.

Dance classes are available for students of all levels: from beginners to advanced. The college employs professional dance teachers whowill help students prepare for admission to the best dance schools in the UK to pursue a dance career: the Royal Ballet, the School of Art, the London School of Contemporary Dance. Throughout the year, classes are held in such dance styles as ballet, tap, modern dance, jazz, musical theatre, Charleston, choreography, Pilates.

The excellent musical equipment of the school provides students with unique opportunities for classes. You can take part in musical groups of various directions: chamber choir, orchestra, soul groups, swing groups and many others. You can study modern singing, as well as learn to play both classical and more modern instruments: bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, jazz piano.

Cost, 2026-2027

£19,835 - £20,725 per semester (depending on age)
There are 3 semesters in the academic year.

Included in the price

• Tuition
• Accommodation and meals

Additional payment

• Registration fee - £200
• Deposit - £300
• Additional deposit - cost of 1 term
• Trips, theater outings, some extracurricular activities
• Flight
• Transfers to/from the airport
• Visa
• Educational company services
• Selecting a guardian, which is a mandatory requirement of the British school

Our services and fees

Our expert's impressions of visiting the school

Clifton College impresses with its architecture. It is probably one of the most beautiful and monumental schools in Great Britain. However, I was even more impressed by the students - Kira, Christina and Maxim. All the guys, as one, were very mature, self-confident and KNEW EXACTLY WHERE THEY WANTED TO GO in the future and what to study.

Kira will go to business, Christina - to international relations, and Maxim will devote his life to science and will study physics and mathematics at university.

The level of the universities where the guys have already applied is impressive - Imperial College, UCL, London School of Economics and other universities of the Russel Group (the most prestigious universities in Great Britain). At the same time, they say, every year there are people who get accepted to Oxbridge. The academic preparation at Clifton College is at the highest level. "However, in addition to the academic component, great attention is paid at Clifton to the ALL-ROUND DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS - sports, art, theater," the guys say. Maxim, being a rugby player, begins to enthusiastically tell how proud they are to represent the school team at competitions. He also mentioned that the school has good relations with the Great Britain national rugby team, which, by the way, trains on the school rugby fields.

Christina and Kira, in turn, are seriously interested in music and both play the piano - it is true that it is difficult to find time for lessons (you have to do a lot of independent work in high school), but you can't give up, YOU NEED TO BE PERSISTENT AND DILIGENT IN YOUR HOBBIES in order to be a well-rounded person. It is not proper to give up something halfway through.

I ask my "tour guides" if there are any slackers at school?

"As probably everywhere, they can be found in Clifton... But definitely not among the foreign students who know why they are here and realize that their parents invest a lot of money in their education. We simply cannot let our moms and dads down. We are lucky to be here - Clifton gives GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION and your development as a person in general, and our task is to take the maximum from what is offered. After all, we need it, and no one else. We (senior students) are not even scolded for not doing our homework. Teachers see us as adults and conscientious people who are responsible for their own studies and success. And this is very nice!" - the children answer (although, to be honest, it is somehow even awkward to call them that :) Clifton is certainly a school for independent and developed children.

However, this does not mean that the children are left to their own devices. According to Christina, the teachers here are very sensitive to your success, in particular during the process of entering the university: "I was worried about how I would apply, I was worried that there would be a lot of ambiguities and difficulties, but the teachers "guide" you throughout the entire process, they sincerely worry about you, and you feel their shoulder next to you and become calm and confident in the result and in yourself."

I highly recommend paying attention to Clifton College to those students who want to be in a dynamic school, study intensively and at the same time do sports and creativity. Or take part in theatrical performances, which Bristol residents come to with pleasure, remaining in complete amazement at how professionally the performances are staged.

Well, parents of children under 13 can consider Clifton College Preparatory School, located literally across the road from the main school.

Small in number (300 people in the school and only 80 in the boarding house), the school is ideal for foreign children. It will become a real home for them, where the matron will bake her children chocolate brownies to celebrate the end of the week. And if one of her charges falls ill, she will not send them to the infirmary, but will let them spend the night next to her and give them hot milk with honey to drink.
Katya from St. Petersburg, 12 years old, is studying at the preparatory school for the third year and will go to the senior school in September. She really likes Clifton. She especially likes the fact that "the teachers are very kind and know their subject very well." Katya is also delighted with her history teacher, who makes a real performance out of each lesson - he tells the children about historical events in such an interesting way, with cool jokes.

During my visit, one of the girls had a birthday. During the break, the girls burst into the residence, where a birthday cake was already waiting for them in the kitchen decorated in honor of the holiday, and they all began to loudly sing "Happy Birthday". It was so sweet and so homely that there was no doubt about the happy childhood of these little ones.