south east england sixth forms

i’m comfortable with travelling into southeast london or outwards further into kent.
i achieved almost all 9’s in my y10 mocks and would like to achieve full 9’s in my gcses.
but i don’t know which sixth forms are the best around here, especially for someone aspiring to go to oxbridge (cambridge more particularly). while i’d prefer schools in tonbridge, sevenoaks, orpington (even bromley) - i don’t know which are the best.
there’s obviously st olaves & i was also looking at judd but there has to be more schools i haven’t thought of so if anyone has any recommendations in the area pls let me know!

i also live in sevenoaks and would say that St Olaves and Judd definitely are the best schools in the area. I achieved all 9s at GCSE and chose to go to Judd for year 12, because i thought it would be better for me. The only other schools I can think of locally are Twiggs (tunbridge wells) and newstead (orpington), though they achieve lower grades than judd and olaves.

i live in sevenoaks, and i’m comfortable with travelling into southeast london or outwards further into kent.
i achieved almost all 9’s in my y10 mocks and would like to achieve full 9’s in my gcses.
but i don’t know which sixth forms are the best around here, especially for someone aspiring to go to oxbridge (cambridge more particularly). while i’d prefer schools in tonbridge, sevenoaks, orpington (even bromley) - i don’t know which are the best.
there’s obviously st olaves & i was also looking at judd but there has to be more schools i haven’t thought of so if anyone has any recommendations in the area pls let me know!

Where did you end up going for sixth form please as I'm in the same situation?

Not OP but can recommend Tonbridge Grammar (IB), Judd & Olaves (A level but with a more tense atmosphere than TGS). All good schools in the area, Twiggs and Weald also good along with newstead but do achieve less overall. Good luck! X

Thank you - that is really helpful. By tense, do you mean academically competitive between the students or just stressed students due to workloads/pressure? I don’t know much about IB but heard it’s very stressful and hard. Is Tonbridge Grammar nice? Thank you.

The sixth form students at Judd are overall friendly, there are categorical cliques that are definitely more separated than other schools locally. Students are academically competitive but not insulting, I'd say healthy competition, and the teachers can either be very supportive and friendly, or pretty tough and strict. If you need extra support they aren't great at that, wellbeing and neurodivergence can be a bit taboo, the school tries ig but not great if you end up struggling mentally.
If you have any family or friends doing IB definitely talk to them. It's similar difficulty to A level research into it. It's not regarded lower than A level, actually can be preferred as A levels are a bit outdated, can't remember the logistics but you end up taking more subjects but smaller amounts, worth looking into.
Tonbridge Grammar is very good academically, better than the other girl's schools in Tonbridge by a mile, it's main competition is Judd. Pre covid was quite strict about dress code and school policies, after covid quite lax about dress code in sixth form, the teachers are overall very good and understanding of individual learning styles, switching classes is easy and the support system both academically and mentally is honestly amazing. All the folks I know in sixth form love the environment, yes IB is difficult, but A levels aren't exactly easy...
That's all just my opinion and personal knowledge and friends at the schools, if you need any help contact your secondary school or any friends or their siblings in the 6th forms you're looking for!

Thank you - that is really helpful. By tense, do you mean academically competitive between the students or just stressed students due to workloads/pressure? I don’t know much about IB but heard it’s very stressful and hard. Is Tonbridge Grammar nice? Thank you.