A region of England
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. Attendance is close to the England figure.
London at a glance
How London's schools compare with England, area by area.
Councils run admissions, so this is the best way to narrow things down. Apply through the council where you live.
| Council | Schools and nurseries | First choice, primary | First choice, secondary | Secondary, another council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | 146 | 95.3% | 81.9% | 11.7% |
| Barnet | 301 | 86.1% | 72.7% | 19.3% |
| Bexley | 184 | 91.4% | 68.1% | 22.5% |
| Brent | 206 | 88.5% | 70.4% | 24.5% |
| Bromley | 276 | 87.7% | 66.3% | 16.4% |
| Camden | 160 | 81.5% | 73.7% | 29.2% |
| City of London | 13 | 73.9% | 65.2% | 100.0% |
| Croydon | 311 | 89.6% | 71.2% | 27.5% |
| Ealing | 238 | 90.2% | 73.0% | 17.5% |
| Enfield | 219 | 93.8% | 77.0% | 16.7% |
| Greenwich | 230 | 89.3% | 60.2% | 22.5% |
| Hackney | 215 | 88.1% | 74.6% | 11.5% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 154 | 74.6% | 64.5% | 28.9% |
| Haringey | 197 | 86.0% | 76.8% | 16.8% |
| Harrow | 176 | 86.6% | 65.6% | 23.6% |
| Havering | 220 | 91.5% | 74.7% | 11.2% |
| Hillingdon | 200 | 94.6% | 67.2% | 15.1% |
| Hounslow | 176 | 89.3% | 68.9% | 23.2% |
| Islington | 148 | 79.4% | 66.2% | 31.1% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 132 | 75.4% | 66.8% | 22.8% |
| Kingston upon Thames | 113 | 90.0% | 69.3% | 17.6% |
| Lambeth | 209 | 80.6% | 61.4% | 38.2% |
| Lewisham | 226 | 87.4% | 63.5% | 32.5% |
| Merton | 152 | 86.4% | 67.4% | 31.9% |
| Newham | 203 | 91.3% | 74.5% | 4.0% |
| Redbridge | 208 | 88.2% | 68.4% | 14.2% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 184 | 88.8% | 62.2% | 14.2% |
| Southwark | 221 | 84.3% | 72.1% | 16.2% |
| Sutton | 146 | 92.1% | 69.5% | 13.4% |
| Tower Hamlets | 192 | 92.6% | 79.1% | 10.6% |
| Waltham Forest | 179 | 90.6% | 79.5% | 13.6% |
| Wandsworth | 254 | 78.5% | 60.4% | 29.8% |
| Westminster | 146 | 82.4% | 65.8% | 25.3% |
88.4%got their first-choice primary school in London in 2026. England: 92.4%. 97.0% got one of their top three.8.2% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
70.4%got their first-choice secondary school in London in 2026. England: 83.6%. 89.6% 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.
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.
1,752 mainstream schools in London, best first
Results well above the England average.
48 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1190%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
58 first choices, 28 offers made
Met the standard at 1188%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
107 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1196%
England 62%
460 mainstream schools in London, best first
Orpington, BR6 9SH · State · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18 · Boys
Results well above the England average.
257 first choices, 128 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1685.0
England 46.2
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.
413 first choices, 215 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1686.8
England 46.2
3,316 in London, highest Ofsted grade first
London, SW6 3PR · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Muswell Hill, N10 1PR · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
London, N22 7AY · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
678 in London, by the school's Eduscope score
Orpington, BR6 9SH · State · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18 · Boys
Results well above the England average.
257 first choices, 128 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1685.0
England 46.2
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.
413 first choices, 215 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1686.8
England 46.2
278 in London. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Harrow, HA2 9DX · Academy · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Kingston upon Thames, KT1 2QZ · Academy · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Thornton Heath, CR7 7BN · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
508 in London. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
London, NW1 7AB · Independent · Primary · Ages 3 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
London, W4 1LY · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Independent school. Results well above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1656.7
England 46.2
London, W8 4PL · Independent · Secondary · Ages 13 to 21
Independent school. Results well below the England average.
Attainment 8 at 163.1
England 46.2
Pick a stage to see every London school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
344 Outstanding, 2,190 Good, 17 need to improve.
3,316nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
98% Good or better. 71% met the standard at 11.
2,321schools
Ages 11 to 16
101 Outstanding, 227 Good, 8 need to improve. 55% got grade 5 in English and maths.
972schools
68 Outstanding, 121 Good, 3 need to improve. About 6 pupils per teacher.
278schools
Here's how London's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
LondonEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 1,357 primaries with one.
98%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
328 of the 336 with a grade.
98%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
71%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
55%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
28%
Latest graded inspection for the 2,081 schools that have one.
97%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
London 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 | London | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 97% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 71% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 51.5 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.2:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £9,497 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 93% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 64% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 20% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 44% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 29% | 27% |
London has 6,335 schools and nurseries.
Pupil numbers are about the same as in 2018.
28% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in London's state schools each January.
Up 1% 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.
London28%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
London has 6,335 schools, including 2321 primary schools, 972 secondary schools, 3316 nurseries, 508 independent schools, 278 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in London on Eduscope are St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School, Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, Wilson's 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.
97% of inspected schools in London hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 552 schools rated Outstanding and 1463 rated Good.
Across primary schools in London, 71% 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 London is 17.2:1. 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 London is 17.5%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 1,267,587 pupils enrolled across schools in London, with 661,573 in primary and 593,171 in secondary. 29.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 508 independent schools in London. 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 London 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 6,335 schools in London 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.
