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Shiplake College is a growing co-educational day and boarding school for around 580 pupils on the banks of the River Thames in rural Oxfordshire. Watch an aerial tour and then find out more by clicking the links below.

Shiplake College at a Glance
Headmaster's Welcome
Why Shiplake?
Our Most Recent Inspection

Shiplake College is situated just outside Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, around 30 miles from London and a 45-minute drive from London Heathrow Airport, so it is a very convenient choice for international families.

We can arrange taxi transportation to and from the airport - or to and from guardians - by arrangement.

Where are we?
Facilities

We offer a broad academic curriculum designed to prepare our pupils for life. Find out more about our innovative curriculum, our recent examination results and where our pupils go post-Shiplake.

Our Curriculum
The School Day
Exam Results
Leavers' Destinations

A Shiplake education is more than just an academic education. We offer a very wide range of activities outside of the academic curriculum through which our pupils pursue sporting, creative or other interests and enjoy opportunities for personal development and enrichment.

Shiplake has a proud sporting reputation and sport is major part of school life. In recent years, we have enjoyed particular success in rowing and are one of the top rowing schools in the UK, having won National Schools' Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta in 2025. Our rowers enjoy state-of-the-art facilities in our riverside boathouse and training centre and 

Co-curricular Life
Sport at Shiplake
Rowing at a Glance

Around 30% of our pupils are boarders, and day pupils are at the College between 8.00am and 6.00pm each day meaning that they mix fully with boarders. Our relatively small number of overseas boarders enjoy a fully-immersive British boarding school experience which quickly develops their independence, character and language skills. 

Our academic and co-curricular offering is complemented by a comprehensive programme of boarders' activities at weekends so full boarders continue to enjoy challenging and stimulating pursuits outside of the normal school week. 

Boarding Overview
Boarders' Activities
Burr - full boarding for boys in Years 9 to 11
Gilson - full boarding for girls in Sixth Form
College - full boarding for boys in Sixth Form
Food at Shiplake

If you have any practical questions that are not answered below, please contact the Registrar on 0118 940 5221.

Fees and Extras
Parent Handbook
Term Dates
School Uniform and Equipment
Important School Policies

We offer a very wide range of A Level and BTEC options to our sixth form pupils (aged 16 to 18). The 2026 Sixth Form Options Guide below details the syllabus of each course and offers advice on how to choose subjects.

The short videos provide an introduction from our teachers of the courses we will be offering for September 2026. Courses are subject to change for subsequent years.

Sixth Form Options Guide 2026
Sixth Form Subject Videos

An educational guardian is a vital member of the team responsible for safeguarding and promoting a student’s welfare while their parents are overseas. Our pupils must have a UK-based guardian if their parents are living abroad. 

We take our responsibility for the welfare of our international students very seriously and the appointment of a guardian is key to this. Shiplake College is a member of AEGIS (Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students) to show our commitment to ensuring that international students studying with us feel safe, welcome and cared for. 

Guardians are expected to represent a pupil’s parents in their absence. They are a vital link for the school especially in times of emergency (such as if the pupil falls ill or otherwise needs to be away from school).

Guardians are also usually expected to provide a home for the pupil during exeat weekends and school holidays, unless the parents have put other arrangements in place.

We would also hope that the guardian would take an interest in the pupil’s development and progress, as well as supporting the school in good pastoral care. They would usually attend parent/teacher meetings and report back to parents. They would also be able to monitor the academic and social development of the child and will be kept informed via our usual communications systems. A guardian is expected to have an strong command of English and be able to assist with the translation of communications between parents and Shiplake College if necessary.

Guardianship is a very responsible role and we would expect a guardian to be at least 25 years of age and live within an hour's drive of the College. 

To provide parents and the school with peace of mind that a guardian has the pupil's welfare as a priority, any professional guardians appointed by parents must be accredited by AEGIS and we will check this. On acceptance of a place, we will ask parents to nominate a guardian and for both parents and guardian to sign a form accepting guardianship responsibilities.

A suitable willing guardian must be identified before the school can provide the CAS required for a visa application (see visa section below).

Most non-British pupils (including those from the EU) will require the College to sponsor their visa to enable them to attend Shiplake. The school is licensed to sponsor Child Student Student Visas for international pupils under the age of 18. We will provide the necessary Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) to suitable pupils to enable families to apply for the visa. An additional charge is payable for this service (more information here), and the College has additional statutory responsibilities regarding pupils whose visas we sponsor. For pupils joining us in September, visa applications are usually made late-spring or early summer.

Some non-British pupils may have a right to study in the UK by some other route. Families are asked to provide evidence of this before a place is offered.

We always recommend that a pupil and their family visits Shiplake College before making an application. This enables the family to gain a feel for whether it would be the right place for the pupil to flourish. However, we appreciate that there are are circumstances when this is not possible and we will happily organise video meetings with senior members of staff to enable the family to find out more about Shiplake. To arrange a visit or videocall, please contact Mrs Esther Pasmore, +44(0)118 940 5221. 

Anyone wishing to formally apply for a place should register here. There is a £180 registration fee associated with this that may be paid either via Paypal or bank transfer. Details are provided on submission of the registration.

Ideally, an applicant would attend one of our group assessment days (details here) but if this is not possible due to distance or timing, we will arrange separate interviews and tests, if necessary via videocall invigilated by our Admissions Team.

Most overseas pupils are here until they finish school, but we can sometimes facilitate short term placements of a minimum of one term. Pupils looking for short-term placements should make this clear on their registration form. 

The College has a specialist EAL (English as an Additional Language) Teacher who supports those pupils identified as requiring extra help with their English language skills. Please note that pupils need a minimum standard of English to be able to study here at Shiplake and that standard is higher for Sixth Form candidates who need to be able to understand and apply complex concepts and principles in their studies. Any non-native English speakers will sit an additional EAL test as part of their entrance tests.

There is an additional fee for EAL support and this is detailed on our fees page. 

We work in partnership with good-quality reputable agents and value their market knowledge and relationships with their families. In order to work with a new agency, we require satisfactory references from other schools with whom they have worked and/or membership of BBSN (British Boarding Schools Network). We also expect our agents to adhere to the Agent Quality Framework and have an annual review process. 

Please contact Esther Pasmore, the Registrar, for a copy of our agency agreement which outlines the relationship and the commission payable. 

Hear what our overseas pupils and their parents say:

Members of our friendly Admissions Team are usually available throughout the year.

Esther Pasmore, Registrar is on +44 (0)118 940 5221

Hayley Young, Assistant Registrar is on +44 (0)118 970 4764

You may also be interested in following the College on X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube and Instagram .