The UK is home to some of the finest preparatory schools in the world, offering exceptional academic programs, outstanding extracurricular opportunities – and a strong foundation for entry into top senior schools. The right prep school will instil in a child a lifetime love of learning and a bedrock of skills, qualities and values that will take them through to secondary school and beyond.
The best UK prep schools are recognised in the Spear’s Schools Index 2025 – the definitive guide to the world’s 100 leading private schools. The rigorous academic programmes at prep schools in the Index prepare students not only for success in secondary schools but also for future careers and for life, with a focus on character development and leadership skills.
Many UK prep schools are renowned for their historic traditions, high teaching standards and excellent pastoral care. These schools offer challenging and well-rounded programmes where students are encouraged to excel academically while seeking out co-curricular activities such as sports, arts, music and drama.
Whether you’re looking for a traditional boarding school or a modern co-educational setting, there is a UK prep school to suit every child’s needs. Many of these institutions boast impressive facilities, small class sizes and strong links to leading public schools such as Eton, Harrow and Winchester.
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- Methodology
- Best UK prep schools: some names to know
- Best UK prep schools: the complete list
- Find out more
[See also: Introducing the Spear’s Schools Index 2025]
Methodology
Spear’s has worked closely with the expert team at Thuso to refine the methodology underpinning the index, and to convene an expert panel of leading international educationalists to contribute their knowledge and insight to the research and selection process.
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The Spear’s Research Unit collected data and information directly from candidate schools, using a combination of online forms and interviews. This was supplemented with additional research and by intelligence and insight from Thuso and the panel of expert educationalists.
The Spear’s Schools Index has also been underpinned by the following key principles:
- While examination results and academic attainment are key considerations, they are not the only thing that matters. Leading schools are not necessarily the most academic. ‘Hot houses’, therefore, are not to be viewed with approbation.
A wide range of social, cultural, and pastoral factors have been weighed in finalising the index. In some cases, some schools with strong academics have been omitted where they fall short in relation to these wider considerations. Notably, the team have been cognisant also of ‘cultural’ and ‘value based’ factors which are of growing concern in relation to many families. This is especially relevant in a climate in which some schools may be viewed as adopting an ‘indoctrinatory’ approach that might risk stifling free debate and the associated critical thinking.
- Families are increasingly mobile, with new global cities emerging as key hubs. This is particularly the case for cities such as Dubai, as well as established regional hubs in Europe, Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia, and the Pacific. Likewise, a growing number of families, often citing concerns over cultural considerations, are opting for more ‘traditional’ institutions, in Africa, East Asia, and the Middle East, in preference to institutions in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Switzerland.
- Reputation and standing are not insignificant. The reputation and standing of a school shape and influence its character, the parents and pupils it attracts, and its position both regionally, and internationally. In particular, some of the schools best established in the Index continue to draw many generations of international families, demonstrating the extent to which they have retained the trust of alumni.
Further information about the composition of the panel is available here.
Top prep schools in the UK: some names to know
Thomas’ Battersea
- Focus: Kindness, encouragement
- City: London
- Day fees: $34,500–$39,000 (incl. VAT)
Thomas’s Battersea, part of the excellent Thomas’s day schools group in south and southwest London, was the school to which Prince George and Princess Charlotte were sent and remains the choice of many affluent West London families.
The most important rule at all their schools, the group says, is ‘be kind’, and the approach to teaching and learning emphasises thinking and questioning – something the school calls the ‘enquiry mindset’. This strategy equips children to adapt to and negotiate the future; develop resilience, curiosity and leadership; learn scholastic and societal skills; and discover how to apply their knowledge.
Read Thomas’ Batterseas full profile on spears500.com
Cothill House
- Focus: Tolerance, kindness, trust
- City: Oxfordshire
- Day fees: $31,700 (incl. VAT)
- Boarding fees: $48,700 (incl. VAT)
Situated in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside, Cothill House is a prep school for boys aged between 8 and 13. For 150 years Cothill House was solely for boarders, but under the leadership of new headmaster, George May, the school opened the door to day pupils for the very first time in September 2023.
The school is academically successful, and the class sizes are small, with an average of 14 boys per class. Cothill House routinely sends boys to destinations such as Eton, Harrow and Radley.
Read Cothill House School’s full profile on spears500.com
Hill House School
- Focus: Developing curious lifelong learners
- City: London
- Day fees: $26,200–$34,200 (incl. VAT)
This London prep caters to an international mix of pupils and has strong connections with its sister school in Switzerland. Hill House champions a ‘broad-based curriculum’ to encourage a ‘lifelong love of learning’ in its pupils. Notable former alumni include King Charles III and pop star Lily Allen.
Hill House is now the only London school in which the day-to-day administration of every aspect of the school remains in the care and control of the founding family, the Townends, with Richard Townend as head teacher. In 2024, Hill House students moved on to senior schools including Downe House, Brighton College and Eton.
Read Hill House’s full profile on spears500.com
Belhaven Hill School
- Focus: Courage, creativity and courtesy
- City: East Lothian
- Day fees: $19,000–$35,900 (incl. VAT)
- Boarding fees: $45,100 (incl. VAT)
Belhaven Hill School in East Lothian, one of only a few remaining boarding prep schools in Scotland, offers a traditional but nurturing environment for children aged 5 to 13.
Parents choose when their child begins to board, and the transition from day to boarding can be gradual. Once the switch is made, only full fortnightly boarding is available, so the child stays at school for two weeks at a time, with every other weekend at home. This is a deliberate choice intended to build routine while encouraging and fostering strong friendships between pupils.
Leavers go on to the top schools in the UK including Eton, Shrewsbury, Harrow and Winchester.
Read Belhaven Hill School’s full profile on spears500.com
The complete list of top UK prep schools
Find out more
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