Best Private Schools in Suffolk: A Level Results Ranked

The best private schools in Suffolk, ranked by A level results in the latest DfE performance tables, start with Ipswich School at an average point score of 44.45 per entry, followed by Woodbridge School on 43.57, Culford School on 39.15 and Royal Hospital School on 38.35. Ipswich School and Woodbridge School sit clearly ahead of the other eight on this measure.

Ten schools are ranked on one measure only, the average point score per A level entry from the DfE's performance tables for sixth forms, where an A* counts as 60, an A as 50, a B as 40 and a C as 30. The grade shown beside each figure is the DfE's fine-grade expression of that average, and the student count is the number of A level students, which helps when judging how much weight a figure can bear.

Which private schools in Suffolk have the best A level results?

Figures run from 44.45 at Ipswich School down to 27.44 at Finborough School, and the middle of the table is tightly packed. Ipswich School (44.45, B+) and Woodbridge School (43.57, B+) form a pair at the head, Culford School (39.15, B) and Royal Hospital School (38.35, B) form the next pair, and four schools then sit close together: St Joseph's College on 37.24, Framlingham College on 36.86, Ipswich High School on 36.82 and Saint Felix School on 36.67, all graded B-.

Below that cluster, Stoke College records 34.81 (C+) and Finborough School 27.44 (C-), the lowest figure in the table. Because the four B- schools are separated by small differences, a parent comparing them will usually get a truer picture by reading them as one band of near-equal results.

Cohort sizes differ sharply. Ipswich School has 139 A level students, Royal Hospital School and Framlingham College each have 87, and Culford School has 70, whereas Saint Felix School has 21 and Stoke College 18. An average over 18 or 21 students can move noticeably with a handful of results, so the figures for the smaller sixth forms carry more uncertainty than the one for Ipswich School. All ten schools are co-educational and all are listed as day and boarding.

Entry points and fees at the ranked Suffolk schools

Fees and entry points vary widely across the ranking, so the table below sets them side by side for the schools with an admissions guide on this site; each figure comes from the school's own website and carries the academic year it applies to.

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Which Suffolk private school has the highest A level average point score?

Ipswich School has the highest average point score in Suffolk, at 44.45 per A level entry, a fine grade of B+ across 139 students. Woodbridge School is second on 43.57, also B+, with 66 students, so the two schools share a grade band with very different cohort sizes.

Culford School in Bury St. Edmunds is third on 39.15 (B) with 70 students, and Royal Hospital School in Ipswich is fourth on 38.35 (B) with 87. The step from Woodbridge School on 43.57 to Culford School on 39.15 is where the table moves from B+ to B.

Are there girls' or boys' private schools in the Suffolk ranking?

None of the ten ranked Suffolk schools is single-sex, since every one is listed as co-educational, so the ranking offers no separate girls' or boys' table to read.

A parent looking specifically for a girls' or boys' school will find no entry here to compare, and the figures for Ipswich School, Woodbridge School and the other eight apply to mixed sixth forms. Ipswich High School, ranked seventh on 36.82, appears in the data as co-educational with 33 A level students.

Which Suffolk private schools take boarders?

All ten ranked schools are listed as day and boarding, so boarding is available at every school from Ipswich School in first place to Finborough School in tenth.

The boarding option therefore does not separate one school from another in this table. Whether a place suits a boarder depends on factors the data does not hold, and the rows span Ipswich, Woodbridge, Bury St. Edmunds, Southwold, Sudbury and Stowmarket, which shows how widely the schools are spread across the county.

What does the Suffolk A level ranking leave out?

The ranking leaves out any school with no A level entries in the DfE tables, which includes independent schools that teach the International Baccalaureate in the sixth form or that have very few A level candidates.

It also ignores every other qualification and every measure beyond average point score per entry, such as progress from GCSE, subject mix, pastoral provision or destinations. Schools with small cohorts, such as Stoke College with 18 students and Saint Felix School with 21, are included on the same footing as Ipswich School with 139, which is why the student column is worth reading alongside each figure.

How the schools are ranked

The ranking covers every independent school in Suffolk with a published average point score per A level entry in the Department for Education's 16 to 18 performance data, ordered from highest to lowest, with schools on the same figure sharing a rank. The figure counts A level entries only and is not adjusted for pupils' attainment on entry, and many of these schools select by entrance assessment.

The data is the Department for Education's own download from Compare school and college performance, so anyone can reproduce the order from the same file; the data year and source are listed in the key facts above.

Admissions guides for the ranked schools

• Ipswich School (ranked 1)
• Woodbridge School (ranked 2)
• Culford School (ranked 3)
• Royal Hospital School (ranked 4)
• Framlingham College (ranked 6)
• Ipswich High School (ranked 7)

Related guides

• Best private schools in the UK and London by A level results
• Independent school fees compared
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• Boarding schools in the UK

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