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Schools in South West London & Surrey: The Complete Guide

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Everything parents need to choose the right school – by type, by area, and by stage

Navigating one of the biggest decisions you’ll make for your child

From prep to sixth form, day to boarding, there’s no shortage of choice across south west London and Surrey. That’s exactly what makes the decision so daunting. Drawing on years of covering local education, conversations with heads and admissions teams, and expert advice from consultants like The Good Schools Guide, we’ve pulled together everything you need in one place: how to weigh up your options, what to expect at each stage, and profiles of the schools shaping the region.

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Choosing & Deciding

Picking the right school is one of the biggest decisions a parent makes. With so many options across south west London and Surrey, it helps to break the decision down. These guides tackle the questions parents ask most: when to start looking, how to weigh independent against state, and how to handle key transition points like 11+ and sixth form.

For most families, the decision comes down to a handful of recurring questions, each worth thinking through on its own rather than all at once. Selective or non-selective touches on how a school assesses and admits pupils, and how much weight is placed on entrance exams versus a broader picture of a child’s potential. Single-sex or co-educational shapes the day-to-day social environment your child grows up in, and people land on different answers depending on their own experience and their child’s personality. Day or boarding is often more of a lifestyle question than an educational one, tied to family routine, commute, and how independent your child already is. And prep versus an all-through school changes how many transitions your child makes before they reach sixth form, with implications for friendship groups, settling-in periods, and how early you need to start planning the next step.

None of these questions has a universally right answer. What works for one family, or one child, may not suit another, even within the same household. The guides below are designed to give you a grounded, practical starting point on each of these questions, drawing on conversations with heads, admissions teams and independent education consultants who see these decisions play out for hundreds of families every year. Rather than telling you which choice is “best”, the aim is to help you work out which factors matter most to you and your child, so that when you do start visiting schools and reading prospectuses, you know what you’re actually looking for.

Start here:

Key transitions:

Expert advice:

Other factors to consider:

Schools by Type

Every family’s priorities are different: academic pace, single-sex or co-ed, day or boarding, or a specialist environment for a particular interest. Here’s our coverage grouped by the kind of school you’re considering.

Prep schools typically take children from around age two or three through to eleven or thirteen, and are designed to prepare pupils for entry into senior schools. Class sizes tend to be small, and the emphasis is often as much on building confidence and a love of learning as it is on academics. Many prep schools are feeders for particular senior schools, so it’s worth asking during visits where recent leavers have gone on to.

Senior day schools generally take pupils from eleven through to eighteen, though some, like the all-through schools featured below, admit from a much younger age and keep pupils on one site throughout. Day schools mean your child comes home every evening, which suits families who want to stay closely involved in school life and extracurricular activities without the logistics of boarding. Most offer a full range of GCSE and A-level (or IB) subjects, alongside sport, music, drama and other co-curricular options.

Girls’ schools remain a significant part of the independent sector in this region, and the case for single-sex education tends to centre on confidence-building, tailored teaching approaches, and a curriculum free from some of the social pressures of a mixed environment. Many now offer co-educational sixth forms even where the rest of the school remains single-sex.

Boarding options range from full boarding, where pupils stay at school for most of the term, to flexi and weekly boarding, which let families dip in and out depending on the week. Boarding can suit families with less predictable schedules, those living further from the school, or simply children who thrive with more independence earlier on.

Prep schools:

Senior day schools:

Girls’ schools:

Boarding options:

Schools by Area

South west London and Surrey cover a lot of ground. Here’s our coverage organised by where you’re based, so you can see what’s on your doorstep.

Location matters more in the school search than many parents expect at the outset. A school that looks perfect on paper can become a daily source of stress if the commute eats into homework time, sports fixtures, or simply the chance to see friends after school. For day pupils especially, proximity affects far more than just the morning run: it shapes which after-school clubs are realistic, how easy it is to arrange playdates or study groups, and how connected your family feels to the wider school community. Families with more than one child often weigh up whether a cluster of schools in one area makes logistics easier, particularly if siblings are likely to attend different schools for different stages.

For those considering boarding, distance works differently again. Many families choose a boarding school a little further afield specifically because the wrench of leaving home each week is softened by not being “just down the road,” while others prefer a school close enough that weekend visits are simple to arrange. Traffic patterns, train lines, and even which motorway junction a school sits near can end up mattering as much as the school’s academic reputation once you’re living with the reality of term-time logistics.

The area breakdown below groups our coverage by town, so you can quickly see which schools are realistically within reach of where you live, whether that’s a short walk, a bus ride, or a longer weekly commitment for boarding.

Wimbledon:

Surrey:

Battersea:

Sutton:

Surbiton:

Further afield (boarding):

What Parents Ask Us

When should we start looking at schools? For senior school entry, most families begin visiting and researching around a year to 18 months before the intended start date, but earlier for competitive 11+ or 13+ entry. For sixth form moves, start towards the end of Year 10 so you have time for open days and applications the following autumn.

What’s the difference between independent and state schools in this area? Independent schools charge fees and set their own admissions criteria, often including entrance exams or assessments. State schools are free and admissions are typically based on catchment area and published admissions criteria. Both routes are well represented across south west London and Surrey.

How does 11+ preparation work? Most 11+ preparation starts in Year 5, combining schoolwork with practice papers and, for many families, specialist tutoring. Our experts, including Sue Laidlaw, cover what to expect and how to prepare without overloading your child.

Should my child change schools for sixth form? Some pupils stay at their current school through to Year 13; others move for a wider subject choice, a change of environment, or a specific course. Our guide on Choosing a Sixth Form walks through the key factors.

Day school or boarding — how do we decide? It depends on your child’s independence, your family’s routine, and what you want from their week-to-week life. Several of our featured schools, including Queen Anne’s and Royal High School Bath, offer flexible day/boarding combinations if you’re not ready to commit to one or the other.

Time & Leisure magazine

Time & Leisure magazine began life in Wimbledon in 1997. Tony Kane founded a bi-monthly ‘Arts in Wimbledon’ title and it soon became a flourishing family business. His daughter Lucy Kane was one of the founding team and it became the local lifestyle magazine for Wimbledon and Putney. It was published from Tony’s home in Wimbledon for the first five years until Lucy took over the publication in 2002. She created the brand we are familiar with today and launched it into a monthly lifestyle magazine. She expanded the portfolio, launching new editions in Clapham, Battersea, Fulham, Kingston and Surrey as well as the website. It remains the number one lifestyle magazine for SW London and Surrey, delivered to high net worth residential homes every month.

Find out about advertising in Time & Leisure magazine: www.timeandleisuremedia.co.uk

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