UK's best schools for 2023 unveiled - see if your kid's school is on the list
An all-boys school has beaten the most expensive private schools in the country to be crowned the best secondary of the year 2024 - did your kids make the cut?
Wilson’s School in Sutton, London, beat Eton, Westminster and Winchester after turning in stellar A-level and GCSE results to claim the Sunday Times Parent Power title.
The all-boys grammar school has 1,290 pupils and jumped eight places in the combined league tables this year from 11th in 2022. Wilson’s head teacher, Nathan Cole, said the students were “forged in the horrors of Covid”. She said the school’s determination to maintaining standards around welfare and lessons benefitted the students, helping them flourish.
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Lady Margaret School in Parsons green offers counselling for studentsMs Cole said: “The school took delivery of the curriculum [online during lockdowns] very seriously. It may look hilarious when you see 170 boys doing exercises and games on Zoom at the same time, doing all sorts of things with socks and oranges, but it tells you there is something very wrong with the world.”
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According to the Sunday Times, which uses its own criteria to judge schools, this is the first time that A-levels and GCSEs results have returned to pre-pandemic levels in England, with many of those that kept up high-quality lessons online during the pandemic reaping rewards this year.
The top schools in the state sector, which is typically dominated by selective grammars, have kept pace with private schools year-on-year, according to the publication. Of the 100 schools in the combined league table, three-quarters are fee-paying, 25 are state grammar school, with one more state school in the top 100 than last year.
The top 10 state secondaries in the southeast are all in the UK top 50 with Reading School topping that list and coming in eighth nationally making it the Southeast Secondary School of the Year. This boys-only state grammar has 1,139 pupils with some students offered board. Headmaster Ashley Robson said the school’s success is down to its mission to building the character of pupils.
It teaches kids “mental softness” over resilience, encourages a positive image of masculinity, and helps them to develop respectful relationships with girls. Kids also enjoy a trip to the Arctic Circle to build igloos and must learn to play a musical instrument.
London and southeast England continue to dominate but Northern Ireland has moved up the table with five schools. Selective grammars continue are the rule to success in the Midlands and the North with St Mary’s College, a mixed Roman Catholic secondary and sixth form in Hull taking the title of Comprehensive School of the Year 2024.
Our Lady and St Patrick’s College in Northern IrelandThe head of St Mary’s College, Maria Stead, said: “We firmly believe that no child should be left behind. All have a right to experience events such as symphonies and mock trials, alongside developing an understanding of the importance of positive activism in a world where there is not always peace and justice for all.”
However, state school face post-pandemic woes like funding cuts, crumbling buildings, low attendance and mental health issues related to lockdowns, which is pushing them further into the unknown.
Elizabeth Stephenson, head teacher at the London Comprehensive School of the Year, Lady Margaret School in Parsons green, said curriculum costs are rising every year. In the northeast, Durham Johnston Comprehensive’s head teacher Andrew O’Sullivan admits it isn’t easy. He said: “Poverty is the reason behind poor attendance. This is true across the country, but it is even more pronounced in the northeast because of long-term economic decline. For some families it’s easier for their children to be at home, there are issues around transport, around uniform. Families aren’t equipped to get children out and to school every day, that structure has declined for those families.”
Mr O’Sullican said relationships are what make schools successful, an approach Tina Graham from Kingsbridge Community College in South Hams agrees with. The principal, whose school jumped 55 places to become of the top 200 schools in the UK and the Sunday Times’ Southwest Comprehensive of the Year 2024, said: “It’s about really understanding what students need and empowering them to be instruments of change. It was sixth-formers who asked for the return of the house system, and sixth-formers are also house captains. They organise fundraising and 35 are trained in mental health support for younger students.”
Parent Power is widely renowned and holds more than 1,600 schools in its database. It gives parents the power to identify performing schools and includes links to school websites and inspection reports.
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Here is a breakdown of the top performing school ranked by the Sunday Times Parent Power 2024 survey.
The top secondary school for academic performance
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys
Secondary school of the year
Wilson’s School (grammar school for boys), Wallington
Comprehensive school of the year
Cheadle Hulme High School
Top independent school for academic performance
Withington Girls’ School, Manchester
Independent school of the year
King’s School, Chester
International Baccalaureate school of the year
Tonbridge Grammar School
BY REGION
East Anglia
Secondary School of the Year - Colchester Royal Grammar School
Comprehensive School of the Year - Impington Village College
Private School of the Year - The Perse School, Cambridge
East Midlands
Secondary School of the Year - The King’s School, Grantham
Comprehensive School of the Year - Landau Forte College, Derby
Private School of the Year - Leicester Grammar School
West Midlands
Secondary School of the Year - King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon
Comprehensive School of the Year - St Paul’s School for Girls, Edgbaston
Private School of the Year - King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham
London
Secondary School of the Year - Wilson’s School, Wallington
Comprehensive School of the Year - JFS, Harrow
Private School of the Year - St Paul’s Girls’ School, Hammersmith
The North
Secondary School of the Year for Academic Performance - Ripon Grammar School
Comprehensive School of the Year - St Mary’s College, Hull
Private School of the Year - Queen Ethelburga’s College, York
The Northeast
Comprehensive School of the Year - Durham Johnston Comprehensive School
Private School of the Year - Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Northwest
Secondary School of the Year - Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
Comprehensive School of the Year - Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Sixth Form College, Blackburn
Private School of the Year - Withington Girls’ School, Manchester
The Southeast
Secondary School of the Year - Reading School
Comprehensive School of the Year - St Andrew’s RC School, Leatherhead
Private School of the Year - Guildford High School
The Southwest
Secondary School of the Year - Pate’s Grammar School, Cheltenham
Comprehensive School of the Year - Kingsbridge Community College
Private School of the Year - Cheltenham Ladies’ College
Wales
Secondary School of the Year - Cowbridge Comprehensive School
Private School of the Year - Cardiff Sixth Form College
Northern Ireland
Secondary School of the Year - Lumen Christi College, Londonderry
Secondary School of the Year - Jordanhill School, Glasgow
Private School of the Year (Highers) - St Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh
Private School of the Year (A-Levels) - St Leonards, St Andrews
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