The Best Schools In South West London
- August 5, 2022
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Where Are The Best Schools In South-West London?
The South-West area of London is full of amazing places to live. But where are the best schools?
London is one of the world’s leading cities for education. Some of the most highly rated schools, colleges and universities, can be found within the city limits, catering to students of all ages.
London is an incredible city for learning and for any family moving to the city, the options you have for your children’s education can indeed seem, limitless.
From elite private schools to international academies, state-funded grammar schools – even some of London’s nursery schools and kindergartens come with incredibly high ratings! Then there are options for higher education, including brilliant colleges and some of the best-ranked universities in the country, as well as arts schools if your kids happen to be born performers!
Schools in London can be quite expensive if you opt to send your children down the road of private education. On top of this, you might find living close to your preferred schools more costly than you first imagined. There is a very high demand for properties in London in general but, to live in neighbourhoods close to some of the best schools, you may find the price of a home significantly high!
Luckily, there are plenty of options across the whole of London for schools, which is why we at Flex Living have put together this guide to the best schools in each area of London, for you to explore what education options are available for your children before you make the move!
Education In The UK
There are several different types of schools in the UK. The two main pathways for school options in the UK come under state and private education.
Most children moving to the UK with a parent on a work visa are eligible to attend state-run schools, like other children in the UK, free of charge. This can also include specialist schools and academies, including Grammar Schools, which are of a higher standard than many state schools.
Private Schools are run independently and charge annual or quarterly fees based on their estimations for the facilities and education they provide. Both state and private schools can include children of all ages or, be specifically aimed at educating certain age groups or even, specific genders (schools for boys and girls are still quite common in the UK).
Schools for children from the ages of 4-11 are known as primary schools and schools for children from 11+ are known as secondary schools. Schools that cater to other, set ages like preparatory (prep) schools and finishing schools do also exist in the UK and London, although they are not as common. If you’re thinking of moving to London and want to enrol them in a local school (or even study yourself) there are a few things that it pays to be aware of before you start looking at schools and places to live.
What options for schools you have will very much depend on what area of London you choose to live in. There should always be options for state-run primary and secondary schools in any area you choose to live in but, some areas will have more options for private and grammar schools, than others.
Some schools require prospective students to potentially complete several tests before being admitted, to determine their suitability for the school. There are age-related tests for entering grammar and certain private schools known as ‘Common Entrance Exams’, for students aged 11 and older (11 +) and those aged 13 and older (13+). Tests for children younger than this are usually at the preference of the school being applied to and may depend on the available grades and age of the child in question.
Additionally, for students who don’t have English as a first language, there are mandatory tests to determine the level of English of a potential student. There are a variety of different English tests that make use of the IELTS model for assessing a non-native English speaker’s level of English but, the UKiset test is becoming more popular with schools, as it assesses both the education level of the subject and, their level of English. Completing these is critical to a potential student being accepted into a school before they move to the country.
The Best Schools In South-West London
We would now like to draw your attention to our selection, of some of the most reputable schools across West London, for you to potentially consider as destinations for your children’s future education.
Hampton Court House
Type: Co-ed Private School
Years: 2 – 18
Location: Hampton Ct Rd, London KT8 9BS
Fees: £13,000 – £22,000 (depending on age) annually
On the outskirts of the beautiful Bushy Park, you’ll find the fantastic Hampton Court House school. Named after the impressive summer palace of King Henry VIII, which is found nearby, Hampton Court House is as equally splendid and prestigious as its royal neighbour!
With some stunning grounds and buildings, many of which date back to the 18th century, Hampton Court House is a beautiful place for learning. The curriculum is outstanding, with an internationally recognised French language program, a wonderful early learning Centre in The Forest School, as well as consistently scoring in the top ten percent of schools nationwide for learning in all age groups.
With options for education starting from Pre-school and going right up until the end of Sixth Form, Hampton Court House is a school you can comfortably send children to at any age and feel confident, that they will be receiving the very best education possible. There is even a very handy school bus service for those who live a bit further away from the school and might struggle to make the school run on time every day!
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
The Dolphin School
Type: Co-ed Private School
Years: 4 – 11
Location: 106 Northcote Rd, London SW11 6QW
Fees: £12,885 – £14,085 (depending on age) annually
The Dolphin School is a fantastic prep school located in South West London, in the wodnerfulneighbourhood of Clapham. The school is an ideal destination for young children and perfectfor families living closer to the River Thames and more central parts of South London.
With an excellent staff and a fantastic curriculum with a strong focus on sport and individual growth among pupils, The Dolphin School is an ideal institute to prepare children for the second part of their education. Former students from the school have an excellent acceptance rate into leading secondary schools across South London, such as the fantastic Alleyn’s School, Dulwich College and many more.
The school is split into two bodies, The Lower School and, The Upper School, with staff placed to focus on giving pupils the guidance and standard of education they each need individually at all ages. Pupils are encouraged to pursue their interests with special care being taken to make sure those who display talent in fields such as music, art and sport etc, are given everything they need to grow and excel at The Dolphin School!
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
The Roche School
Type: Private Co-ed School
Years: 2 – 11
Location: 11 Frogmore, London SW18 1HW
Fees: £8000 – £17, 220 (depending on age) annually
The Roche School is a fantastic primary school and nursery in Wandsworth, South West London. The school has a strong focus on early education, making primary care and learning its chief area of operations for pupils starting as young as two!
The Nursery facilities at the school are ranked very highly in the local area making the school an ideal first destination for early learners. Reception classes now include an optional, Spanish bilingual program, designed to start pupils off learning a second language as early as possible!
Facilities include a delightful library, as well as a modern gym and dance studio, with the school using off-site facilities for sports such as swimming during the summer term. The Roche School offers a fantastic early learning experience for children, whilst the wonderful teaching staff ensure they receive the right level of guidance and encouragement to learn, before moving on to secondary school. It is a fantastic first school for any child moving to London!
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
Turing House
Type: Co-ed State School & Sixth Form
Years: 11 – 18
Location: Hospital Bridge Rd, Whitton, Twickenham TW2 6LH
Fees: None (state-funded)
It is incredible to think that Turing House didn’t exist until very recently, yet, has managed to come such a long way in a few short years to earn a place on our list! Founded initially in 2011 by a group of parents seeking to offer an alternative for secondary schools in the local area, Turing House has grown very fast, very quickly, providing an amazing opportunity for families in the Twickenham area to keep their children learning locally!
The numbers at the school are ever-growing, with places becoming more competitive with each year but, as part of the ethos at Turing House, places at the school are open to everyone, with the school making inclusion one of their key founding policies. The school has a huge community presence, with a strong focus on family and working alongside local partners, to ensure that Turing House continues to grow and prosper.
Education at Turing House is focused on meeting the core needs of students as per the national curriculum. Unsurprisingly for a newer school, teaching methods and focus are very modern, with many of the teaching staff bringing years of experience teaching elsewhere with them to Turing House. Combined with the newly established Sixth Form, Turing House is a fantastic place of learning to offer older children education up to the point of adulthood, locally and within an amazing South London community.
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
Christ's School
Type: Co-ed State School & Sixth Form
Years: 11 – 18
Location: Queen’s Rd, Richmond upon Thames TW10 6HW
Fees: None (state-funded)
Christ’s School was founded with the intervention of Queen Anne during the year 1713 after local residents expressed a desire to found a charitable school in Richmond. More than 300 years later, Christ’s School is still productive in educating its students and has a well-deserved reputation, as one of the best schools in the Richmond area!
Learning at the school is structured around ensuring no student is left behind. New pupils at the school whose abilities aren’t quite up to the standard of their fellow students receive additional learning support, ranging from one-on-one support during regular class hours to additional support in class. Christ’s School wishes to ensure all its pupils develop to reach their full potential, offering a wide curriculum of subjects from languages (French and Spanish) to studying music in their impressive facilities at the school.
Places at Christ’s School can be difficult to obtain. Priority is given to local worshipping families of the Church Of England but, they have a number of places available for those living within the school’s catchment area. Despite Its status as a Church Of England School, Christ’s School is an inclusive educator that is open to those of all faiths and backgrounds, providing an excellent place for later education within the Richmond area.
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
Twickenham Prep School
Type: Co-ed
Years: 4 – 14
Location: 43 High St, Hampton TW12 2SA
Fees: £11,000 – £14,000 (depending on age) annually.
Twickenham prep school was founded in 1969 by parents who sent their children to the former school before it was sold. Today, after several expansions, the school is now home to several hundred pupils and is an excellent provider of early education for children up to the age of 14.
Education at the school is of the highest standard, with many students advancing at the end of their time at Twickenham Prep, to some of the best schools in London. Children starting the earliest years receive an excellent primary education, including outdoor learning on the school’s wonderful nature trail. But there are plenty of opportunities for growth and development throughout all the school years at Twickenham Prep.
From taking part in sailing races to learning how to fence, the culture of sport and enrichment at the school is a strong one. Pupils are encouraged to develop their way of thinking in the school’s signature mind lab, exploring new ways to both learn and communicate, from as young as possible. Twickenham Prep is an outstanding school to provide a quality early education to any child and provide them with a strong foundation for learning as they develop further as an individual
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
Hampton School
Type: All-Boys Private School
Years: 11 – 18
Location: Hanworth Rd, Hampton TW12 3HD
Fees: £21,900 annually
Hampton school was founded more than 450 years ago by Robert Hammond: a prominent local businessman of the time. His investment paid off, with Hampton being one of the most popular all-boys schools in South London, if not the whole of London! The school is a beautiful yet modern place of learning, perfect for turning promising young boys into educated and enterprising young men, just like Hampton’s founder!
The school is beautiful, with stunningly preserved buildings and a 28-acre green estate, with plenty of sports facilities. Sport is impressive at Hampton, with state-of-the-art 3G pitches for field sports, as well as an impressive gym and incredible competitiveness among the many sports teams at the school, all of whom are regular fixtures at local and national tournaments.
Additionally, the Hammond Theatre is an excellent venue for both music and drama performances, there are very modern IT facilities in both classrooms and the library, ensuring that despite the school’s age, learning remains up to date! It is an incredible place for learning for boys, with an exceptional teaching staff ensuring that learning at the school is of the highest quality and providing all pupils of Hampton School with the very best education to go forward in life.
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
Garrat Park School
Type: Co-ed Specialist Learning School
Years: 11 -18
Location: Waldron Rd, London SW18 3TB
Fees: None (state-funded)
Garatt Park is a wonderful school with a unique focus: providing equal learning opportunities and a great education at a school which is exclusively composed of students with learning difficulties. Garrat Park is one of several schools in South London that places their focus on providing exceptional learning support for those that need it but, it is easily up there with the best schools in the whole of London for the support it offers.
Students from any background and with any learning difficulty are welcome. With some fantastic local funding, the school can offer students the full scope of opportunities for learning they might receive at any other, state-funded school. With plenty of modern facilities and technology to assist learning, Garrat Park is as large and well-equipped for education as any school could be.
As a school for those with learning difficulties, entry into Garrat Park does require either proof of or, undertaking an assessment for learning difficulties with the local authority. From there, applying to and being accepted into the school is relatively straightforward, with the school also offering some wonderful support options for both students and parents at home in addition to those on-site Garrat Park is a fantastic and reliable educator to entrust the learning and development of your child with to ensure that all their needs, educational or other, are met.
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
Beatrix Potter Primary
Type: Co-ed Primary School
Years: 4 -11
Location: Magdalen Rd, London SW18 3ER
Fees: None (state-funded)
Beatrix Potter was a well-known and much-loved author in the UK for her series of illustrated children’s books: The Tales Of Peter Rabbit. This wonderful primary school that shares her name, leaves no one guessing what the connection is by making sure there are as many visible artistic tributes to the author aroudn the school as possible!
Aside from adorable rabbit drawings, Beatrix Potter Primary School offers equal amounts of charm and acre to its pupils, creating a wonderful early learning environment for children attending the school. Classrooms are a good size with sensible pupil numbers to make sure that teachers have as much communication with each student individually as possible. Facilities include a wonderful playground/garden area adorned with many visual tributes to Peter Rabbit.
There is a good standard of IT learning at the school, with a full IT suite supported by a fleet of chrome books for learning in class. The school even offers pupils the opportunity of learning incredibly difficult languages like Russian and Chinese from a very early age! Overall, Beatrix Potter Primary School has all a young child needs and more, to begin their early education living in London although, make sure you’re living as close to the school as possible for admissions!
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
Ursuline High School
Type: All- Girls Secondary School
Years: 11 – 18
Location: Crescent Rd, London SW20 8HA
Fees: None (church school).
Ursuline High School is part of an exceptional group of schools that trace their origins back to the much renowned St. Angela Merci. A 15th-century Italian advisor that drew inspiration from the British St.Ursula, a patron of learning in the Catholic Church, to create an organisation that would go on to fund dozens of girls’ schools across the world.
Ursuline High School is exceptionally highly rated for schools in the Wimbledon area. Achieving special recognition for its policies on diversity and integration, achieving excellent ratings in subjects such as Music, as well as being recognised by Microsoft Schools for its focus on digital learning, it is one of the best state schools in South London for secondary education.
All of this has only been made possible by the hard work and achievements of the amazing teaching staff and pupils at the school. It is a fantastic yet competitive school to gain entrance to, due to the Incredible standard of education and opportunities the school provides. However, as per the school’s ethos, it has an open admissions policy with all students earning their place on merit, just as St. Angela intended!
To find out more information about the school, including fees and admissions, you can find everything else you might need to know on their website.
Other Fantastic Schools In London
There are many other schools to potentially send your children to in London but we hope this list has provided you with some valuable guidance on education options you might find in the city
For more schools in other areas of London, you might want to have a look at some of our other guides for schools in London or, try looking at other helpful links such as The Good Schools Guide, for even more education options for your future move to London!
If you’re looking for some inspiration to find fantastic places to live in South West London, then why not look at our guide to living in South West London or alternatively, start browsing our list of incredible properties to move into right now!