London’s 10 best primary schools in 2024, according to the Times

Most of us don’t remember much of our primary school years beyond vague flashes of angry teachers, scuffed knees, and the excitement of getting to do Christmas crafts instead of maths. Despite that, your primary years are hugely important in your development and they can really set you up for life if they’re done right. 

Because of that, parents are often a bit picky about where they send their children to primary schools. Not everyone gets their first choice, but if you are the type to move mountains for your little ones you’ll probably want to know where exactly you should be fighting for, and lucky for you the Times has ranked the top 500 primary schools in England. And London schools absolutely dominate the list. 

Five hundred may sound like a big number, but when you consider the fact that there are actually over 16,000 (yes, with three zeros) primaries in the country, all of them start to seem pretty desirable. To create the ranking, the paper calculated average SATs scores in English, grammar, and maths, and then created an overall average to find the school’s position. Two thirds of the top-performers were in the south of England, with a pretty high concentration in the capital.

Of the UK-wide top 10 – the absolute crème de la crème – four are in London. That’s nearly a 50 percent ratio. Not too shabby. The top 10 primary schools in London, as well as their local authorities, were as follows:

London’s 10 best primary schools in 2024

1. Hampden Gurney CofE Primary School – Westminster
2. St Stephen’s Primary School – East Ham
3. St Andrew’s Roman Catholic Primary School – Streatham 
4. Judith Kerr Primary School – Southwark
5. St Stephen's CofE Primary School – Shepherd’s Bush, Hammersmith and Fulham
6. Akiva School – Finchley, Barnet
7. Our Lady of Lourdes School – Wanstead, Redbridge
8. Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School – Camden
9. St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School – Willesden, Brent
10. St Luke's CofE Primary School – Kingston upon Thames

Well done to all the schools who placed, which you can have a look at the full list on the Times website here. 

Secondary schools with Time Out

Now you know which primary school to send your little ’un to... but where next? Read about how two of the UK’s best private schools are in London (according to the Telegraph), England’s best private school is in London (according to Ivy Education) and these are London’s best state schools according to 2024 exam results. Plus, a London school was nominated for ‘world’s best school 2024’. 

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