Private Schools in Barnet

We list more than 35 independent schools in Barnet, spread from Golders Green and Hendon in the south to Mill Hill, Totteridge and New Barnet in the north. Unlike Hampstead, most mainstream preps here are co-educational and finish at 11, so the 11+ is the key transfer point for most families.

The biggest single presence is the Mill Hill Education Group: Grimsdell for ages 3 to 7, Belmont for 7 to 13, Mill Hill School from 13 to 18, and Lyonsdown, a girls' prep in New Barnet. Other through-schools take different approaches: The King Alfred School is progressive, Dwight School London teaches the International Baccalaureate, and North London Grammar School in Hendon is selective.

More than a dozen schools on our Barnet list are Jewish faith schools, many of them single-sex and concentrated in Golders Green, Hendon and Edgware. They range from nurseries to secondary schools such as Pardes House Grammar, Menorah Grammar and Beth Jacob Grammar. Kerem School in Hampstead Garden Suburb is a co-educational Orthodox school from nursery to Year 6.

Grimsdell sits within the Mill Hill School grounds, and its children usually move on to Belmont at 7. Belmont's main entry points are 7+ and 11+, and it assesses with computer-based adaptive tests followed by group interviews and problem-solving tasks. It presents itself as part of a single route to Mill Hill at 13, but it does not say on its website whether transfer is automatic, so ask.

Hendon Prep is a co-educational school for 3 to 11 year olds in the Blenheim Schools Group, with an automatic transfer route to Mount House. Its leavers also go to schools including Habs Boys, Habs Girls, North London Collegiate, Highgate, Channing, South Hampstead, Merchant Taylors' and St Albans.

In Edgware, Holland House is a co-educational school for 4 to 11 year olds that calls itself academically selective and fills Reception through a 4+ assessment. Its 2025/26 leavers went to schools including Habs Boys, Habs Girls, North London Collegiate, Northwood College, St Helen's and Queen Elizabeth's School, a state boys' grammar.

Mill Hill also has St Martin's and Goodwyn, two co-educational preps whose pupils leave at 11. Around Golders Green and Hampstead Garden Suburb, Ivy House takes children from 2 to 11 and belongs to the Inspired Education Group, and Annemount, founded in 1936, is a nursery and pre-prep for children aged 2 to 7.

Several schools just outside the borough appear on Barnet preps' destination lists. North London Collegiate School in Edgware is a girls' school with entry at 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+ and a choice of A levels or the IB in the sixth form. Haberdashers' Boys' School in Elstree shares a campus with the girls' school and runs its own coaches.

To the south-east, Highgate School is co-educational with entry at 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+, and Channing in Highgate takes girls at 4+, 11+ and 16+. In Camden, South Hampstead High School and UCS are within reach of Golders Green and Finchley families.

Mill Hill School is co-educational, and 13+ is its main entry point, with around 180 pupils joining Year 9. Families who want an 11+ start apply to Belmont instead. At 13+, candidates sit computer-based tests in English, maths and reasoning, and take part in a group interview.

The King Alfred School is a co-educational school for 4 to 18 year olds with a progressive ethos. Pupils call teachers by their first names, and there are no entrance exams for early years entry. Reception is the main entry point, with more places at 11 and 16, and applicants join a waiting list after registering.

North London Grammar School in Colindale Lane, Hendon, is selective, with entrance tests, junior classes of no more than 16 and senior classes of no more than 24. Dwight School London teaches the IB Middle Years Programme in its Friern Barnet Lane senior school. Mount House in Hadley Wood is a co-educational senior school for 11 to 18 year olds with entry at 11+, 13+ and 16+.

Mill Hill takes around 50 to 70 new pupils at 16+ and teaches A levels, as does Mount House. Dwight is the IB option, with the Diploma Programme in its senior school, and North London Grammar offers a University Foundation Programme after GCSEs instead of a conventional sixth form.

Hendon also has independent sixth-form colleges. Brampton College teaches A levels and GCSEs, including one-year GCSE courses and A level retakes, and gives its average class size as seven. London Brookes College and Wentworth College serve students from 14 to 19.

Mill Hill is the main boarding option in Barnet. It offers day places, weekly boarding and full boarding to UK and overseas pupils, and has about 100 boarders among its 900 pupils. Weekly boarding lets London families keep weekends at home while avoiding a daily commute.

The Holmewood School London is a day school for pupils aged 7 to 19 whose primary diagnosis is autism and who are working at about the level of their mainstream peers. It has a lower school in Woodside Park, an upper school in Muswell Hill and a third site on East End Road, Finchley. It accepts placements funded through Education, Health and Care Plans, was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in May 2022, and holds Advanced Accreditation from the National Autistic Society.

Orange Tree School in Whetstone is a therapeutic secondary school for 11 to 19 year olds with social, emotional and mental health needs. Most places are funded by local authorities through EHCPs, and it admits pupils throughout the year. Where a local authority funds an independent place through an EHCP, it can reclaim the VAT on the fees.

For 11+ entry, most deadlines fall early in Year 6. King Alfred closes Year 7 applications at the end of September in the year before entry. Girls applying to schools in the London 11+ Consortium, such as South Hampstead, sit one shared test in late November or early December, followed by interviews in January. Many selective schools use the ISEB Common Pre-Test, an online, age-standardised test of English, maths and reasoning, which most schools set in Year 6.

Mill Hill's 13+ registration closes at the end of September, with assessments and an offers round in October. For Belmont at 7+ or 11+, expect an exam, an interview and a reference from your child's current school. Holland House assesses children for Reception at 4+, while King Alfred does not test for early years entry.

For sixth form, King Alfred's bursary deadline in 2026 is 27 October. Always check each school's own dates, because they change every year.

Since 1 January 2025, private school fees have carried VAT at 20%, although nursery schools are outside the rule. For 2026/27, a day place at Mill Hill costs about £33,600 a year, including VAT and lunch. Weekly boarding costs about £48,400 and full boarding about £57,900. King Alfred charges from about £24,500 a year in Reception to about £30,200 in the sixth form, including VAT but not lunch.

Bursaries are available but limited. King Alfred offers a small number of bursaries at Year 7 and sixth-form entry, and asks families to apply at the same time as registering. Mill Hill and Haberdashers' offer both scholarships and bursaries, and Highgate's means-tested awards can cover up to 100% of fees at 7+, 11+ and 16+. Hendon Prep publishes sibling discounts of 10% to 20%.

Barnet is large, and the journey matters as much as the school. Several schools run their own transport. The Mill Hill Express takes pupils aged 7 to 18 to Belmont and Mill Hill from Monday to Friday, although seats are not guaranteed and priority goes to families buying return fares.

Mount House runs two coach routes, one via Mill Hill and one via Enfield, plus an afternoon shuttle to Hadley Wood, Cockfosters and High Barnet stations. Haberdashers' in Elstree also has its own coach service. Dwight's junior and senior schools are on separate sites in Woodside Park and Friern Barnet, and Holmewood splits across three sites, so check which campus your child will attend before planning the route.