Choosing a school in London is genuinely complicated. Different school types, confusing data, competitive admissions and a process that moves fast. This guide explains everything — from school types and key stages to Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and what to actually look for when you visit.
School choice in London can feel overwhelming. The most important thing is to start with the basics: how old is your child, and what year will they be starting school? This determines whether you need a primary place (Reception, age 4-5) or a secondary place (Year 7, age 11).
For Reception applications, you need to apply in the January before your child starts. If your child turns 4 between 1 September and 31 August of a given year, they start Reception in September of that year. The deadline is 15 January — missing it significantly reduces your chances of getting a preferred school.
For secondary school, the deadline is 31 October of Year 6. Start researching at the beginning of Year 6 (or ideally Year 5) to give yourself time to visit schools.
Before researching specific schools, answer these three questions:
1. What is my realistic catchment area? In London, popular schools can have catchment radii as small as 200-500 metres. Check how far your home is from the school — not as the crow flies, but by the route Google Maps uses. Many councils publish last year's admissions distances on their websites.
2. What type of school suits my child? Different children thrive in different environments. Some children benefit from smaller class sizes, structured environments, or faith-based ethos. Others do better in progressive, creative schools. Ofsted ratings matter, but they don't tell you everything about school culture.
3. What does the data actually say? Ofsted ratings, KS2 scores, FSM percentages and progress scores together paint a much more complete picture than any single metric. This is what ofsted.london is built for.
Funded and managed by the local council. Admissions are handled by the local authority using standard criteria (siblings, distance, looked-after children). Most admit pupils from their local area. These are the most common type of primary school in London.
Former community schools that converted to academy status, usually because they were already high-performing. They operate independently of the council but still follow the national curriculum and are inspected by Ofsted. Academies set their own admission criteria, though most use similar distance/sibling criteria to community schools.
New schools set up by parents, teachers, charities or businesses, funded by the government but independent of local authority control. Some are excellent; others have had difficulties. Check the Ofsted rating carefully — a "Not yet inspected" free school is a genuine unknown.
Around a third of all state schools in England have a religious character — Church of England, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu or other faiths. Faith schools often require evidence of religious practice (church attendance, baptism certificate) as part of their admissions criteria. The threshold varies enormously — some CoE schools require no faith evidence at all, while popular Catholic schools may require years of regular Mass attendance. London has some exceptional faith schools across all traditions. See our faith schools guide for details.
Selective state secondary schools that admit pupils based on the 11-plus exam. Most of London has no grammar schools — they are concentrated in outer areas like Barnet (partial selection), Kingston and Sutton (Nonsuch, Wallington). Competition is intense and preparation typically starts in Year 4 or 5.
Schools specifically for children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans — formally diagnosed special educational needs. Admission requires an EHC plan issued by the local authority. If your child has significant additional needs, contact your council's SEND team early as places are limited and the process takes time.
Age 3-5. Nursery (age 3-4) is optional but free for 15-30 hours per week. Reception (age 4-5) is the first compulsory year of school. The EYFS curriculum is play-based and focuses on communication, physical development, literacy and numeracy foundations. Ofsted inspects Reception as part of the overall school inspection.
Age 5-7. Phonics screening check in Year 1 (pass mark is 32/40). National tests in Reading and Maths at the end of Year 2, though these are teacher assessed since 2023. Children should be reading independently by the end of Year 1 and confidently by Year 2.
Age 7-11. The most scrutinised phase because national SATs at the end of Year 6 produce the published KS2 scores. The headline figure is the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined (RWM%). The national average is approximately 60-65%. Higher-performing London schools typically score 70-85%+.
Progress scores measure how much pupils improved relative to similar pupils nationally, regardless of starting point. A school with a low attainment score but high progress score is adding significant value — often a better indicator of teaching quality than raw attainment.
Secondary school, age 11-14. No national exams. Schools use their own assessment and reporting. This is when the ethos and culture of a school becomes most visible — pastoral care, breadth of subjects, extracurricular activities. Parents should ask secondary schools specifically how they stretch more able pupils and support those who are struggling.
GCSE years, age 14-16. The published secondary school performance data (Progress 8 and Attainment 8 scores) covers this phase. Progress 8 is the key metric — it measures improvement across 8 subjects from the end of primary school. A positive score means the school adds value; a negative score is a concern.
Since September 2024, Ofsted uses a new framework (OEIF) that no longer gives a single overall effectiveness grade. Instead, schools are rated across five areas: • Quality of education • Behaviour and attitudes • Personal development • Leadership and management • Early years provision (where applicable)
Each area is graded Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate. Schools inspected before September 2024 still show their historic overall grade. For newer inspections, look at the individual area grades — a school rated Outstanding across all five areas is performing exceptionally.
Outstanding (1): The school significantly exceeds national expectations and its pupil outcomes are substantially above average. Around 12-15% of London schools are Outstanding.
Good (2): The school meets Ofsted's high standards for teaching, behaviour, leadership and outcomes. The vast majority of London state schools are Good. A Good school is a genuinely good school — don't dismiss it.
Requires Improvement (3): The school needs to improve in at least one significant area. Ofsted will re-inspect within 30 months. A school rated RI is not necessarily a bad school — many are mid-improvement and performing better than the rating suggests.
Inadequate (4): The school is failing in fundamental areas. Ofsted will either place it in "special measures" or issue a "serious weaknesses" notice. Re-inspection happens within 8 months. Avoid unless you have a specific reason (e.g., your child needs a place and this is the only nearby option during an improvement journey).
An Outstanding rating from 2015 tells you much less than a Good rating from 2024. Schools change — leadership teams move on, pupil demographics shift, and new frameworks emphasise different things. Always check when the school was last inspected. A school with a 10-year-old Outstanding grade that hasn't been re-inspected is an unknown.
Also note: Outstanding schools were exempt from routine inspection between 2012 and 2022. This means some Outstanding ratings are very old. Ofsted has been working through these schools since 2022, and some have been downgraded.
PRIMARY SCHOOL (Reception): • September: Applications open via your council's website • 15 January: Application deadline (HARD deadline — do not miss this) • 16 April (National Offer Day): Places offered • End of April: Accept or decline your offer • 16 May: Deadline to accept your offer
SECONDARY SCHOOL (Year 7): • September of Year 6: Applications open • 31 October: Application deadline • 1 March (National Offer Day): Places offered
You can apply for up to 6 schools on most councils' forms. Apply for your genuine preferences — do not game the system by listing "safe" schools you don't want.
When a school receives more applications than places, they use oversubscription criteria to decide who gets in. The most common order is:
1. Looked-after children (children in care or previously in care) — always first 2. Children with EHC plans naming the school — always second 3. Siblings (brother or sister already at the school) 4. Medical or social need (requires supporting evidence from professionals) 5. Faith criteria (for faith schools — baptism, church attendance records) 6. Distance from the school gate (measured as straight-line distance)
Distance is the most common final criterion. In over-subscribed areas of London, even criterion 3 (siblings) is not guaranteed — always check the school's published admissions policy.
Community schools don't technically have "catchment areas" — they have distance-based admissions. The last-admitted distance (published by councils each year) tells you how far the furthest child admitted lived. If the last-admitted distance is 400 metres, you need to live within 400m to have a realistic chance.
These distances change every year based on birth rates, housing patterns and sibling cohorts. A school might have a 500m last-admitted distance one year and 300m the next. Use historical distances as a guide, not a guarantee.
1. Accept the offered place (don't leave your child without a school) 2. Go on the waiting list for your preferred schools (position is based on the same criteria as initial allocation) 3. Appeal if you have grounds — medical need, sibling, error in the admissions process 4. Consider whether the offered school might actually be good once you visit
Most parents who visit schools they initially didn't want find they're better than expected. Ofsted ratings are one data point. The actual school matters more.
• Ofsted rating and date — check when it was inspected • KS2 RWM% — how many pupils met expected standard • Progress scores — are pupils improving more or less than similar pupils nationally? • FSM% — proportion on free school meals; high FSM + good Ofsted = genuinely impressive • 3-year rolling KS2 average — more stable than a single year's result • EAL% — proportion with English as additional language; context for attainment
A school with 65% FSM, Good Ofsted and 70% KS2 RWM is performing significantly better than a school with 10% FSM and 72% KS2 RWM. Context matters.
Visit every school on your shortlist before applying. Things to look for:
• How do pupils move around the school? Controlled chaos or calm purposefulness? • How do teachers speak to children? Warm but boundaried? • How does the head teacher speak about underperforming pupils — with concern and a plan, or defensiveness? • Are displays recent and meaningful, or are they aged? • How are children who clearly find things difficult being supported in lessons? • What happens at lunchtime and break time? This is often more revealing than a formal tour.
Ask specifically: What is the school's approach to reading? What support exists for children who struggle? What is the behaviour policy?
• What was last year's last-admitted distance? (For primary) • What is your approach to the curriculum — do you use a specific scheme? • How do you communicate with parents — what can I expect? • What additional activities do you offer? • How does the school handle bullying? • What results did Year 6 achieve last year in KS2? • For secondary: what is your Progress 8 score? What is the year 7 transition process?
The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, used as a proxy for socioeconomic deprivation. A school with high FSM% serves a more disadvantaged community. High attainment at a high-FSM school is a strong signal of excellent teaching. Very low FSM% schools may have high attainment partly because of pupil demographics rather than teaching quality.
Pupils who speak a language other than English at home. High EAL schools often have strong language support infrastructure. In London, EAL percentages above 40-50% are common in many boroughs. EAL pupils who are fluent in English often perform at or above average — EAL% alone is not a negative indicator.
Children with additional learning, communication, emotional or physical needs. Schools are required to make reasonable adjustments. Children with complex needs may have an EHC (Education, Health and Care) plan which entitles them to specified support. If you think your child may have special educational needs, contact the school's SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) early.
Progress scores compare how much pupils improved from KS1 to KS2 relative to similar pupils nationally. A score of 0 is exactly average. Positive = pupils improved more than expected; negative = less than expected. Scores above +2 are excellent; below -3 are concerning. Progress in reading, writing and maths are reported separately.