North America is home to some of the world’s most prestigious private schools, with institutions in both the US and Canada renowned for their academic excellence and focus on university preparation.
A clear geographical trend emerges among the top schools — 80 per cent are concentrated in New York and New England, the same region that houses all eight Ivy League universities. This close proximity is no coincidence, as many of these schools have a long history of preparing students for admission to the most competitive higher education institutions in the world.
These elite schools offer rigorous academic programmes, often including AP courses and IB. Beyond academics, they emphasise leadership, critical thinking and extracurricular achievement, ensuring students are well-prepared for both university and their future careers.
The 2025 Spear’s Schools Index highlights the top private schools in North America, selecting institutions that not only provide an exceptional education but also offer world-class facilities and opportunities for personal growth. Whether it is historic boarding schools or innovative institutions, these schools are known to shape the next generation of global leaders.
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- Methodology
- Top private schools in North America: some names to know
- The complete list of top private schools in North America
- Find out more
[See also: Introducing the Spear’s Schools Index 2025]
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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.
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 private schools in North America: some names to know
Ransom Everglades School
- Focus: Honour and integrity
- State: Florida
- Day fees: $52,000
In the words of Ransom Everglades School founder Paul C Ransom, students who attend the school ‘believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it’.
Based across two campuses in Miami, the school strives to develop students who pride themselves on their academic rigour alongside their morals. Its carefully curated curriculum is reflective of this; students are taught to be independent thinkers, capable of collaborating with others but confident enough to defend their own ideas.
Read Ransom Everglades School’s full profile at Spears500.com
Upper Canada College
- Focus: Transformational learning experiences
- City: Toronto
- Day fees: $30,000–$32,500
- Boarding fees: $54,200–$55,600
There must be something in the water at Upper Canada College, given that so many Olympic athletes have been educated there since it was established in 1829.
The school’s focus on ‘transformational learning experiences’ encourages boys in sporting excellence, rigorous academic debate and critical thinking. And at its 450-acre ‘second campus’, called the Norval Outdoor School, they attend overnight and day trips, working in groups to develop their outdoor skills and interpersonal relationships. By year 9, each student will have spent 11 weeks total ‘wilderness learning’.
Read Upper Canada College’s full profile at Spears500.com
The Taft School
- Focus: Educating the whole student
- State: Connecticut
- Day fees: $55,500
- Boarding fees: $75,300
The Taft School’s motto, Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret, (Not to be served, but to serve), crafted by the school’s founder, Horace Dutton Taft, 125 years ago, continues to shape the school and its ethos. The vast majority of the school’s student body are boarding pupils, in line with the founder’s belief that ‘a great advantage of boarding school is that it gives opportunities for students to get out of themselves’.
Set in a beautiful 226-acre campus in western Connecticut, the school’s facilities are state-of-the-art. They include a vast library, a 45,000-square-foot science and maths building, two theatres, two ice hockey rinks and an 18-hole golf course.
Read The Taft School’s full profile at Spears500.com
Riverdale Country School
- Focus: Mind, character, community
- State: New York
- Day fees: $57,100
Located across two campuses, Riverdale Country School is a co-educational, independent day school in New York City that educates children from pre-kindergarten through to 12th grade. Established in 1907, it aims to empower young minds and build a community ‘in order to change our world for the good’. The school is renowned for its academic excellence, while innovation and a culture of critical thinking are embedded in the school’s ethos.
The Riverdale experience blends interdisciplinary learning, research, travel and experiential education with athletics, extracurricular clubs and activities.
Read Riverdale Country School’s full profile at Spears500.com
The complete list of top private schools in North America
Find out more
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