Entry at Sixth Form

Sixth Form at MCS has been co-educational since 2010. We welcome applications from pupils who are keen to experience our approach to learning and the wide range of activities we have on offer.

The field of applicants is varied, and includes pupils from day and boarding schools, the independent and the maintained sectors, from local schools and those further afield.

The deadline for registration is 30th September when candidates are in Year 11 at their current school, and our Sixth Form admissions tests and interviews take place in the November of Year 11.

Starting the application process

We would be delighted to welcome applicants and their parents on a visit in the months prior to application. We hold an Open Evening specifically aimed at Sixth Form applicants in the summer term and you are, of course, also very welcome at any other of our Senior School Open Afternoons or our Open Day in September. All of our events will offer you a tour of the School and an opportunity to meet the Master, Helen Pike, the Sixth Form team and our Heads of Departments.

You can find information about our open events on our Open Days page, and our Admissions dates document gives a full timeline for the year. A summary of the key dates for entry in September 2025 is below:

Key dates

Registration

To register your son or daughter, please complete the online registration form. You will be required to upload an electronic copy of their birth certificate or passport and make an online payment of the registration fee (£180 (inclusive VAT) for UK applicants; £300 (inclusive VAT) for applicants living overseas).

The registration form will ask you to indicate which four A Levels your son or daughter may be considering. These are indicative only at this stage. The form will also ask you if there are any medical conditions or specific learning difficulties that the School should be made aware of, so that access arrangements may be put in place if applicable. There is no need to register a very long time in advance, but do please bear in mind the registration deadline of 30th September.

In the weeks leading up to our admissions tests and interviews, we will contact you to request some additional information, including the GCSEs your son or daughter is taking, confirmation of A Level choices, his or her interests and a photo. The choices made at that point will be the subjects in which the candidate will be tested and interviewed. HMC guidelines recommend that we ask for a reference from each candidate’s current school. We will do this in early October. All candidates who wish to proceed at this stage will be invited to our entrance test day in November and, subject to performance in the tests, to interview.

Apply online

Scholarships

Candidates for Sixth Form entry are eligible to apply for our Art, Drama, Music and Sports Scholarships. Please note that these are subject to strict application deadlines and more information can be found on our Scholarships page. Academic Scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance in our admissions tests and GCSE results. There is no need to make a separate application for an Academic Scholarship.

Help with fees

The School is committed to offering places to those most able to benefit from an MCS education who might not otherwise be able to afford some or all of our fees. The registration form will give you an opportunity to indicate whether you require information about our means-tested Bursaries, and you will also find more information about these on our Bursaries page. If you wish to apply for financial support, please be aware that the deadline for Bursary applications for Sixth Form applicants is 31st October.

The 16+ entrance tests

On the test day, Saturday 9th November 2024,  applicants will take three written tests. Two of these will be in subjects they have indicated as subjects they wish to study at A Level. Candidates will be given papers in all four of their A Level choices on the day, and will have an opportunity to read them before deciding which two to answer. The only exception to this is that those candidates applying for Maths or Maths & Further Maths A Level must take the Maths test.

The third test will be a Verbal Reasoning test. Each test lasts 45 minutes.

There is no written test for Art A Level; all candidates for Art will instead be required to submit a digital portfolio. They will therefore have a choice of their other A Level subjects for written papers.

Our subject tests are all based on the GCSE syllabus and are designed to identify potential and not simply current attainment. No special preparation is expected or required, and there will be a breadth of questions to which candidates will be able to apply their knowledge. We would recommend that your son or daughter has a look at our sample papers in order to gain familiarity with the format of the questions.

On the test day, candidates will have a break between papers as well as lunch, giving them an opportunity to meet some of our current Sixth Form pupils. Assessments for Art, Drama and Sports Scholarships will take place in the afternoon after the written tests (the deadline for Music Scholarship applications is not until January, so auditions for Music Scholarships will happen later). Take a look at our Scholarships page for more information.

Your son or daughter may like to read the Frequently Asked Questions below, which give some guidance on what to expect, and will answer some of the questions he or she may have before coming to MCS for the tests.

16+ interviews

Selected candidates will be invited back for interview on the basis of their performance in the entry tests. These candidates will also be invited to attend our Sixth Form A Levels Options Evening in mid November ahead of the interviews on Saturday 30th November. This event is optional, but gives candidates the opportunity to find out more about the subjects they plan to study. Candidates not being invited for interview will be notified by email in advance of the Options Evening.

Candidates will have two interviews: a general interview with a member of the Sixth Form team or one of our senior academic staff, and an interview in one of the subjects they have indicated as A Level choices.

The general interview will focus on academic and extra-curricular interests, GCSE predictions, ideas for A Level choices and ideas for the Waynflete Studies project. The interviewer may ask about university plans or career aspirations, and this is also an opportunity for candidates to ask questions about Sixth Form at MCS.

The subject interview will be with a subject specialist in one of the candidate’s chosen A Level subjects, and will be academic in focus. It may or may not be in one of the subjects on which the candidate has written a test paper. The subject for interview will be chosen by MCS and cannot be changed at a candidate’s request.

Each interview will last up to 30 minutes, and we aim to make candidates feel at ease as much as possible, so that they enjoy the experience and are able to show us their skills and interests as best they can.

There will also be an opportunity for candidates to spend some time with our current prefects. This will give them the opportunity to relax and get to know one another and to ask our prefects about life at MCS in an informal setting – it does not form part of the assessment.

The purpose of the interviews is to give us an insight into each applicant’s academic interests and capabilities, to help us to see beyond their performance record and to assess their ability to learn. The ability to engage with new ideas is important, as is self-motivation and enthusiasm for the chosen subjects. We are also interested in finding out what motivates and interests our candidates beyond academic study. This will help us assess the contribution they may bring to the broader life of the School and to ensure that MCS is an environment in which they will flourish.

Results

We base our decisions on the whole picture of each candidate built up during the admissions process. Our tests and interviews are designed to explore the ways in which each candidate thinks, helping us to assess overall promise. In assessing a candidate’s future potential, we also take a keen interest in the school reference and any other applicable information.

Places are offered in early December and you will need to confirm that you wish to accept the place by returning the correct forms and paying a deposit by the acceptance date in early January. The deposit is currently £1,500 for candidates living in the UK and will be adjusted for those who have been awarded a bursary. For candidates who live overseas, the deposit is £2,500.

Offers of a place are conditional on achieving six A*, 8 or 9 grades at GCSE, including in the subjects the candidate intends to study for A Level, and we find that many of our offer holders exceed this. We do not intend to make offers that applicants cannot obtain, and we will only give offers to those whom we are confident will thrive here.

We reserve the right to re-test and/or re-interview if an applicant changes their subject choices subsequent to tests, offer or acceptance of offer.

Other

Sixth Form applicants whose first language is not English are also required to have obtained IELTS level 7, including a minimum of 7.0 in each of the components (for further information please go to www.ielts.org and choose the IELTS Academic option). They, and those who are not sitting GCSE/IGCSE English (Language), should discuss their circumstances with the Registrar.

Inductions and joining MCS

To welcome them to the year group, offer holders are invited in March to join our current Year 11, members of our Sixth Form Team and senior members of staff for our Induction Quiz.

Important enrolment information is sent out in May. In June, after GCSEs have taken place, we hold an induction afternoon for new pupils, where they will meet other new pupils, teachers in their chosen A Level subjects, and their Housemaster. Parents are invited to attend for refreshments. We will then wait to hear confirmation of the GCSE results at the end of August. There will be two further induction days in September just before the beginning of term to help new and existing pupils embark on the Sixth Form journey.

Fees

Please visit our Fees page for an overview of Sixth Form fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Registrar at any stage of the admissions process on 01865 242191 or registrar@mcsoxford.org.