Highgate School

Founded in 1565, Highgate is one of the UK’s leading co-educational independent day schools with pupils coming from a diverse range of backgrounds across North London and further afield. Our school consists of the Pre-Prep (ages 4-7), Junior School (ages 7-11) and Senior School, including the Sixth Form (ages 11-18). Our Senior School was awarded The Sunday Times London Independent Secondary School of the Decade in 2021 and featured in their top 10 London schools for academic performance in 2025.

We offer high-calibre, academically minded teaching with experienced and well-qualified subject specialists who focus on scholarship and independence for all, rather than on exam outcomes. Pastoral care is at the heart of all we do, and we offer extensive co-curricular activities that appeal to all interests and abilities.

Our schools are located within the heart of Highgate village, with access to 23 acres of outdoor green space and Hampstead Heath right on our doorstep. All schools benefit from a fully equipped sports centre on site, with a 25-metre swimming pool, indoor and outdoor courts, pitches and a dance studio.

Prospective families can apply to Highgate via an online application form which opens at specific dates for each entry point throughout the year. We also welcome families to our open events to see our facilities and meet with staff and pupils. Following an application, candidates are asked to attend an assessment - full details can be found on our website.

As a charity, we believe a Highgate education should be accessible beyond those who can afford it. We offer fee assistance at 7+, 11+ and 16+ entry to eligible families through our bursary scheme, with up to 100% awarded throughout a child's education. 

Our aims and ethos are:

• To be a place for learning and scholarship 

Learning at Highgate is not about meeting other people’s expectations but discovering and pursuing intellectual passions. Helping pupils pursue subjects they love gives them the experiences of using discretionary effort to succeed and makes them brilliantly employable: they choose to go beyond to fulfil their own dreams.

• To be a reflective community 

We encourage our pupils to take responsibility for themselves and for their role in society. Through community action groups, volunteering, fundraising, bursaries, local school partnerships and sustainability actions, we strive together as a school to make a positive impact on the world around us.

• To be an exemplar for the healthy life 

We want our pupils to enjoy their childhood to the full, to develop and pursue their academic and co-curricular passions, and to lead fulfilling, exciting lives as thoughtful and open-minded young adults. Pupils leaving school will be intellectually, emotionally and practically equipped for the world of work and the challenges of day-to-day life.

We actively seek to embed a real sense of belonging at Highgate. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of an environment that:

• Welcomes them, understands them, enables them to be themselves.
• Encourages questioning, self-knowledge, and self-expression.
• Helps them not just to manage, but to thrive: to discover and pursue their passions, and to develop as individuals and members of a community.