Highgate School
11+ Admissions Guide 2026

Highgate School is an independent co-educational day school in the heart of Highgate village, London. Founded in 1565 by Sir Roger Cholmeley as a grammar school for boys, the school has grown over the centuries to include a pre-prep, junior and senior school, all governed as a single foundation. Girls have been welcomed since 2004, and the school operates across two sites within easy walking distance of each other. The school aims to offer a broad, intellectual education alongside rich opportunities for pupils to develop as people, through service, co-curricular activities and high-quality pastoral care. It encourages pupils to use their minds and voices to make a positive difference to the world around them. Pupils come from a range of professional, academic and business backgrounds, reflecting the local community. The school supports a number of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, providing help in the classroom as well as individually and in small groups. A number of pupils speak English as an additional language, with support available for those who need it. Very able pupils are stretched through extension tasks and wider challenges, including an academic programme for prize winners in the senior school.

Mobile phone use is prohibited during the school day for pupils in years 7 – 11, and no phones should be visible at any time. For pupils in years 12-13, devices can be used in the sixth form common rooms and, for essential educational reasons, in the library. Other personal electronic devices, such as smart watches, fall under the same rules as mobile phones.