Best Schools in the UK

Recently "The Times Newspaper" produced a UK Schools guide. They wanted to provide a guide for parents to help them to make an informed decision. Of course you child's school experience is not solely defined by the Grades they achieve. There are hundreds of other factors such as extra curricular activities and support available for children however it is difficult to quantify this information. So their selections are solely based on Exam results from Summer 2022

In the guide they talk about what they believe are the 20 best private schools in the UK, the 20 best Grammar schools in the UK and the 20 best comprehensive schools in the UK.

There were also many other useful articles including, How to Apply for school, How to get a scholarship, How to choose a school.

Its a great read for anyone wanting to learn more about the UK Education system. The whole guide took me about 3 hours to read.

Private Schools in the UK

They have compiled a list of the top 20 private schools in the UK. 18 of the 20 schools are based in London or the South East of England. A school in Birmingham was 15th in the list and one from Cardiff in 16th. 

St Pauls Girls' School in London ranked number 1, where almost 98% of its results at GCSE were Grade 7/8/9 and at A-Level 95% of its Grades were a Grade A or Grade A*. Their fees are almost £28,000 per year. 

In 20th position on this list was the famous Eton College in Windsor which has educated 20 previous Prime Ministers including Boris Johnson and David Cameron.

Grammar Schools in the UK

First of all, allow me to explain what a Grammar school is. Many of the parents often confuse a Private school and a Grammar school because both schools are selective schools.

The simplest way to explain this is, if you pay fees for your child to attend a school, this is a Private School. Whereas the are 163 Grammar schools in the England and to attend a Grammar school, students need to sit an entrance exam. If your child is awarded a place at a Grammar school, you do not pay any school fees.

The best grammar school in England is the Henrietta Barnett School in Hampstead, London. The results for Summer 2022. Almost 99% of their GCSE results were at Grade 7/8/9 which is better than the St Pauls Girls School. The A-Level Grades were 88% of students achieved a Grade A or A*.

Comprehensive Schools in the UK

Most schools in the UK are comprehensive (public) schools and fall into this category. In first place is Dame Alice Owen's School but this school is partially selective (selecting 38%) of its students.

In second place is St Peter's Catholic School in Guilford.

77% of GCSE results were at Grade 7/8/9 and 60% of A-Level results were at Grade A or Grade A*

Summary of Best Schools