London's best school where 'pupils flourish' named top in UK for 2025

1 month ago 20

A London secondary school has been named best in the country for 2025. The Real Schools Guide named Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, as the top school in the country.

The Real School Guide uses data from Ofsted ratings and GCSE results to rank schools in the UK. It also shows how each school performed compared to previous years making it one of the country's most comprehensive educational guides.

Queen Elizabeth's School, which took top spot, is classified as an "outstanding" school by Ofsted. In its latest report, dated May 2022, the inspector said that "pupils flourish at Queen Elizabeth's School."

They added: "They love to learn. Pupils are happy and safe. They take great pride in their work. Pupils are determined to succeed in all aspects of their school life and are ambitious for their futures. Leaders ensure that pupils study a broad range of academic subjects. They make sure the highly academic environment of the school is also a nurturing one. Leaders strive to develop pupils into confident, able and responsible young people."

The grammar school for boys dates all the way back to 1573. It was founded by Queen Elizabeth I who granted a charter for the establishment of "the Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth in Barnet, for the education, bringing up and instruction of boys."

Students at the school can pursue studies in all sorts of subjects including the arts, humanities, STEM and PE. It's curriculum has proved to deliver impressive results - last year 100% of pupils achieved a grade five or above in five more subjects including Maths and English at GCSE. The schools most common grade was also a nine - the highest possible.

The Ofsted report added: "The school’s curriculum is academic, broad and balanced. All pupils study English, maths, science, humanities and a modern foreign language in Years 10 and 11, the English Baccalaureate range of subjects. Alongside this, many pupils choose to study economics and Latin, as well as arts subjects and technology."

Many other schools in and around London also featured on the Real Guide's best schools for 2025. St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School, Orpington, took second spot, while Wilson's School, Wallington, took third place and The Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston, took fourth place.