Private Schools in Merton

Houseroom lists 18 independent schools in Merton. The mainstream ones cluster in Wimbledon Village, around the Common and in Raynes Park: two large all-through day schools, King's College School and Wimbledon High School, plus a handful of preps and pre-preps. Further east, in Mitcham and Morden, the list is mostly specialist provision for children with special educational needs, alongside the IB school Liberty Woodland.

The sector is changing shape. King's, a boys' school with a co-ed sixth form since 2010, will admit girls at every entry point by 2035. Wimbledon Common Prep, which works in partnership with King's, becomes co-ed from 2027, Willington went co-ed in 2020, and The Study Prep has joined the Girls' Day School Trust, which also runs Wimbledon High.

Wimbledon families also look well beyond the borough. The prep leavers' lists here are full of schools in Kingston, Surrey, Putney and Hammersmith, so it helps to think of Merton as the centre of a wider south-west London and north Surrey market rather than a self-contained one.

Most Wimbledon preps now finish at 11. Donhead is a Jesuit prep that sends pupils on at 11 to a broad mix of schools; in 2026 its most common acceptances were Reed's, Epsom College, St John's Leatherhead, Tiffin Grammar and Hampton, and the year group won 32 scholarships. Willington takes girls and boys from 3 to 11 after switching to co-education in 2020; its last Year 8 class left in 2021 and its final boys-only Year 6 left in 2026, with recent leavers going to Dulwich, King's, Latymer Upper and St John's Leatherhead among others.

The Study Prep is a girls' prep for ages 4 to 11 in Wimbledon Village. Its recent move into the GDST means that girls starting senior school from September 2027 have an assured place at a GDST school, though it still advises on other senior schools. Its leavers regularly go to Wimbledon High, Putney High, Surbiton High, LEH, Notre Dame and Godolphin and Latymer, and to co-ed schools such as Epsom, Kingston Grammar, Emanuel and Ibstock Place.

Two pre-preps finish at 7. The Rowans is a co-ed pre-prep for ages 3 to 7 near Wimbledon Common and part of the St Paul's School Group. Wimbledon Common Prep, known as Squirrels, has taught boys aged 4 to 7 in partnership with King's and becomes co-educational from 2027. For entry at 7, the King's junior school takes around 54 pupils into Year 3, 14 into Year 4 and 12 into Year 5, currently boys only.

For a through-route, Wimbledon High's junior school takes girls at 4+, with Reception places allocated by ballot among families who have visited. Note that its junior girls sit the same 11+ as external candidates. Hall School Wimbledon is non-selective and runs from Year 3 to Year 13.

Just over the Wandsworth border, Prospect House is a co-ed 3 to 11 prep overlooking Putney Heath, and Ibstock Place in Roehampton is co-ed all the way through. Putney High School is the other nearby GDST girls' school.

To the west, the Richmond preps are a realistic option for families in Raynes Park and Kingston. King's House School in Richmond keeps pupils to 13, and Kew College Prep sends leavers to King's, St Paul's, LEH and Hampton among others.

King's College School is the borough's large selective senior school. It admits boys at 11+ and 13+, but both routes are decided in Year 6: candidates sit the King's own English, maths and verbal reasoning papers in December, interviews follow in December or January, and offers for both routes arrive in February. You must choose one route by the registration deadline. Girls will join at 11+ from September 2033 and at 13+ from September 2035.

Wimbledon High School is a GDST girls' school from 4 to 18 whose usual senior entry point is Year 7. Its 11+ has two stages: verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests in November, then a creative group assessment in January for those invited back, with a reference from the current school. It rarely admits into other years and does not take new pupils into Year 11 or Year 13.

Liberty Woodland in Morden is an IB World School running from nursery to sixth form, with the IB Middle Years Programme in the senior years and the Diploma in the sixth form. Hall School Wimbledon is non-selective and teaches through to A level, which suits families who want to avoid a competitive 11+.

Many Merton families also apply beyond the borough. Local prep leavers' lists include Hampton and Lady Eleanor Holles in Richmond upon Thames, Emanuel in Battersea, and Epsom, Reed's and St John's Leatherhead in Surrey. The state grammar route matters too: Donhead alone had five Tiffin acceptances in 2026.

King's has run a co-educational sixth form since 2010. About 400 students choose between the IB Diploma and A levels, and around 150 girls are in the sixth form. The 16+ registration deadline for September 2027 is 5 October 2026, with English, maths and general papers in November of Year 11 and no past papers issued.

Wimbledon High is an A-level sixth form. Applications for 2027 close at noon on 12 October 2026, with assessment and interviews on 14 November; the school expects grades 8 or 9 in the subjects to be studied and at least eight GCSEs at grade 6 or above. Liberty Woodland's sixth form follows the IB Diploma Programme.

Merton's list includes several specialist independent schools. Blossom House School, near New Malden, is a specialist day school for children with speech, language and communication difficulties, with therapies including speech and language and occupational therapy. Lavender Lodge in Mitcham, part of the Witherslack Group, is a specialist day school for pupils whose primary diagnosis is autism, often with ADHD, speech and language or sensory needs.

TCES runs therapeutic schools where pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs and autistic pupils are taught together. Jus'T'Learn is a registered independent alternative provision for 11 to 16-year-olds who have been excluded, have special educational needs or are new to English. Places at specialist schools are usually funded through an EHCP, so start with your local authority.

In the mainstream schools, King's says it welcomes applications regardless of disability or special educational need. Ask each school what support is included in the fees and how exam access arrangements work, and flag any needs before the entrance tests.

At 4+, Wimbledon High's ballot for Reception 2027 closed at noon on 25 September 2026; you must have attended an open event, the draw is in October and offers must be accepted by late November. King's junior-school registration for September 2028 opens in January 2027, and its 7+, 8+ and 9+ tests and interviews run in October and November before entry.

At 11+ for September 2027: King's registration closes on 2 November 2026, and Wimbledon High applications close on 3 November with reasoning tests on 17 and 18 November, results in early December, the creative assessment on 8 January and offers in February. If you are also applying to Richmond schools, Hampton's registration closes on 1 November and LEH's on 3 November. Neither Wimbledon school uses the shared London 11+ Consortium test.

The 13+ at King's is decided at the same time as the 11+, in Year 6, so there is no separate Year 8 scramble. St Paul's, which draws some Wimbledon boys, runs its 13+ pre-test in the autumn of Year 6 as well.

All figures are annual day fees including VAT, which has applied at 20% to independent school fees since 1 January 2025. The Wimbledon preps charge roughly £20,000 to £23,500 a year for the main prep years. Senior fees run from about £29,000 to £34,200 at King's and about £23,700 to £30,500 across the age range at Wimbledon High. Liberty Woodland is about £21,000 to £23,100 and Hall School Wimbledon about £21,100 to £26,000.

King's says it provides more than £1.5 million a year in means-tested financial support in the senior school, with awards of up to 100% of fees plus help with extras; families indicate at registration and an independent assessor reviews the finances. Wimbledon High's bursaries come through the GDST at Year 7 and Year 12 and can cover up to 100% of fees, plus help with uniform, lunches and travel. Its academic scholarships are usually worth 5 to 10% of fees.

Wimbledon station is the hub: South Western Railway runs to Clapham Junction, Waterloo, Surbiton and Kingston, Thameslink runs to the City, the District line runs to Earl's Court, and trams run to Croydon. From the station, King's is a short walk or a 93 or 200 bus ride up the hill to the Common.

King's also runs its own buses from Chelsea and Fulham, Barnes, Hammersmith, Ealing and Chiswick, Battersea and Tooting, Kensington, Sutton, Esher, Richmond, Kew and Kingston, arriving by 8.10am. Liberty Woodland runs a private minibus service from several London areas to Morden. Wimbledon High sits in the centre of Wimbledon and publishes a travel map for families.