A council (local authority) in London
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are above England, and results at 16 were above England in 2026. Fewer pupils miss a lot of school than across England.
Barnet at a glance
How Barnet's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
92 mainstream schools in Barnet, best first
London, N20 8NX · State · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Results well above the England average.
35 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1193%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
115 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
215 first choices, 113 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
25 mainstream schools in Barnet, best first
Results well above the England average.
432 first choices, 192 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1687.1
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
215 first choices, 113 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
177 first choices, 127 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1678.1
England 46.2
134 in Barnet, highest Ofsted grade first
London, NW11 7EN · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
London, NW7 1QT · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
London, N12 8NY · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
44 in Barnet, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
432 first choices, 192 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1687.1
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
215 first choices, 113 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
177 first choices, 127 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1678.1
England 46.2
11 in Barnet. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
London, NW7 3HS · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
London, N20 0DH · Special · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
London, N2 0QY · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
34 in Barnet. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Edgware, HA8 8TP · Independent · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
London, NW11 7SX · Independent · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
London, N20 9AR · Independent · All-through · Ages 8 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Barnet is a London borough with 92 mainstream primary schools and 25 mainstream secondary schools. It has 3 grammar schools, which choose pupils by a test. Faith schools are common, with 73 in the area, and they can put families of their faith first when they're full. Independent schools are common too, with 34 in the area.
From Barnet council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: 020 8359 7651
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
86.1%got their first-choice primary school in Barnet in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 142 of 151 councils. 96.8% got one of their top three.11.6% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
72.7%got their first-choice secondary school in Barnet in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 128 of 151 councils. 89.2% got one of their top three.19.3% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
1 of 26 primary appeals heard in Barnet succeeded in 2025. 40 of 196 secondary appeals heard in Barnet succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Barnet school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 99 inspected are Good or better.
134nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
99% Good or better. 72% met the standard at 11.
123schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 21 inspected are Good or better. 65% got grade 5 in English and maths.
55schools
All 8 inspected are Good or better. About 6 pupils per teacher.
11schools
Here's how Barnet's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
BarnetEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 75 primaries with one.
99%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
21 of the 21 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
72%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
65%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
16%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
22%
Latest graded inspection for the 120 schools that have one.
94%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
Barnet in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Barnet | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 94% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 72% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 56.9 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 16% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 16.8:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £9,235 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 95% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 67% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 18% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 48% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 23% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 302, ONS code E09000003.
Barnet has 301 schools and nurseries.
There are 6% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
22% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Barnet's state schools each January.
Up 6% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Barnet22%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Barnet has 301 schools, including 123 primary schools, 55 secondary schools, 134 nurseries, 34 independent schools, 11 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Barnet on Eduscope are Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, St Andrew's CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School, Totteridge, Ashmole Primary School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
94% of inspected schools in Barnet hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 27 schools rated Outstanding and 86 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Barnet, 72% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Barnet is 16.8:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Barnet is 15.6%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 61,184 pupils enrolled across schools in Barnet, with 29,250 in primary and 31,533 in secondary. 22.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 34 independent schools in Barnet. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Barnet on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 301 schools in Barnet by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
