International Students

16-19 Education in the UK

In order to enrol at Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Sixth Form College, you will need to be a permanent resident in the UK and hold a full British Citizen passport, or have parents who are holders of full British Citizen passports. We also accept applicants who have the Right to Abode in the UK, are accompanying parents who have a settlement visa, or are a dependent of a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Visa Holder (valid for the duration of your two-year course).

If you are not a British citizen, a citizen of the European Union (EU) or a citizen of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) you will need to prove your residency status and entitlement to free 16-19 education in the UK. This means that during enrolment we must see the original of your passport and immigration status documents from the Home Office.

We do not accept any fees, and therefore are not able to accept any applicant who does not have the documents to prove their free 16-19 education entitlement. We are unable to sponsor students who require a Tier 4 visa (“student visa”) and we do not provide accommodation for international students.

How to Apply

International students must apply using the online application form.
When entering your qualifications, if your grades are not GCSEs please select the most similar option available and estimate the GCSE grade (Grade 9 = A*, Grade 6 = A/B, Grade 5 = B/C, Grade 1 = F). Any subjects not listed can be added to your application at the interview. At the interview, please bring along details of the course(s) you are taking and your predicted grades.

Attending an Interview

In order to receive an offer and secure your place at SFX you will need to attend an interview. Once your application is submitted and received you will be contacted with your interview appointment. If you are abroad at the time of submitting your application and interview appointment, please contact admissions@sfx.ac.uk as soon as possible to inform the college of when you will be in the country and available for an interview. In some circumstances we can make allowances to arrange an interview late in the year, but we cannot reserve a place on a course for any applicant.

Foreign Qualifications

If you wish to study with us and have qualifications that were acquired outside the UK (except IGCSEs) you will need to acquire a Statement of Comparability to establish whether you have the GCSE equivalents (except English, see below) to qualify for your desired course at SFX. You will need to upload this statement AND your original qualifications when applying to the College.

This statement can be obtained for a fee at UK ENIC www.enic.org.uk. This is the internationally recognised organisation for providing education qualification equivalents. The statement will be used by the College to establish the actual grade equivalents, a process we undertake internally. The Statement of Comparability is something you can use again when applying to university or jobs.

Fees

There are no tuition fees chargeable to eligible full-time students from within the European Union for those under 19 years of age on 1st September in the year of application.

Support

To study at Saint Francis Xavier Sixth Form College you will need to have a good standard of English in order to participate in lessons, as examinations and coursework (excluding language subjects) will need to be written in English. It is not possible to study at Level 3 (A level & Extended Diploma courses) unless you already have the equivalent of GCSE English Grade 4. If you can already prove a high standard of written English (IELTS 5.5) or Cambridge First Certificate, we may enter you for GCSE English along with your Level 3 course.

At Saint Francis Xavier Sixth Form College we cannot support students who have only a basic command of the English language. Whilst we can offer a small amount of ESOL* support for more advanced learners, those who need intensive English language courses are advised to take ESOL courses at larger colleges before applying to study with us.
(*English for Speakers of Other Languages)

Fluent Speakers

Students fluent in French, Spanish, Portuguese or Italian may be eligible to take the language as an additional A level. Fluent speakers of other languages who can prove their competence can be entered for A level examinations.