Highgate School

Focus 

Individual curiosity and intellectual rigour

Day fees 2025/26

$43,300

Term dates

• Term 1: 1 September to 12 December 2025
• Term 2: 6 January to 27 March 2026
• Term 3: 20 April to 8 July 2026

Ages

11-18

Pupil count

1,312

Spear’s Review

Founded over 460 years ago in north London, Highgate is one of the UK’s leading co-educational independent schools. 

Highgate offers three schools in one, with a pre-prep, junior school and senior school that collectively cater to over 1,900 pupils aged between 4 and 18. The senior campus, attended by more than 1,300 students, is in close proximity to Hampstead Heath and combines modern facilities, such as a 200-seater auditorium, with the older Victorian buildings, including the chapel and library. 

Head Adam Pettitt firmly believes that schools should be a positive environment where pupils are both driven and happy. Highgate certainly does well academically, with students scoring well in their GCSE and A-Level exams, and matriculating at top universities in the UK and further afield.

Academics 

In 2025:

• 96 per cent of GCSE results were grades 7-9
• 80 per cent of A-Level results were A* or A

Head teacher

Adam Pettitt has been head of Highgate since 2006. He previously taught at the Norwich School, Abingdon School, Oundle School and Eton, and has a modern languages degree from the University of Oxford.

University and college destinations

Highgate School students go on to attend prestigious institutions in the UK, including Oxford and Cambridge (31 pupils in 2025). In 2025, 81 per cent of pupils were placed at Russell Group institutions.

They also have been accepted into institutions in the United States, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford, and universities in Europe, Canada, and other parts of the world, including ETH Zurich, University of Toronto and Sciences Po in Paris.

Admissions

The admissions process at Highgate School is selective, focusing on academic potential and personal character. New senior schools pupils typically enter at 11+ or 16+, joining a number of students moving from the junior school and senior school respectively. 

For Year 7 entry, students take exams in English, mathematics and non-verbal reasoning, followed by an interview. References and academic reports from the student’s current school are also required.

Sixth Form joiners must have 8s or 9s at GCSE level in the four subjects they want to study at A-Level, and an additional four 7s or equivalent. They also will attend interviews in each of the subjects nominated for their Sixth Form study. 

Notable alumni

• Sir John Betjeman (poet)
• Rev John Venn (inventor of the Venn diagram)
• Michael Mansfield KC (barrister)

Accessibility

Heathrow Airport: 1 hour

Location

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