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Queen Elizabeth’s School is one of the top state secondary schools in the United Kingdom. Based in Barnet in North London, Queen Elizabeth’s is a selective day school with academy status, and it accepts boys from Year 7 to Year 12. 

Read more about London Grammar Schools admissions.

Queen Elizabeth’s is well known for high academic achievement, with students historically performing exceptionally well at GCSEs and A Levels. Most recently, 98% of students achieved A* to B grades at A level, with 62% of students receiving offers from QS World Top 10 universities; 28% of the year group also obtained offers from Oxbridge, which is very high. 

Along with the school’s academic prowess, Queen Elizabeth’s School has a great reputation for extra-curricular activities. Clubs and societies range from chess to politics, with boys encouraged to establish new societies if there is an interest. The school has a 23-acre site, with facilities including expansive sports fields and a swimming pool. They recently opened a new theatre called ‘The Robert Dudley Studio’, as well as a new complex for music, containing a purpose-built performance venue called ‘The Friends Recital Hall’ and various practice spaces and recording studios. 

Cranbrook School is highly unusual within the UK education system. It is a state-funded, co-educational grammar school that also offers boarding. Many families are surprised to learn that state boarding schools exist at all; in fact, Cranbrook is one of only seven such schools in the country. Cranbrook is part of the wider Kent grammar school admissions system.

In practice, this means that families pay fees only for boarding. The school offers around 250 boarding places, alongside approximately 650 free day places. Boarding fees are exempt from VAT, which helps to keep costs lower. In addition, the boarding provision was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in 2025.

Set in the scenic Weald of Kent, Cranbrook enjoys an excellent academic reputation. It provides a beautiful environment for study, with 75 acres of green space for the exclusive use of the school. It is also well located, being just half an hour from both the coast and London. These factors combine to make Cranbrook an exceptionally attractive option for ambitious pupils and their families who meet the admissions criteria.

Boarding is available from Year 9 to Year 13 for pupils from across the UK and overseas, although international applicants must meet specific eligibility requirements, outlined below. The school also offers an increasing number of day places for entry at Year 7 (11+).

All applicants to Cranbrook, whether boarding or day pupils, must hold a UK or Irish passport or have the Right of Abode in the UK. Boarding applicants may live either in the UK or overseas. Day applicants may also apply from within or outside the UK, but priority is given to those living in the Priority Area. This includes residents of seven local parishes and properties located within an 8.5-kilometre radius of the school.

Pate’s Grammar School has consistently been one of the top performing schools in Gloucestershire. Based in Cheltenham, Pate’s is a selective grammar school with academy status that accepts boys and girls from Year 7 to 13, after Pate’s Grammar School for Girls and Cheltenham Grammar School merged in 1986 — over 400 years after Cheltenham Grammar was founded.

One of seven grammar schools in Gloucestershire, Pate’s places a strong emphasis on academia. This year, 93% of students achieved A* to B grades at A level, with 90% of students accepting places at their top choice university, including Oxford, Cambridge and many other Russell Group universities. Pate’s is frequently ranked among the best grammar schools in the UK for academic outcomes and Oxbridge admissions.

Extracurricular activities are also prioritised at Pate’s. A wide range of clubs and societies are offered at lunchtimes and after school, including Robotics Society, Philosophy Club and Sewing Club. Additionally, the school has many acres of fields and top-class facilities on site; sports offered include football, hockey and athletics. The arts are also encouraged, with a large number of choirs, orchestras and bands actively performing and rehearsing on a weekly basis, as well as various theatrical productions which are very popular with students.

Wallington County Grammar School in the London Borough of Sutton consistently ranks as one of the top performing state schools in the UK. In 2025 the school ranked 26th countrywide. Wallington has a history stretching back to 1927 when it was founded as an all-boys school. This tradition maintains today although girls are also admitted to a co-educational Sixth Form. 

Places are naturally fiercely contested in an urban area with great transport links, and for a school where there is no specific catchment area in place. Pupils are regarded as very bright and the student body is multicultural, made up of students who respond to excellent teaching and learning. The leadership team have a clear vision for the school, rooted in the school motto - Per Ardua Ad Summa, or 'Through Difficulties to the Heights' - and local reviews suggest that pupils buy into this vision. 

In 2022 Ofsted rated Wallington as Outstanding for the second consecutive visit, stating that the “school … has a strong sense of community and very high expectations.” Leadership was seen to have put an ambitious and unique curriculum in place, including the study of politics and civilisations in Year 8/9, which helps students make connections across aspects of geography, history and RE. Ofsted also observed that pastoral leaders have implemented an imaginative PSHE programme, supported by external agencies to lead lessons on positive friendship. Behaviour was judged to be excellent, with low-level disruption rare. Pupils have the opportunity to listen and learn and concentrate independently on their studies.

The school’s GCSE results bear this out, with the school ranked 26th in the UK for its GCSE performance. A-Level Results were similarly impressive with a record 67% of grades at A* or A, surpassing a previous high of 64%. 

Beyond the classroom, sport and the arts are core to school identity. Beyond elite-level rugby and cricket provision, the PE / games curriculum offers tennis, football, badminton, basketball, gymnastics, athletics – and more. Time for students to pursue diverse interests is actually embedded in the school timetable, with current offerings including Duke of Edinburgh, debating, journalism, cinema, LGBT+  football forum, anime – and more. 

St Olave’s Boys’ Grammar School is a selective secondary school in Orpington, London, founded by Elizabeth I in 1571. It is one of London’s highest-performing state schools—ranked the fourth best state provider nationally in 2024, and 20th overall when private schools are included.

Unsurprisingly, the school is heavily oversubscribed and extremely competitive. Each year, more than 1,400 students apply for around 130 Year 7 places, and the academic selection process is notably rigorous.

This selectivity leads to exceptional outcomes at key examination points. In 2025, 89.5% of GCSE grades were awarded at grades 9–7 (A*–A), with an extraordinary 47% at grade 9 alone. A-level results were equally impressive: 95.1% of grades were at A*–B, with 39% at A* and 78% at A*–A.

The school is diverse with nearly 50% of students classed as being from ethnic minorities – though it is less diverse on a social level, with only 2% of pupils being on free school meals. 

St Olave’s received an Outstanding Ofsted rating in 2024, with inspectors reporting that: “A highly ambitious curriculum enables exceptional progress for all students, including those with SEND.” They also found the school motto—Happiness, Success, Community—to be firmly embedded across school life. Importantly, “The school fosters a culture of acceptance and inclusion, which students and parents praised highly.”

Wilson’s School is one of several state-funded selective secondary schools that consistently rival the most academically minded independent schools in the UK. Located in the London Borough of Sutton, it forms part of a wider network of high-performing grammar schools in London, a region that far outperforms others in Britain for educational attainment.

Founded in 1615 by Edward Wilson in Camberwell, the school today is known for its engaging and good-humoured teachers and its culture of supporting all boys to achieve their best. These values are encapsulated in the school motto: Non Sibi Sed Omnibus—“Not For Oneself, But For All.” The Headmaster, Nathan Cole, a historian who has been part of the Wilson’s community for nearly 20 years, places a strong emphasis on tradition and shared purpose.

Wilson’s offers an extensive range of extracurricular activities and invests heavily in this aspect of school life. The Drama Department stages both Senior and Junior productions each year, and the school fields thriving Chess and Debating teams. The Combined Cadet Force, established in 1910, now includes Army and RAF sections and operates in partnership with Wallington High School for Girls. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme is well supported by enthusiastic staff members who help students develop skills, challenge themselves and experience adventure. Over 20 Wilson’s students recently achieved the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

The school also has a strong sporting reputation, with students competing at national, county and local levels. Football and cricket are major pursuits, but the school also offers rugby, basketball, athletics, table tennis, cross-country and more. Music is another strength, with dedicated staff leading weekly sessions in jazz, folk and chamber music, along with numerous orchestras and choirs.

The Latymer School in Edmonton, north-east London, is unusual among high-performing grammar schools in that it has been co-educational from the start of students’ time at the school. It is also notable that, unlike other grammars which routinely rival the top private schools in the country—such as Henrietta Barnett and Wilson’s School—it places geographical restrictions on applicants. Only students living within specific local postcodes are eligible for a place. Owing to the local demographic, this results in a highly diverse student body that consistently achieves excellent exam results.

Latymer is widely regarded as one of the top London grammar schools. In the 2025 examination results, Latymer’s GCSE students achieved 37% at grade 9, 66.1% at grade 8 and above, and 84.4% at grade 7 and above. At A level, students gained 30.7% A*, 65.1% A*–A, and 86% A*–B.

The school was originally founded in 1624 as a boys’ school under the will of Edward Latymer, with the purpose of providing education and clothing to eight poor local boys. It became co-educational in 1910 when it reopened on its current site on Haselbury Road. Today, it educates around 1,350 students.

Latymer maintains formal links with Edward Latymer’s former Cambridge college, St John’s, as well as with Corpus Christi College, also in Cambridge. Endowments with both colleges continue to support further study by Latymer students, and each year around 30 students secure places at Oxford or Cambridge.

In 2022, Ofsted rated the school Good overall, noting numerous outstanding features. These included the quality of education, students’ behaviour and attitudes, the strength of leadership and management, and Outstanding sixth-form provision.

The school encourages students to take part in a wide range of extracurricular activities and nurtures talent in both music and sport. Current clubs and societies include the African Caribbean Society, Dungeons & Dragons Society, East and South-East Asian Heritage Society, Feminism Society, Finance Society and the K-Pop Club!

Readers browsing the Sunday Times Parent Power guide to the Best Schools in the UK 2025 may notice a few unfamiliar names among the usual high achievers.

The 2025 Parent Power tables rank schools by their performance in the 2024 A Level, GCSE, and IB examinations. Alongside prestigious independent schools such as St Paul’s Girls’ and Westminster School appear two state-funded but academically selective institutions — The Henrietta Barnett School, ranked 10th, and Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, ranked 11th. Their inclusion supports the Times headline claim that “a handful of outstanding state schools have outperformed some of the most expensive and famous private schools in the UK.”

The Henrietta Barnett School, a state-funded girls’ grammar school in north London, has earned a place among the most academically successful schools in the UK — including many of the country’s most exclusive and expensive private institutions. It is therefore no surprise that Henrietta Barnett was named State Secondary School of the Year for Academic Excellence 2025 in The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2025, alongside several other accolades.

The school’s success is deeply rooted in the philosophy of its founder, Dame Henrietta Barnett, who believed strongly in the transformative power of education. Her vision — that education should be open to girls from all backgrounds, enabling them to learn both together and from one another — continues to shape the school today. The diversity of the student body is a testament to the lasting strength of this ideal, and pupils often describe the school as “academically ambitious but not pushy.”

A wide-ranging co-curricular programme, featuring more than 50 clubs and societies (most of them student-led), enriches life from Years 7 to 13 and complements the school’s rigorous academic curriculum. A strong sense of confidence and self-belief is further fostered by the semi-rural Hampstead setting, which clearly inspires the students.

It will also come as little surprise that this academic excellence is underpinned by one of the most competitive admissions processes in the country. In 2025, more than 3,000 applicants competed for just 106 Year 7 places. The ambition and determination required to succeed in such a process seem to drive the exceptional academic outcomes achieved by the students. In Summer 2024, over 81% of A Level grades were at A–A*, and 95% at A–B*, with 30 Oxbridge offers made in January 2024 — an impressive 24% of the year group. At GCSE, 88% of grades awarded were 8 or 9.

About Dr. Challoner’s Grammar School

Dr. Challoner’s Grammar School has consistently been one of the highest performing grammar schools in Buckinghamshire for the last few years. Based in Amersham, it is a selective grammar school (granted academy status in 2011) that accepts boys from Years 7 to 13. Academically, DCGS recently achieved the highest results for both GCSEs and A Levels of every school in Buckinghamshire, and its Ofsted rating was ‘outstanding’. Year-on-year, over 95% of leavers move on to Higher Education, with the vast majority of boys gaining places at top UK universities; around 15-20 students study at Oxford or Cambridge.

Additionally, some students undertake apprenticeships or specialist courses. A fair number of leavers choose to study abroad at institutions such as Stanford and McGill; several students have won sports scholarships to US colleges over the past few years. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Challoner’s Grammar School offers a wide variety of activities. Clubs and societies range from the ‘gardening club’ to ‘amateur radio club’. Sports-wise, all students have two hours of Physical Education every week within the curriculum, and the facilities offered include eight tennis courts, expansive playing fields and two sports halls. Aside from conventional sports such as football and rugby, DCGS offers a wide range of sports, from climbing to judo. The arts are also prioritised here, with a newly built music block and two theatrical spaces on site.

About Reading School

Reading School is a 900-year-old, selective, boys’ grammar school in Berkshire. Providing both day and boarding options, the school accepts boys from Years 7 to 11. Consistently ranking among the top schools in Berkshire for GCSE and A level results, Reading School is renowned for its academic excellence. It has a strong track record in helping students from all social and ethnic backgrounds gain places at Oxford, Cambridge and other top universities, as well as various apprenticeships.

Reading School also has an extensive co-curricular program, offering clubs and societies from Street Dance to Bridge Club. Its facilities are expansive, including well-maintained playing fields and its own ‘SportsPark’, containing a fitness studio, squash courts and tennis courts. There are also plans to build an ‘Expressive Arts Centre’, which would include a brand-new recital space and various new classrooms to support the arts.

Tiffin School is increasingly becoming one of the most desirable schools in the United Kingdom. Based in Kingston-upon-Thames in South-West London, it is a state-funded, selective grammar school that accepts boys from Year 7 to 11, and its Sixth Form is co-educational. Tiffin Boys' is one of several highly competitive selective grammar schools in London.

Tiffin Boys’ academic prowess is well-documented; it consistently ranks in the top 10 for UK state schools for both GCSE and A Level results (and within the top 3 for boys-only state schools). A huge majority of Tiffin’s leavers move on to leading universities in the United Kingdom, with over 30 per year gaining places at Oxbridge. Leavers have also undertaken various apprenticeships, including the Amazon Degree apprenticeship, with several students even ending up studying in the USA, gaining places at Ivy League universities such as Princeton.

Extracurriculars include a wide variety of sports, clubs and societies. There are over 70 clubs, ranging from Bridge Club to Robotics Club. In terms of sports, Tiffin offers students a rich selection, from rugby to rowing. There is a state-of-the-art sports centre on site, as well as easy access to various offsite facilities.

Year-on-year, Tiffin has become more and more oversubscribed, which has led to a huge amount of competition for places, particularly at the 11+ entry point.

Understanding the expectations of Maths in the 11 Plus 

11 Plus Maths is a staple of every child’s experience throughout years 5-7 of school, whether they sit an ISEB 11 Plus, Common Entrance Paper or a pre-test for 13 Plus entry.

Below you will find advice on the range of 11 Plus Maths exams that can be offered, which topics are key to revise and advice on what senior schools are expecting from a student at 11 Plus level and how best to prepare for that

When should you start preparing for 11+?  

Starting 11 plus exam preparations in Lower KS2 (Year 3 or Year 4) is highly beneficial, providing ample time for children to thoroughly grasp the 11 plus syllabus within a realistic timeframe. During this stage, children can be introduced to fundamental maths concepts and problem-solving techniques, practice comprehension skills, develop their creative writing and vocabulary and familiarise themselves with various reasoning questions. This early approach also enables the development of problem-solving abilities in math and the enrichment of English vocabulary. Moreover, initiating preparations early minimises the anxieties and pressures linked to last-minute cramming. 

Preparing for 11 Plus interviews for independent schools is a crucial step for students aiming to secure a place at their chosen secondary school. In this guide, Keystone’s 11 Plus tutors share valuable advice and practical tips to help students showcase their full potential at interview.

In this video Keystone's founder, Will Orr-Ewing, and Managing Director, Ed Richardson, share their insights on tackling the 11 Plus entrance interviews for independent schools.

If your child is planning to take the 11 plus exam, and is looking for ways to prepare this comprehensive guide is for you! Keystone’s expert tutors have helped students excel at taking the 11 Plus, and the guidance below aims to distil their best practice into a simple, practical set of top tips.

As a parent looking for information about how best to prepare your child for the 11 Plus exams, you may have encountered the terms CEM and GL and wondered what on earth they refer to! When it comes to the 11 Plus, these terms refer to two of the assessment manufacturers who develop and provide the 11 Plus tests. They are:

• CEM (The Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring)
• GL Assessment

What is the CAT4 test?

Made by GL Assessment, it is one of the world’s most widely use cognitive ability tests. CAT stands for Cognitive Ability Test and it is used in schools to understand developed ability (i.e. where a child is now) and likely academic potential (i.e. where a child could be).

The CAT4 is used by some independent schools as a part of their admissions process, assessing a candidate’s verbal, non-verbal, mathematical, and spatial reasoning ability and academic potential. UK independent Prep Schools also use the CAT 4 tests as a data point (alongside qualitative and quantitative in-school data) to guide Senior School conversations with parents. This is because of its similarity to the existing Pre-Tests.

The fourth edition of CAT or CAT4 as it is more commonly known, took five years to develop, is based on extensive research, including the analysis of 25,000 UK students’ test data, and is one of the most common standardised assessment tools used in schools.

A short explanatory video of the CAT4’s content