C3 senior schools (county)

Cluster 3 (C3) has 1,373 public senior schools, with some in every county. Media reports describe C3 as broadly the former county schools. Nearly all are boarding schools: 1,362 are listed as boarding, 10 take both day and boarding learners, and one is a day school. C3 is more mixed than the clusters above it, with 531 mixed schools, 505 girls’ schools and 337 boys’ schools.

What C3 means when choosing

C3 schools usually serve learners from their own county and the counties around it, which can keep boarding costs and travel down. Among the 12 choices your child makes across C1 to C4, C3 schools are often the practical middle ground. You get a boarding school, usually within reach of home, offering the pathway your child wants. Pathway offer differs from school to school. Before ranking a C3 school, confirm it offers the subject combination your child needs, for example a STEM combination with a technical subject.

Fees at C3 schools

The boarding fee ceilings in Gazette Notice 1449 of 2026 apply to C3 boarding schools. The few with day learners follow the day-school rules. Read senior school fees 2026 for the details.

With more than a thousand schools, C3 is shown below as a county-by-county count. Each “View” link opens the finder with that county’s C3 schools listed by name.