Private Schools in Wandsworth

Our directory lists close to 40 independent schools in Wandsworth, and most of them are prep and pre-prep schools. They fall into three rough clusters: Battersea and Clapham, the streets around Wandsworth Common, Balham, Earlsfield and Tooting, and Putney and Roehampton. There are far fewer senior places, so many Wandsworth children change borough at 11 or 13.

The three main senior schools in the borough are Emanuel School in Battersea (co-educational, 10 to 18), Putney High School (girls, 4 to 18) and Ibstock Place School in Roehampton (co-educational, 3 to 18). Smaller options include London Park School Clapham (11 to 16) and Thames Christian School near Clapham Junction (11 to 18).

The choice that shapes most families' plans is between preps that finish at 11 and preps that run to 13. The 13+ preps send a large share of pupils to boarding schools outside London. The 11+ preps mostly feed south London day schools, several of them in Southwark, Lambeth, Croydon and Merton rather than Wandsworth itself.

Near Wandsworth Common, Hornsby House School and Finton House School are both co-educational, finish at 11 and say they are non-selective at Reception. Hornsby House offers Reception places in order of the child's age at registration, so it recommends registering soon after birth. Of its 63 leavers in 2026, the most went to Alleyn's (13), Streatham & Clapham High (9), Whitgift (9) and Emanuel (7). Finton House's 2026 results show 12 acceptances at Alleyn's and 7 at Whitgift, with smaller numbers going to Epsom, St John's Leatherhead and Ibstock Place.

Broomwood teaches boys and girls together in its pre-prep from age 3 to 7, then separates them into Broomwood Prep – Boys and Broomwood Prep – Girls from Year 3 to Year 8. Pupils leave at 11+ or 13+. Its 2025 list records 100 leavers, 331 offers and 35 destination schools. The most offers came from Cranleigh, Hurst, Woldingham and Streatham & Clapham High, with many more from Marlborough, Charterhouse and Bradfield.

On Clapham Common, Eaton House The Manor runs a co-educational nursery, a boys' school to 13 and a girls' school to 11. Most of the boys stay until 13. In 2025 the largest groups went to Eton (7), Dulwich College (6), Whitgift (5), St Paul's (4) and Brighton College (4), and one boy won the King's Scholarship at Westminster.

In Battersea, Newton Prep (3 to 13) has its main entry points at Nursery, Reception and Year 3, where it runs four classes, and a smaller intake into Year 7. Pupils leave at 11 or 13, and the school reports 221 offers from 38 schools in 2026. Thomas's Battersea (3 to 13) has a Reception year of 66 pupils in three classes and also takes pupils into Years 7 and 8, and Thomas's Clapham also runs from 4 to 13. Families can apply to only one Thomas's prep.

In Putney, Prospect House School (3 to 11, part of Dukes Education) lists St Paul's, King's College School Wimbledon, Godolphin & Latymer and Latymer Upper among its destinations. The Merlin School is a non-assessing pre-prep for ages 3 to 8, and its children move on to prep schools at 7 or 8. The Roche School in Wandsworth town is family-owned, non-selective and runs to age 11.

For families in Southfields, Earlsfield and Tooting, Wimbledon is the obvious alternative. Willington School (3 to 11) has been co-educational since 2020, and Wimbledon High School admits girls into its junior school at Reception.

West of Putney, over the river in Barnes, St Paul's Juniors takes boys from 7 to 13 on the St Paul's School site, and The Harrodian School is co-educational for ages 4 to 18. Both are a short journey from Putney but are in Richmond borough.

Emanuel School has four entry points. At 10+ it takes 48 pupils in two forms of 24. At 11+ Year 7 has 144 pupils in six forms, and 48 of them move up from the school's own Year 6, which leaves 96 places for outside applicants. Candidates sit maths, English and verbal reasoning papers in late November, and many are then invited to an interview and a group exercise in January.

Emanuel's 13+ entry works differently. Children register and sit the tests in Year 6 for a deferred place in Year 9, there are 14 to 16 places, and families must choose between 11+ and 13+ rather than apply for both.

Putney High School is part of the Girls' Day School Trust and admits at 4+, 11+ and 16+. At 11+ girls take the school's online maths and English assessment in the autumn of Year 6, and registration opens at the start of the summer term of Year 5. Ibstock Place School, on the edge of Richmond Park, has its main intakes at 3+, 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+, and has occasional places in most other years.

London Park School Clapham takes two forms at 11+ and adds a third at 13+. It does not set its own written exam; it asks for existing test data such as CAT4 scores or the Wandsworth test, then invites candidates to a Discovery Day. Thames Christian School has around 200 pupils, admits at Year 7 and into the sixth form, and describes itself as running small classes rooted in Christian values.

Look beyond the borough boundary too. On the local preps' own leavers' lists, Alleyn's, Dulwich College and JAGS in Southwark, Streatham & Clapham High in Lambeth, Whitgift and Trinity in Croydon, and King's College School and Wimbledon High in Wimbledon all appear regularly.

All three main senior schools teach A levels. Emanuel takes about 25 to 30 new students into Year 12. It looks for an average of grade 7 or above at GCSE, plus the grades set for each A-level subject, and tests maths, English and reasoning in early November. Ibstock Place asks for at least 59 points from a candidate's best nine GCSEs, including grade 6 in English Language and maths. For 2027 entry, Ibstock's registration closes on 2 October 2026 and its assessment day is 12 October.

Putney High invites selected 16+ applicants to interviews and scholarship assessments in early November. London Park School Clapham finishes at 16, and its students move on to the group's sixth form, LPS Sixth, near Victoria. Thames Christian School also takes students into Year 12.

None of the schools in our Wandsworth list takes boarders. In this borough, boarding matters mainly as a 13+ destination. Boarding schools such as Cranleigh, Marlborough, Charterhouse, Eton and Brighton College feature heavily in Broomwood's 2025 list and in Eaton House The Manor's leavers' tables. Families who want that route usually choose a prep that runs to Year 8.

Chelsea Hall School in Earlsfield, part of Cavendish Education, is a day school for children aged 4 to 11 with mild to moderate, and sometimes multiple, learning needs. Classes have six pupils, and therapy is built into the school day. Centre Academy London on St John's Hill in Battersea takes about 50 students aged 11 to 19 with needs including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, speech and language difficulties and anxiety. It groups students by ability rather than age, usually in classes of 4 to 10.

Burlington House School, which specialises in dyslexia and dyscalculia, has opened a senior campus under the name Burlington House School, Tooting, on Garrads Road just over the border in Lambeth (SW16). It is starting with Years 7 to 9 and teaches towards GCSEs. BeyondAutism runs Park House School and Tram House School for autistic pupils, each with a personalised curriculum and one-to-one support based on behaviour analysis.

Among mainstream preps, Finton House describes itself as inclusive and non-selective. Where a local authority names an independent school in a child's Education, Health and Care Plan and pays the fees, it can reclaim the VAT on those fees.

Reception places are settled early. Hornsby House ranks registrations by the child's age when registered. Thomas's Battersea runs play-based group assessments in the autumn a year before entry, and Newton Prep assesses Reception candidates in the September and October of the year before. For 7+ entry in 2027, Newton's Year 3 assessments are on 11 and 12 January 2027.

For 11+ entry in September 2027, most registrations close in October 2026. Emanuel's deadline is 16 October 2026. Its exam is on 27 November, interviews are on 16 January 2027 and results go out on 11 February. Ibstock Place's senior school registration closes on 31 October 2026.

Many schools now use the ISEB Common Pre-Test. It is an online adaptive test taken in Year 6 or Year 7, and schools can use it for 11+ entry or for a deferred 13+ place. The 2026–27 testing window runs from 1 September 2026 to late May 2027.

In practice, shortlist senior schools in Year 5 and note every registration deadline by the summer term. Expect 11+ offers in mid-February of Year 6, with acceptances due in early March.

VAT at 20% has applied to independent school fees since 1 January 2025. The figures here are annual day fees including VAT. Prep fees range widely, from under £19,000 at Wandsworth Preparatory School and The Eveline Day School, through about £22,600 to £24,200 at Hornsby House, to about £33,200 at the Thomas's schools. Newton Prep and Broomwood reach about £31,500 to £31,800 in the oldest year groups. For senior schools, allow about £31,400 at Emanuel, £30,500 at Putney High, £32,000 at Ibstock Place and £30,500 at London Park School Clapham.

Bursaries are means-tested, and what each school offers varies widely. Emanuel offers fee assistance of up to 100%, which also covers uniform and meals, and it can top up a scholarship with a bursary. Ibstock Place offers bursaries only from 11+ upwards, and says a typical recipient household has an income under £70,000. Putney High says almost one in five of its pupils has a bursary or scholarship, and Thomas's Battersea offers bursaries for entry into Years 7 and 8.

Clapham Junction is the borough's rail hub. Emanuel is about 10 minutes' walk from the station and Thames Christian School about two minutes. Emanuel's nearest Tube is Clapham Common, which is a 35 or 37 bus ride away. Chelsea Hall School is within walking distance of Earlsfield station.

Coach services widen the practical catchment of two senior schools. Ibstock Place runs a minibus shuttle from Barnes station, plus coach routes that include Wandsworth, Earlsfield and Southfields, and Clapham and Battersea Rise. Putney High runs four routes with Vectare, including one from Wimbledon via Southfields and one from Richmond via Barnes. Check the route maps before ruling a school out on distance.