Thornton College

Thornton College is an award winning leading independent day and boarding school for girls aged 3 - 18 years.

Key Information

Thornton College is one of the most successful non-selective schools in the UK and is a community where girls thrive; where outstanding pastoral care and a wonderfully creative and broad curriculum and co-curriculum enables each girl to become the very best version of herself. We are a vibrant and diverse school, welcoming girls of all faiths and none, from across the UK and the world – including many of the Jesus and Mary Schools situated in 29 different countries. .

Type of School Girls Only
Annual International Boarding Fees 36,930 (exclusive of any applicable taxes)
Language Support & Qualifications Offered Cambridge ESOL
Test other
Dietary Options veg,vegan,nut,cfa
Religion/Faith Thornton is a Catholic School and welcomes girls of all faiths and none. All are welcome.
Qualifications offered gcse,ifp,bte
Location Located in Thornton, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK17 0HJ, United Kingdom. The college is well situated for easy access to several international airports including London Heathrow, London Luton, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Birmingham, and East Midlands airports. The distance from each airport to Thornton College varies, and the closest airport to the college is London Luton. 40 mins – 1 hour by car to Luton Airport Parkway 1hr 20 mins by car to London Heathrow.
History of the School Thornton College occupies the former Manor House of Thornton. The Manor dates back to the 11th Century and is mentioned in the Domesday Book, but most of the House still in use today is part of a mid 14th Century development. Three families, Cavendish, Ingleton and Tyrell predominantly owned the Manor prior to the Sisters' purchase in 1917. It is these families which give their names to our school Houses. The Religious Order of Jesus and Mary purchased the Hall in 1917 and opened Thornton College for Girls.
Pre-16 qualifications Our GCSE programme offers breadth and opportunity for all. It allows girls to select subjects they enjoy and excel in and provides a firm base for further study at A level and beyond.We have an excellent range of GCSE options with girls able to select three additional subjects alongside the core subjects of: ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENGLISH LITERATURE MATHEMATICS MODERN LANGUAGE RELIGIOUS STUDIES SCIENCE Girls may take all three Sciences as separate subjects AND select three of the following. GCSE OPTION CHOICES: ART BUSINESS STUDIES CITIZENSHIP COMPUTER SCIENCE DRAMA DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY GEOGRAPHY GOVERNMENT HISTORY MUSIC PHYSICAL EDUCATION PSYCHOLOGY.
Post 16 qualifications Thornton offers a wide range of subjects and courses. The majority of courses are A Levels but we have extended our provision to include popular vocational courses. The curriculum at Thornton is built around the choices students make, as we design our option blocks based on students' chosen subject combinations.Existing Thornton students and girls who are joining us for Sixth Form have a meeting with tutors to discuss options in detail. Thornton is in an excellent position to review and select the most appropriate and interesting courses of study for students from the various examination boards.
Academic performance Thornton College students consistently achieve outstanding academic results, regularly featuring among the top non-selective schools in the UK. Thornton College is a non selective school and therefore we offer places to students of varying academic ability. Our added value is consistently high and each year we have many students achieving the highest possible grades and going on to attend top Universities in the UK and overseas.
Boarding accommodation Boarding is 'upstairs' in our main manor house offering a home from home experience. The boarding bedrooms and common areas are bright and spacious. We offer flexi, weekly and termly boarding for UK and international students with a dense programme of exciting evening activities and weekend trips. Students in Year 11 & 12 have single study bedrooms and in Year 13 full termly boarders move to the Villa house where they learn to live independently in a house alongside others with their own kitchen and laundry options - a perfect stepping stone to university!
Pastoral care Thornton College provides a world of opportunity in a community that has kindness, respect and forgiveness at its heart. The ethos that we share at Thornton is truly special and is one based upon the values of Christ's Gospel, the same values lived by Claudine Thévenet and the values that ensure each girl is nurtured and encouraged so that she is not only able to meet the challenges of life courageously but, more than anything else, is happy - a happy child will always be a confident and successful child.
Extra-curricular activities Thornton runs an extensive co-curricular programme of over 70 clubs each week across the school. All clubs are age-appropriate, and the vast majority are included in school fees, offering students a wide variety of opportunities to develop a range of skills. Our programme enables all students to use their talents to the full and develop important skills for the future. Each club is linked to a particular theme, including Enterprise, Challenge, and Physical and Mental Well-being. Students compile their portfolio by completing activities through our co-curricular programme over the academic year, and receive rewards for completion.
General school facilities Thornton College is set in 25 acres of beautiful grounds enabling plenty of outdoor space and sports facilities including, forest school, eco park, nature trails, cross country trails, hockey astro pitch, netball and tennis courts, football, cricket and athletics ground, long jump, huge indoor sports hall for badminton, netball, basketball, trampolining, gymnastics, outdoor heated swimming pool. We have state of the art science labs, design and technology space, music recording room, theatre staging, purpose built expressive arts studio for dance and drama, traditional library, two ICT suites, and art, photography and textiles creative space.
A Quick Summary Thornton College received "Execellent in All Areas" in it's ISI Inspection in October 2022 and most recently Thornton received "Oustanding in All Areas" in its CSI Inspection in May 2024. These are the highest possible outcomes in both inspections and Thornton has a high reputation locally and internationally via agents and word of mouth. Thornton College won the Independent School of the Year Award in 2020 and has since gone on to achieve many awards including outstanding STEM provision and most recently has been shortlisted for Independent Pre-Prep of the Year.
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    Thornton College is one of the most successful non-selective schools in the UK and is a community where girls thrive; where outstanding pastoral care and a wonderfully creative and broad curriculum and co-curriculum enables each girl to become the very best version of herself. We are a vibrant and diverse school, welcoming girls of all faiths and none, from across the UK and the world - including many of the Jesus and Mary Schools situated in 29 different countries. .

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