11th September 2024
If you are thinking about moving to Surrey in the near future and are wondering about finding an area with the best school for your child, this article might just be for you!
The good news is that Surrey has an abundance of fantastic schools! Compared to neighbouring counties such as Kent, Surrey doesn’t have a large number of Grammar schools – which are selective but non-fee paying - but whether you are looking at Primary or Secondary, Independent or State schooling for your child, there are certainly plenty of excellent options.
Below is a list of some of the best schools that Surrey has to offer:
Ripley Court School: Independent, Co-ed, Aged 3-11 years
Ripley Court School is an independent prep school, catering for boys and girls aged 3-11years old. The school is set in 19 acres of grounds, including state of the art teaching facilities, swimming pool, forest school and extensive playing fields. The school offers easy access from many of the larger towns, for example Woking and Guildford and currently runs a bus for children attending from areas including Walton on Thames.
South Farnham School: Co-ed Primary School, Aged 4-11 years
South Farnham School stands on an attractive 7 acre site. In 2009 the school became a National Support School, in 2011 a National Teaching School and in 2020 a Teaching School Hub. For many years they have been one of the highest performing schools in the country and nationally recognised as a leading school.
The Raleigh, Horsley: Co-ed Primary School, Aged 4-11 years
The Raleigh School is a popular two-form entry co-educational primary academy in the semi-rural village of West Horsley, near Guildford. The school was graded “Outstanding” by Ofsted in 2017 and remained “Outstanding” in it’s 2024 inspection.
Guildford High School, Guildford: Independent Girls Only, Day Pupils Only, Aged 11-18 years
The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide, widely acknowledged as the definitive guide to the highest achieving schools in the country awarded Independent Girl’s school, Guildford High, as 'School of the Year' amongst all schools nationally based on 2023 GCSE results.
Charterhouse, Godalming: Independent Co-ed, Day and Boarding, Aged 13-18 years
Charterhouse school provides a co-educational curriculum for boys aged 13-18. One of the oldest schools in the country, the school is set in 250 acres of grounds of green space and historic buildings. According to The Times League Tables, Charterhouse was the highest-ranking Independent Boys only School in Surrey in 2023.
Reeds School, Cobham: Independent Boys Only (Girls admitted for Sixth Form), Day and boarding Pupils, Aged 11-18 years
Reeds is an independent day and boarding school for boys aged 11-18 years old, with girls joining in the sixth form. The school achieves consistently high academic results, with 78% of pupils achieving grade 7-9 (A/A*) for GCSE in 2023. The quality of pupil’s personal development was also graded as “excellent” by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2022.
Claremont Fan Court School, Esher Independent, Co-ed, Day pupils Only, Aged 2.5-18 years
Children can join the Early Years setting at Claremont Fan Court from as young as 2.5 years old and the schools caters for pupils all the way through to sixth form. As a day only school, most pupils live within a ten-mile radius of the school, predominantly north Surrey or South West Surrey.
King Edwards School Witley Independent, Co-ed, Day and Boarding, Aged 11-18 years
The school is situated on an impressive 100 acre site, within walking distance to Witley train station. With around 25% of pupils boarding, the school offers a healthy mix of day and boarding and has a number of international students, but the large majority of pupils travel daily from the surrounding areas of Godalming, Farnham, Guildford, Haslemere and Woking. Flexi-boarding is offered on an ad-hoc basis. As well as achieving good academic results, the school offers an array of extra-curricular activities and prides itself in turning out confident, well-rounded pupils.
Weydon School, Farnham Comprehensive, Co-ed, Aged 11-16 years
Weydon School in Farnham was placed 6th in the country for ‘state secondary schools with no or new sixth forms’ and was placed first for those within Surrey within the Times’ League. In 2023, an impressive 88% of Weydon students passed 5 GCSE’s including Maths and English at grades 4-9, 43% of students received 5 or more GCSE’s at grades 7-9 (A/A*) and 46.8% of all GCSE’s taken were graded 7-9 (A/A*).
St Andrew's Roman Catholic School, Leatherhead Comprehensive, Co-ed, Aged 11-18 years
Another appearing high on the list for Surrey’s Comprehensive Schools with Sixth Forms was St Andrew's Roman Catholic Secondary school and Sixth form college in Leatherhead for pupils aged 11-18. This co-educational school not only topped the rankings for academic performance but also boasts an ‘Outstanding’ ranking from Ofsted.
Guildford County School, Guildford Comprehensive, Co-ed, Aged 11-18 years
Guildford County School is another very popular co-educational Comprehensive school, rated 'Outstanding' in their most recent Ofsted Report, and caters for boys and girls from 11-18 years old. As with most Surrey Comprehensives, admissions for admissions into Year 7 work on a set of criteria including residential address. Located just 200m from Guildford Town Centre, the catchment for this over-subscribed school is very tight and it can come down to the street or even the number at which you live! We have helped a number of clients to find their perfect home within this tight catchment area for their desired school.
As local Property Finders, Surrey HomeSearch support families looking to move to Surrey. We will assist you on your journey to find the perfect property within the right location for your chosen school. We can also advise on catchment areas or point you in the direction of specialist education consultants who can help you through the school application process. If you are looking to move to Surrey and would like to discuss your search, please do get in touch. For a confidential chat about your property search, please call Surrey HomeSearch on +44 1483 905160 or email info@surreyhomesearch.co.uk.