Independent School League Tables - The School Guide Top 50

Choose the best independent school for your child from our authoritative School League Tables

Weighing up which independent school will give your child the best chance in life involves many different variables. Choosing to go private requires a great deal of research and with so many secondary independent schools advertising excellent results and day or boarding facilities, it can make the decision even harder.

Our clear, parent-friendly, Top 50 Independent School League Table offers you a one-stop snapshot of the complete performance and progress picture for the best boarding and day independent schools in England.

Parents searching for the best schools can also discover:

• Best primary schools
• Best secondary schools

Revealed: the top independent schools in the UK

Quick and easy to search, expand the list to see School Guide’s 50, 100 or 200 top independent schools.

Can’t see your local independent school? Search by your location or postcode

Not a problem, we’ve crunched the numbers and ranked all of the 2,331 independent schools across the UK.

Simply search for your area’s independent secondary school League Table by entering your postcode or location.

We explain how we rank independent schools using our unique School Guide Star Rating below the League Table.

How do we rank independent schools?

We want to help you make a hassle-free informed choice for your secondary school-aged child, so we’ve analysed the mountains of official data, so you don’t have to.

By researching and analysing every official piece of data from the Department for Education, Independent Schools Council and Independent Schools Inspectorate, alongside parental feedback and admissions data, you can compare and contrast the 2,331 independent schools across the UK and in your local area.

Our League Tables factor in what percentage of pupils achieve 5+ GCSEs 9-4 (English and Maths) and the average point score at A-Level, but our School Guide Star Ratings include exclusive data that you won’t find anywhere else online. Likewise, our parent reviews have been described as “as good as being at the school gates” and are updated daily.

For independent (secondary), we rank by our School Guide Star Rating.

Simply click on the school’s name to view the full data set and all the data points that went into the ranking. Not only will you be able to view detailed exam results that the government no longer publishes, but you can read honest parent reviews.

For more information on the data we use to rank schools, visit About School Guide.

Accurate and reliable Secondary School League Tables

School Guide’s unbiased and user-friendly league tables are regularly featured in the press as a go-to report on school performance. Our comprehensive school data sets have also been used by leading UK websites such as Mumsnet and Rightmove.

Did you know that we pioneered school catchment area heat maps back in 2015? Using exclusive government data and used by Rightmove, we have the most tried and tested catchment area heat maps that over 10 million parents in England, Wales and Scotland have used to locate their nearest school.

Do you show League Tables for all types of schools?

Yes, we have the Top 200 Primary Schools and the Top 200 Secondary Schools, and we explain how we use the School Guide Star Rating to rank these schools with the data that is specific to their stage of education.