There are various criteria to consider when looking for the best school for your child and perhaps the most obvious measure of a school’s success is in their results. It is important to be aware that there are a number of factors that determine where a school sits in those tables and there will also be other factors to explain why some schools are in and others not. The table below has been compiled through a comparison of a number of well-regarded and reliable sources, including The Times and The Telegraph.
The results reflect the pupils’ performance over all and should not be regarded in isolation.
| Top 100 Independent Schools — GCSE Results 2025 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked by % of entries awarded grades 9–7 (A*/A) | National average: 21.8% | Independent school average: 48.1% | |||||
| Rank | School Name | A*/A % | Region | Gender | Boarding |
| 1 | St Paul's Girls' School | 99.50% | London | Girls | Day |
| 2 | North London Collegiate School | 99.20% | London | Girls | Day |
| 3 | King's College School Wimbledon | 98.26% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 4 | Brighton College | 97.95% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 5 | St Paul's School | 97.90% | London | Boys | Day/Boarding |
| 6 | Westminster School | 97.60% | London | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 7 | The Godolphin and Latymer School | 96.90% | London | Girls | Day |
| 8 | Wycombe Abbey School | 96.73% | South East | Girls | Day/Boarding |
| 9 | Guildford High School for Girls | 96.41% | South East | Girls | Day |
| 10 | King Edward VI High School for Girls | 96.34% | West Midlands | Girls | Day |
| 11 | Latymer Upper School | 96.20% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 12 | City of London School | 96.00% | London | Boys | Day |
| 13 | Hampton School | 96.00% | London | Boys | Day |
| 14 | Highgate School | 95.47% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 15 | Alleyn's School | 94.72% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 16 | City of London School for Girls | 94.64% | London | Girls | Day |
| 17 | St Mary's School Ascot | 94.08% | South East | Girls | Day/Boarding |
| 18 | Magdalen College School | 94.05% | South East | Co-ed | Day |
| 19 | Eton College | 94.00% | South East | Boys | Boarding |
| 20 | Lady Eleanor Holles School | 94.00% | London | Girls | Day |
| 21 | Oxford High School | 93.59% | South East | Girls | Day |
| 22 | Dulwich College | 93.20% | London | Boys | Day/Boarding |
| 23 | Winchester College | 93.00% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 24 | Notting Hill and Ealing High School | 92.84% | London | Girls | Day |
| 25 | Withington Girls' School | 92.76% | North West | Girls | Day |
| 26 | Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls | 92.58% | Anglia | Girls | Day |
| 27 | South Hampstead High School | 92.14% | London | Girls | Day |
| 28 | St Helen and St Katharine | 92.10% | South East | Girls | Day |
| 29 | Tonbridge School | 92.00% | South East | Boys | Day/Boarding |
| 30 | Putney High School | 91.61% | London | Girls | Day |
| 31 | Caterham School | 91.35% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 32 | University College School, Hampstead | 91.26% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 33 | Emanuel School | 90.90% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 34 | Kingston Grammar School | 90.30% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 35 | The Perse School | 90.01% | Anglia | Co-ed | Day |
| 36 | Reigate Grammar School | 90.00% | South East | Co-ed | Day |
| 37 | Sevenoaks School | 90.00% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 38 | James Allen's Girls' School | 89.94% | London | Girls | Day |
| 39 | Royal Grammar School Guildford | 88.66% | South East | Boys | Day |
| 40 | Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School | 88.00% | Anglia | Boys | Day |
| 41 | Merchant Taylors' School | 87.91% | Anglia | Boys | Day |
| 42 | Eltham College | 87.70% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 43 | The Manchester Grammar School | 87.46% | North West | Boys | Day |
| 44 | Abingdon School | 87.30% | South East | Boys | Day/Boarding |
| 45 | Bancroft's School | 87.07% | Anglia | Co-ed | Day |
| 46 | Wellington College | 86.70% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 47 | Whitgift School | 86.34% | London | Boys | Day/Boarding |
| 48 | Cheltenham Ladies' College | 86.23% | South West | Girls | Day/Boarding |
| 49 | Concord College | 86.20% | West Midlands | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 50 | Epsom College | 86.17% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 51 | Radley College | 86.00% | South East | Boys | Boarding |
| 52 | The Leys School | 85.76% | Anglia | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 53 | Wimbledon High School | 85.27% | London | Girls | Day |
| 54 | Surbiton High School | 85.19% | London | Girls | Day |
| 55 | St Albans High School for Girls | 85.00% | Anglia | Girls | Day |
| 56 | Nottingham High School | 84.73% | East Midlands | Co-ed | Day |
| 57 | Sir William Perkins's School | 84.50% | South East | Girls | Day |
| 58 | King Edward's School, Birmingham | 83.80% | West Midlands | Boys | Day |
| 59 | The King's School, Chester | 83.43% | North West | Co-ed | Day |
| 60 | Ibstock Place School | 82.70% | London | Co-ed | Day |
| 61 | Haileybury | 82.05% | Anglia | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 62 | Reading Blue Coat School | 81.91% | South East | Girls | Day |
| 63 | Channing School | 81.70% | London | Girls | Day |
| 64 | City of London Freemen's School | 81.54% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 65 | Downe House | 81.00% | South East | Girls | Day/Boarding |
| 66 | Royal Grammar School Newcastle | 80.94% | North East | Co-ed | Day |
| 67 | Queen's College London | 80.77% | London | Girls | Day |
| 68 | The Abbey School Reading | 80.11% | South East | Girls | Day |
| 69 | St Catherine's, Bramley | 80.08% | South East | Girls | Day/Boarding |
| 70 | St Helen's School | 80.00% | London | Girls | Day |
| 71 | St George's College Weybridge | 79.89% | South East | Co-ed | Day |
| 72 | Sheffield High School for Girls | 79.87% | Yorks/Humber | Girls | Day |
| 73 | Stroud High School | 79.50% | South West | Girls | Day |
| 74 | Charterhouse | 79.40% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 75 | The Haberdashers' Boys' School | 79.20% | Anglia | Boys | Day |
| 76 | St Swithun's School | 79.10% | South East | Girls | Day/Boarding |
| 77 | Shrewsbury School | 79.00% | West Midlands | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 78 | Oundle School | 78.90% | Anglia | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 79 | Harrow School | 78.80% | London | Boys | Boarding |
| 80 | St George's School Edgbaston | 78.50% | West Midlands | Girls | Day |
| 81 | Bedales School | 78.30% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 82 | Stockport Grammar School | 78.10% | North West | Co-ed | Day |
| 83 | Malvern College | 77.90% | West Midlands | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 84 | Loughborough High School | 77.70% | East Midlands | Girls | Day |
| 85 | Birkdale School | 77.50% | Yorks/Humber | Co-ed | Day |
| 86 | Bradford Grammar School | 77.30% | Yorks/Humber | Co-ed | Day |
| 87 | Marlborough College | 77.10% | South West | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 88 | Rugby School | 76.90% | West Midlands | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 89 | Perse Upper School | 76.70% | Anglia | Co-ed | Day |
| 90 | Truro School | 76.50% | South West | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 91 | Gresham's School | 76.30% | Anglia | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 92 | The King's School Canterbury | 76.10% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 93 | Newcastle High School for Girls | 75.90% | North East | Girls | Day |
| 94 | Bootham School | 75.70% | Yorks/Humber | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 95 | Stamford High School | 75.50% | East Midlands | Girls | Day/Boarding |
| 96 | Priory School | 75.30% | South East | Co-ed | Day |
| 97 | Stowe School | 75.10% | South East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 98 | Barnard Castle School | 74.90% | North East | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 99 | Pocklington School | 74.70% | Yorks/Humber | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
| 100 | Wrekin College | 74.50% | West Midlands | Co-ed | Day/Boarding |
If you would like to find out more about these or any other schools, please contact our experts for a free consultation.
