16-19 Education in the UK
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 free 16-19 education entitlement. We are not able to provide accomodation 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 GCSE option available and estimate the GCSE grade (a 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. Details of how to apply are here.
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 at SFX and have qualifications which were acquired outside the UK (except IGCSEs) you will need to acquire a Statement of Compatibility to establish whether you have the GCSE equivalents (except English, see below) to qualify for your desired course at SFX.
This statement can be obtained, at a cost, at UK Naric, www.naric.org.uk, which is the internationally recognized organization for providing education qualification equivalents. The statement will be used by SFX 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.
Good information on how your qualifications are likely to be converted and the compatibility of grading systems is available on the UK University Admissions website: www.ucas.com/sites/default/files/2015-international-qualifications.pdf
Fees
There are no tuition fees chargeable to full-time students from within the European Union for those under 19 years of age on 1st September 2019. However, there is a payment of £50 from each new student, collected on enrolment, which supports the provision of enhanced ICT facilities.
Support
To study at SFX you will need to have a good standard of English in order to participate in lessons, and as examinations and coursework (excluding in language subjects) will need to be written in English. It is not possible to study at Level 3 (A levels & Extended Diploma) 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), Cambridge First Certificate, we may enter you for GCSE English along with your level 3 course.
At SFX we don’t have courses for students who just have a command of basic English, and whilst we can offer a small amount of ESOL* support for more advanced learners, those who need intensiveEnglish language courses are advised to take ESOL courses at larger colleges before applying to SFX.
*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.