State school

The Truth about Oxbridge Admissions

The universities of Oxford and Cambridge have received ample criticism about their admissions policies in recent years. In particular, journalists and campaigners alike point out that about 40% of Oxbridge places are offered to private school applicants, despite the fact that private schools only educate 7% of pupils in the country. This statistic is repeated Continue reading…

Harris Academy

More and more Harris Academies are opening up in and around London, so if you are based here and are looking into state secondaries schools, chances are that you have heard of Harris Academies. But what are they like? Who runs them and why? Are they as good as they sound? Harris Academies are run Continue reading…

King’s College Maths School – UK’s new number 1

There’s a new number 1 in the A-Level league tables, and it is not an expensive private school or a grammar school. It is the King’s College Maths School in Lambeth, London. A highly selective Sixth Form college founded by Highgate School’s former Head of Maths Dan Abramson, it was set up to emulate specialist Continue reading…

Tiffin Girls School

Tiffin Girls’ School, located in Kingston-upon-Thames, is one of the very few grammar schools within reach of Londoners, and as such, it is one of the hardest grammar schools in the country to get into. There are 900 girls at the school between the ages of 11 - 18. Since 2002, the school has a Continue reading…

Henrietta Barnett School

The Henrietta Barnett School is London’s most sought after and most oversubscribed grammar school. Admissions is fiercely competitive. More than 2,000 girls sit the first round entrance test in verbal and non-verbal reasoning in September. Only the top 300 are called back for a second round test in Maths and English. Only 93 Year 7 places Continue reading…