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When it comes to choosing a school to send your little ’un to, there are so many things to take into account. How high is the quality of teaching? Is the syllabus well-rounded? What are the facilities like? How many top grades does that school get at GCSE and A-level?
Aiming to sift through all that is the Sunday Times Parent Power guide. The report is generally viewed as the most prestigious UK schools ranking around, and the 2025 edition was published last week.
As always, the Times’ list of the nation’s top schools is dominated by grammar and private schools. But what if you don’t want to put your kid through the stress of entrance exams nor pay through the nose for education?
Fortunately the Sunday Times also indicates which schools in its Parent Power list are comprehensives, meaning they don’t require an exam to get into. And London’s comps had a strong showing in this year’s list, with many placing higher than expensive private schools.
Harrow’s JFS was the top ranking comp within the confines of London, coming 252nd overall. Founded way back in 1732, JFS was previously known as Jews’ Free School and later Jewish Free School. It’s now in the borough of Brent and you can find out more on the official school website here.
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The second-best London comprehensive in the Sunday Times list was JCoss (Jewish Community Secondary School) in Barnet, which came 275th, while third was the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Holland Park in 288th.
Also worth a mention is Dame Alice Owen’s School, which sits just on the M25 in Potters Bar and has many London students. DAO isn’t fully comp but ‘partially selective’, with 37.5 percent of students getting in by test. Dame Alice came 112th.
Here are the top 10 full comprehensive state schools in the 2025 Sunday Times Parent Power Guide.
London’s top 10 comprehensive secondary schools for 2025
- JFS, Harrow
- JCoss, Barnet
- Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, Holland Park
- Hasmonean High School For Girls, Mill Hill
- Mossbourne Community Academy, Hackney
- Lady Margaret School, Parsons Green
- The London Oratory School, West Brompton
- Waldegrave School, Twickenham,
- Alexandra Park School, Muswell Hill
- St Mark’s Catholic School, Hounslow
Elsewhere in the list, London also scooped prizes for both highest-ranked private school (St Paul’s Girls’ School) and selective school (The Henrietta Barnett School).
You can find the Sunday Times’ top 10 comprehensive state schools in the UK and 10 best private schools, plus see the Sunday Times’ full list here.
School applications with Time Out
The deadline for applying for the 2025-26 academic year might’ve closed, but it’s never too early to start thinking about which school to send your kids to. On Time Out we’ve recently covered how one London private school has been crowned the UK’s best by Ivy Education, this list of London’s best schools based on 2024 GCSE and A-level results and the capital’s top primary schools.
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