Stonyhurst College

Stonyhurst's educational character begins with its Jesuit foundation at Saint-Omer in 1593 and continues through a historic setting shaped by libraries, archives, buildings and a museum. Full co-education across Stonyhurst College and St Mary's Hall arrived in 1999. The result is a community where a long religious and intellectual inheritance remains part of everyday identity rather than a decorative backdrop.

At sixth form, students can choose A levels, the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge Technical routes. The Higher Line provides a distinct sixth-form community with independent study and university-style social and study spaces, including the More and Historic Libraries. Academic choices therefore sit within a setting that deliberately connects contemporary qualifications with older resources.

Boarding is flexible, with occasional, flexible, weekly and full options. Pupils aged 13 to 18 join from 37 countries, and House, Playroom and Line Family structures connect different ages through mentoring and shared experience. Day pupils and boarders are integrated, while the Jesuit emphasis on care and the development of the whole person remains visible in the shape of community life.

Co-curricular breadth is another defining feature: around 200 activities vary by term, and many are initiated or led by pupils. Sixth-form choice, international boarding and pupil-led activity give the historic College a distinctly active rhythm.