Best Grammar Schools in London: 2022 Top 10 League Table
Finding the best grammar schools in London is more complicated than you might think. London consists of many boroughs, and while grammar schools within these boroughs are London-based schools, many are situated far apart. Nevertheless, year after year, families continue to relocate homes into a chosen school’s catchment area or psyche themselves up for a long commute. Sounding familiar? Well, before you hastily rush into a potentially life-changing decision, we’ve compiled a list of London’s top 10 grammar schools, with information about entrance exam procedures and student performance at GCSE and A-Level, to support you and your family with choosing a school.
To add, it is recommended for 11+ students to take 11 plus mock exams in a daily basis. We have free 11 plus mock exams prepared for you!
Finding the best grammar schools in London
If you’re considering sending your child to a grammar school and live in one of the London boroughs or home counties, you’ll find this article helpful. But if you live elsewhere in the UK, you can still find a top-performing grammar school near you.
However, knowing where to begin your search is challenging for most parents. While you’ll be considering a school’s Ofsted rating, exam performance, catchment area, and extracurricular activities, don’t forget that for grammar schools, your child must pass the 11+ entrance exam. Moreover, many schools have additional entrance criteria that you must meet before your child is eligible for a place. Fortunately, most schools detail this in their admissions policies. For more information, use this website as a directory to find a grammar school in your area.
What is a grammar school?
Grammar schools are selective, non-fee paying schools. Anyone can apply to a grammar school, but candidates can only receive an offer of a place upon passing the 11 plus entrance test. The National Grammar Schools Association (NGSA) highlights that only 164 of all England’s secondary schools are grammar schools, the equivalent of less than 1%. Typically, this results in increased competition to secure a place, and so you should expect it to be more challenging than applying to a non-grammar school.
Despite the increased pressure for both parents and children, many applications are received by grammar schools each year, and not all are successful. Some parents view grammar schools as centres of academic excellence, with a better standard of teaching, higher-quality facilities, and good university connections. For others, the focus is to ensure that their child studies alongside other like-minded, academically able students, which may support the learning process during their time at secondary school.
If you’re considering sending your child to a grammar school, it’s a good idea to start getting prepared when they’re in Year 4. It will give you two years to comfortably get ready, visiting schools while preparing for the 11+ exam. With that said, there’s no right or wrong time to start getting prepared. Most exam boards and some grammar schools do not recommend training for the exam, citing that it is no more challenging than questions students are already familiar with at KS2. But this doesn’t stop thousands of parents investing in tutors or the exam boards from releasing official familiarisation papers each year. Therefore, if you’d like to download and print off some free practice materials, you can find plenty of GL Assessment and CEM test papers here. For those parents who have a child sitting the 11+ exam in the autumn of 2022, you should check out this guide from a former secondary school teacher here: 11 Guide, a Six Month Countdown.
Where are the grammar schools in London?
Most people forget that London-based grammar schools include all those schools in the London boroughs, and not only central or the city of London. With the city’s excellent transport links, if you live in and around London, most of the schools that feature in this article should be within a reasonable distance for the majority of people. But that will not be the case for all; for example, if you live in High Barnet, travelling to a school in Sutton will not be realistic without relocating.
The schools in this article are in the following London boroughs: Barnet, Bromley, Enfield, Kingston-Upon-Thames, and Sutton.
10 of the best grammar schools in London
So if you have your heart set on sending your child to a grammar school, the natural next step is to begin your search. We’ve done some of the work for you and compiled a list of the top 10 grammar schools in London. You can view the percentage of grades awarded at the highest GCSE and A-LEVEL bands, as well as 11+ dates for 2022 and entry information. It’s important to note that other factors influenced this league table, such as progress eight scores. You can find more information about this in each school’s bio below the table.
London grammar schools 2022 league table
| Rank | School | GCSE % of Grade 8-9 | A-LEVEL % of Grade A* | 11+ Date 2022 | Year 7 (PAN) 2022 Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet | 83% | 56% | 15th Sept | 180 |
2 | Nonsuch High School for Girls | 70.1% | 22% | 14th & 25th Sept | 210 |
3 | The Henrietta Barnett School | 87% | 50% | 1st, 2nd, 3rd Sept | 104 |
4 | Wallington High School for Girls | N/A* | N/A* | 14th & 25th Sept | 210 |
5 | Wilson's School | 72.7%* | 27.9%* | 14th Sept & 2nd Oct | 186 |
6 | St Michael's Catholic Grammar School | 56.3%* | 15%* | 10th Sept | 128 |
7 | The Latymer School | N/A* | 27.8% | 3rd, 4th, 5th Sept | 192 |
8 | The Tiffin Girls School | 85.3% | 35.89% | 30th Sept -1st Oct & (TBC)Nov | 180 |
9 | Tiffin School | 60.49% | 34.71% | 30th Sept & 12th Nov | 180 |
10 | Newstead Wood School | N/A* | N/A* | 24th-25th Sept | 168 |
N/A* – There is no data available using this metric for 2019 or 2020.
* – Data is from 2019.
Details for London’s top 10 grammar schools
1) Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
Also known as QE Boys, it’s rated the best grammar school in London and England. In its 450 year history, the school has built a solid reputation as a top secondary school striving for academic excellence. The school’s website suggests that pupils and parents should expect a state school experience like no other. A bold but justified claim, seeing as 83% of all grades awarded at GCSE in 2020 were of the highest level. Similarly, at A-LEVEL, more than half of all grades awarded were A*. The school’s Progress 8 is rated 1.22, meaning that on average, pupils will achieve more than a whole grade higher than expected based on predictions made on their academic ability in Year 6. If you’re interested in applying to this school, it’s essential to visit their website to download and return the 11+ entrance test request form as soon as possible.
2) Nonsuch High School for Girls
An all-girls grammar located in Sutton, the school boasts impressive academic results at both GCSE and A-LEVEL, with an equally good Progress 8 score of 1.04. Like the school above, it suggests that students will make significant progress by attending the school. Parents should be aware that this school has a two-part 11+ procedure. Candidates must first pass the Selective Eligibility Test (SET), after which the school will invite them to return to sit the school’s second-stage test.
3) The Henrietta Barnett School
Contrary to popular belief, this school isn’t fee-paid. However, it doesn’t take away from its exclusivity. Gaining admission to this Barnet school is challenging due to the high level of competition. In 2019, the school received over 3000 applications. It’s not without good reason, 87% of all GCSE results awarded in 2020 were either grade 8 or 9, and 50% of A-LEVEL grades were A*. When considering this, coupled with the limited number of entry places available for 2022 (104), it’s understandable why competition to secure a place is high.
4) Wallington High School for Girls
Wallington uses the same 11+ entry system as its sister school, Nonsuch High School for Girls. Also located in Sutton, the school offers a comprehensive curriculum that supports its pupils to achieve higher results than expected. Unfortunately, at this time, the school hasn’t published the number of grades awarded for 2019 and 2020.
If your son is into sports, this might be the perfect London grammar school for him! Located in Sutton, Wilson’s is also one of the UK’s top 100 sporting schools, with many extracurricular activities on offer. Like its Sutton counterparts, the school also uses a two-stage 11+ entry process, with tests scheduled for mid-September followed by early October.
6) St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School
Situated in the London Borough of Barnet, this all-girls grammar is also a Catholic faith school. Therefore, in addition to the high standard of learning and broad curriculum, there is also a strong Catholic ethos. The school’s 11+ exam date is scheduled relatively early compared to other schools, on the 10th of September. And with only 128 places available for the 2022 entry, competition to secure a spot is high.
A mixed-sex school situated in Enfield, The Latymer School, is ranked as London’s 7th best grammar school. While there is no data available for GCSE grades, in 2020, almost 30% of all grades awarded at A-LEVEL were A*, with Year 13 students securing places at some of the country’s most prestigious universities. This year’s 11+ exam will be staggered over three consecutive days following social distancing guidelines.
Regarded as one of the best secondary schools in London, and indeed the country, pupils at this school achieve outstanding results. In 2020, 85% of all GCSE grades were either 8 or 9, and more than 35% at A-LEVEL were A*. With results such as these, there is enormous competition to secure one of the highly coveted spots available at Year 7 entry, especially with only 180 open for 2022. If you’re hoping to support your child in making serious progress with her learning, this school will prove an excellent choice, with a Progress 8 score of 1.2 for 2018/19.
Like the girls’ school, Tiffin School is also located in Kingston-upon-Thames and is a selective all-boys grammar. The school performs very well and is considered one of the best grammar schools in London. With that said, it doesn’t perform quite as well as The Tiffin Girls School. While the percentage of A*s awarded is similar, GCSE results and the Progress 8 score aren’t as strong.
Last but certainly not least on our list of the top 10 best grammar schools in London is Newstead Wood, located in the London Borough of Bromley. The school is a selective all-girls school, with 168 places available for the 2022 entry. Are you aiming for the 2022 entry? The 11 plus exam is tentatively scheduled for the 24th or 25th September 2022, but it’s yet to be confirmed.
Additional information for parents: Applying to grammar schools and 11 plus exam preparation
If you’re considering applying for the 11 plus exam in 2022, it’s essential to identify which schools you will apply to in advance. Most schools are now accepting applications to sit the exam, and they will close in the next month or so. Therefore, it’s best not to leave it too late. Subject to the further relaxation of social distancing measures, the exams will go ahead in the autumn of 2022. Make sure to identify which exam paper your child will be sitting, and which exam board the school you’re applying to uses. It will usually be CEM, GL Assessment, or the CSSE (which a mix). Some schools create their own entrance tests using a combination of question styles, and most will release familiarisation papers to help your child practice.
Remember, the hardest part of the 11 plus exam is not the question’s level of difficulty but the time limit in which candidates must complete all the questions successfully. That’s why it’s important to practice.
11+ exam resources
At Think Academy UK, our expert tutors provide advanced Year 4 and 5 courses dedicated to training 11+ candidates to ensure that they’re exam ready. Our method is to help students quickly recognise the type of question that may come up in the test and then apply a given approach to answer it correctly within the time limit. If you’d like to learn more, we invite you to read about our services in more detail here.
You can also access further 11 plus exam resources below:
A Guide to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning Tests
11+ Maths Exam: Helping Your Child to Prepare and Pass in 2022
Meet the 11+ Online Tutors Delivering Results
When Should you Start to Prepare Your Child for the 11 Plus Exam