Premier league. For families who value an outstanding 360-degree education soaked in tradition, and energetic boys happy to throw themselves into everything, Harrow ticks every box. Not the obvious choice for softer souls, individualists or disrupters. Turns out a close-knit tribe of polished, confident young adults whose hearts will always be on The Hill. In the words of one veteran mother, ‘I can put my boys in front of anyone and feel proud. Even the grungy 16-year-old.’
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 837 ·
- Sixth form numbers
- 354 ·
- Offers boarding
- Yes ·
- Religion
- C of E
- Fees
- £61,584 pa
- Local authority
- London Borough of Harrow

Headteacher
Head master
Mr Alastair Land
Since 2019, Alastair Land MA (Cantab), formerly head of Repton after three years as deputy head at Harrow. Educated at Manchester Grammar School and Trinity College Cambridge where he was awarded a first-class honours degree in natural sciences. The
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Learn what pupils and parents really think of this school, along with our expert opinion on the headteacher’s leadership style, the school’s academic results and facilities, the focus on pastoral care, and the range of extra-curricular activities.

Entrance
Are you sitting comfortably? Applicants to Harrow can be in for the long haul – even the registrar admits he arguably runs ‘the most complicated process of any boarding school’ – and we won’t beat around the bush, it’s the whole family under scrutiny
- Open days
- Check school website

Exit
Boys leaving after GCSEs is rare and almost all sixth formers off to university, usually with double figures to Oxbridge (11 in 2024). Around two-thirds head off to Russell Group. Imperial, UCL, Edinburgh, Durham and St Andrews all popular. Six

Latest results
The most we can get out of the school is that two-thirds of A level results in 2024 were A* or A and that over 90 per cent were A*-B. The last results we have are for 2021, when they achieved 95 per cent 9-7 at IGCSE; 80 per cent A*/A at A level (91
A level - Average points score (2024)
What is this?
These figures tell you the average grade and average points that pupils achieved in their academic qualifications. A maximum of 60 points are available for a grade A* at A level.

Teaching & learning
Not a ‘league table’ school – Harrow doesn’t believe in presenting a one-dimensional image of itself (for what it’s worth, we approve) – but we suspect that if it were, it would sit comfortably in the upper echelons, a few rungs below Eton and
- Qualifications taken in 2024
- A level
- GCSE

Learning support & SEN
Sector-leading SENDCo heads team of three learning support teachers, including two specialist assessors, with around 25 per cent of cohort under their watch. Boys with, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, ASD and ADHD are supported on an individual

Arts & extracurricular
With options so numerous it left us exhausted just hearing about them, it would be quicker to report what isn’t offered. Every second of the day is filled (‘We’re just getting going when we see pupils from other schools going home,’ school told us)

Sport
With 28 sports ‘done properly’, from the major (rugby, soccer, cricket) to fencing, fives, water polo and countless others, there’s no doubt that this is a phenomenal school for sporty boys and, arguably, the one to beat on the southern public school

Boarders
Full boarding. No day pupils and no flexi. Parents, pupils and OHs unanimous that the twelve houses are ‘like twelve different schools’, each with its own culture, atmosphere and fiercely loyal members, although school does a good job of bringing

Ethos & heritage
Harrow will surprise the uninitiated with its range of contradictions: fiercely traditional yet progressively outward-looking; unashamedly elite yet wholeheartedly inclusive; simultaneously conservative whilst unmistakably diverse. One of a dying

Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
Noted by parents as ‘a great sized school’ with a ‘cosy’ feel. The ‘well cared for’ ethos all starts in the house – a home from home where housemasters are very hands on, dictating the entire culture and ethos. New boys are given ‘shepherds’ – boys

Mobile phone policy
A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.
Mobile phone policy
Mobile phones should only be used in the boy's boarding house and at certain times specific to each year group.

Pupils & parents
What most surprised us was the down-to-earth feel. Social and ethnic diversity is palpable, with recent OHs telling us how strange they found the relative uniformity of ‘type’ when they went to university. Although school as a whole is founded on

Money matters
School franchised in Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Shanghai; all successful enterprises which fund generous bursaries at home and carefully monitored by Harrow. Harrow online launched in 2020, offering further access to a global audience. Huge
- Fee information
- £61,584 pa

The last word
Premier league. For families who value an outstanding 360-degree education soaked in tradition, and energetic boys happy to throw themselves into everything, Harrow ticks every box. Not the obvious choice for softer souls, individualists or
