Top 50 Best Secondary Schools in London and their Location

Every parent wants their child to get the best start in life and the school they go to plays a big part in this. Their education prepares them for the big wide world so it is only natural for parents wanting to be confident they are at as good a school as possible. Some Londoners are in the privileged position of saying they either go to or send their child to one of the best schools in the country.

The Real Schools Guide 2020, compiled by Reach’s data unit, has been released and it has six London secondary schools among the top 50 nationally. The guide aims to give a far more comprehensive picture than traditional league tables.

It takes into account 51 different data points – including not just GCSE results, Ofsted ratings and Attainment 8 scores but also factors like Progress 8, pupil-teacher ratios and absence rates.

Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School, in Lancashire, has been ranked the top school in the country according to the Real Schools Guide and Wembley High Technology College, Wilson’s School and Queen Elizabeth’s School finished second, third and fourth respectively.

Wallington County Grammar School, Woodford County High School and Mossbourne Community Academy were ranked seventh, eighth and ninth in the country.

List of Top 50 Best Secondary Schools in London and their

1.   St Paul’s Girls’ School, Hammersmith
2.   Westminster School, Westminster
3.   NorthLondon Collegiate School, Stanmore
4.   St Paul’s School,  Barnes
5.   Godolphin & Latymer School, Hammersmith
6.   City of London School for Girls, Barbican
7.   King’s College School, Wimbledon
8.   Tiffin Girls, Kingston
9.   Henrietta Barnett School, Hampstead Garden Suburb
10. City of London, City of London
11. Queen Elizabeth School, Barnet
12. Latymer Upper, Ravenscourt Park
13. Lady Eleanor Holles, Twickenham
14. South Hampstead High School, South Hampstead
15. Haberdasher Aske’s School for Girls, Elstree
16. JAGS, Dulwich
17. Wimbledon High, Wimbledon
18. Highgate, Highgate
19. Haberdasher Aske’s School for Boys, Borehamwood
20. UCS, Hampstead, Hampstead
21. Hampton School, Twickenham
22. St Olave’s Grammar School, Bromley
23. Notting Hill & Ealing High, Ealing
24. Alleyn’s Dulwich, Dulwich
25. Francis Holland SW1, Sloane Square
26. Eltham College Bromley, Bromley
27. Kingston Grammar School, Kingston
28. Nonsuch High School, Sutton
29. Newstead Wood School, Orpington
30. Merchant Taylor’s School, Hertfordshire
31. St Helen’s Northwood 
32. Bancroft’s  School, Woodford Green, London  
33. Dulwich College, Dulwich
34. Sutton Grammar School, Sutton
35. Latymer School, Edmonton
36. Channing School, Highgate
37. Putney High School, Putney
38. Whitgift School, Croydon
39. St Michael’s Grammar, Barnet
40. Francis Holland NW, Marylebone
41. Queen’s College, Marylebone
42. St James Girls’ School, Kensington
43. Tiffin School, Kingston upon Thames
44. Forest School, London
45. Croydon High School GDST, Croydon
46. Queen’s Gate, South Kensington
47. Wilson’s Grammar School, Sutton
48. Trinity School, Croydon
49. Northwood College GDST, Northwood
50. Harrodian School, Barnes

Facts about London Secondary Schools

1.  London has 978 secondary schools that serve 662,173 students for the school year 2022.

2.  661 state high schools & 238 private high schools are available in the London.

3.  27.52% of pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs, which is higher than England’s average of 25.24%.

4. The top ranked only girl’s high schools in London are Highbury Fields School, Notre Dame Roman Catholic Girls’ School, and Prendergast School.

5. The top ranked only boy’s high schools in London are The St Thomas the Apostle College, Hasmonean High School for Boys, and St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar School.