Top Boys' Grammar Schools in London 2026
QE Boys Barnet, Tiffin School and Wilson's School — compared on entry, results and school culture.
QE Boys Barnet, Tiffin School and Wilson's School — compared on entry, results and school culture.
Checked October 2026
Tiffin School held its Stage One tests on 2 October 2026 and its Stage Two tests are on 12 November 2026. The Department for Education says Progress 8 cannot be calculated for 2024/25 or 2025/26. Sources: the schools' admissions pages and the DfE.
This guide compares three London boys' grammar schools: Queen Elizabeth's School Barnet (QE Boys), Tiffin School in Kingston and Wilson's School in Wallington. All three admit boys through entrance tests, and on its own figures Tiffin tested 1,866 boys at Stage One and offered 186 places initially for 2026 entry, about 10%.
| School | Year 7 places | Who sat the test | Test | Area rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QE Boys, Barnet | 180 | Combined score of 225 or higher to be eligible | Two multiple-choice papers, English and maths, in one session | No catchment; distance only separates tied scores |
| Tiffin School, Kingston | 180 (published admission number for September 2027; Tiffin's FAQs give an intake of 186) | 1,866 boys tested at Stage One; 186 offered (2026 entry) | Its own two-stage English and maths test, set with Quest; written papers at Stage Two | 10km Priority Area; no place outside it since 2019 |
| Wilson's School, Wallington | 186 | Shared Sutton SET across six schools | Sutton SET (multiple-choice English and maths), then written English and maths papers | No catchment; Sutton residence only separates tied scores |
Source: QE's admissions page and FAQs; Tiffin's Pattern of Admissions 2024-2026 and Admissions Policy 2027-28; Wilson's admission criteria and FAQs, retrieved 3 October 2026.
The table shows why the three schools suit different families: one is open to boys from anywhere, one is effectively limited to boys living within 10km, and one ranks every boy on score with only a tie-break for Sutton residents. If you are weighing these schools for your son, book a free consultation and we will talk through which tests fit where you live.
QE Boys says on its own site that it was named State Secondary School of the Year in The Sunday Times Parent Power guide for 2026, and that it tops that guide's state school rankings, which combine GCSE and A-level results. It is a selective, non-fee-paying school in Barnet with 180 Year 7 places. Entry depends on a single combined score from the school's own two tests; there is no catchment area, and distance from the school is used only to separate boys with the same score. A boy needs a combined score of 225 or higher to be eligible to be considered for admission.
At QE Boys, the school reported 44 offers from Oxford and Cambridge in February 2026, 29 from Cambridge and 15 from Oxford, and 202 over the past four years, and says on its own site that it also won the national awards for Academic Excellence and A-levels in The Sunday Times Parent Power guide. Fees are, of course, nil.
The entrance test is taken at the start of Year 6: for 2027 entry it ran on 16 and 17 September 2026, with each boy sitting a single session of two multiple-choice papers, one in English and one in maths. QE holds its own entrance test at the school. Henrietta Barnett School runs a separate two-round test. Registration for 2027 entry closed at noon on 8 July 2026. For a detailed guide, see our QE Boys Complete Guide.
Tiffin School in Kingston says on its own site that it is the #1 state secondary school in the UK for Oxbridge offers, citing a 2025 league table. Unlike QE Boys, Tiffin uses an area rule: apart from a boy with an EHCP naming the school, boys living within 10km of the school are ranked ahead of boys living outside it, and since the 10km Priority Area was introduced in September 2019 every place has gone to a boy living inside it. It is a straight-line radius, not a list of boroughs, so parts of several boroughs fall inside it and parts fall outside; measure your own distance before relying on it.
Tiffin's own figures show 1,866 boys tested at Stage One for 2026 entry and 186 places offered initially, about one offer for every ten boys tested, or 10%. The rate was about 11% in 2024 and 2025, when 1,654 and 1,675 boys were tested and 186 places were offered initially each year. The school works with Quest to set its two-stage test in English and maths: Stage One is multiple choice and marked by computer, and 665 boys were tested at the written Stage Two for 2026 entry. Tiffin reported its highest ever percentage of A* grades at A-level in 2026. Because places have only been offered to boys living within 10km since September 2019, the Priority Area is the first thing to check for a Tiffin application. For a detailed guide, see our Tiffin School Complete Guide.
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Wilson's School in Wallington, in the London Borough of Sutton, lists State Secondary School of the Year for GCSEs 2026 on its own site. It takes part in the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET) alongside Sutton Grammar School, Wallington County Grammar School, Nonsuch High School for Girls, Wallington High School for Girls and Greenshaw High School. Boys who pass the SET sit a second stage of written English and maths papers shared by Wilson's, Sutton Grammar and Wallington County, but each school decides for itself who has reached its standard, and Wilson's ranks boys on the SET and its two second-stage papers in a ratio of 1:2:2.
Wilson's has 186 Year 7 places. After any looked-after children, it keeps 14 places for boys eligible for free school meals and 9 each for boys who show aptitude in sport and in music, then fills the rest in rank order of score. The SET is shared by six schools. The school has a strong culture of academic achievement combined with broad co-curricular provision. For a detailed guide, see our Wilson's School Complete Guide.
Academic results: QE Boys says on its own site that it tops The Sunday Times' state school rankings for 2026, and it reported 44 Oxbridge offers that year; Tiffin says on its own site that it is the #1 state secondary school in the UK for Oxbridge offers, citing a 2025 league table. For most families, the choice is made primarily by geography and which tests their child can sit.
Geography: QE Boys has no catchment, so distance is used only to separate boys with the same score. Tiffin ranks boys within 10km of the school first and has filled every place from inside that radius since 2019. Wilson's is in Wallington and uses distance only to separate boys with the same score. QE Boys in Barnet and Wilson's in Wallington sit at opposite ends of London, while Tiffin and Wilson's are both within reach of families in Sutton and Merton.
Examination: QE Boys' entrance test is two multiple-choice papers, in English and maths; Tiffin works with Quest to set its two-stage English and maths test, with written papers at Stage Two; Wilson's uses the Sutton SET, a multiple-choice test of English and maths, followed by written English and maths papers. All three tests are in English and maths. Each has its own registration and its own dates, so a boy can sit all three in the same autumn: for 2027 entry, the SET was on 15 September 2026 and QE's test on 16 and 17 September 2026, while Tiffin's Stage One was held on 2 October 2026 and the Wilson's second-stage examination was held on Saturday 3 October 2026. Preparation overlaps heavily because all three test English and maths, but the written papers at Tiffin and Wilson's reward accurate written answers that a multiple-choice paper does not, and Tiffin's English paper includes longer written answers.
School character: All three are academically demanding, and the differences families describe between them are matters of feel that no published figure captures. Visit each school's open events before deciding, and ask current parents how the school handles pastoral care and co-curricular life.
The right target depends on where you live and what your child's strengths are. Here is a practical framework:
If you live in North London (Barnet, Finchley, Enfield, Haringey, Camden, or nearby), QE Boys is the natural primary target for a boy, and Henrietta Barnett School is its equivalent for a girl. The two schools run separate tests on different dates, so a family with a son and a daughter needs to register for each; for 2027 entry, QE's test requests closed on 8 July 2026 and applications to Henrietta Barnett have closed.
If you live in South West London within 10km of Tiffin School, it is the natural first-choice target; beyond that radius it has offered no place since 2019. For boys in Sutton specifically, Wilson's and Wallington County Grammar are additional strong options via the SET.
If your son is exceptionally able and you live further away, QE Boys has no catchment, so it is open to him wherever you live. Tiffin is not: it has offered no place outside its 10km Priority Area since 2019. Wilson's uses Sutton residence only to separate tied scores, so boys from outside the borough can win places, though its admissions FAQ advises that a boy's journey should not be more than an hour.
Preparation strategy depends on which tests you are targeting. For QE Boys, preparation should focus on multiple-choice English and maths under time pressure from Year 5, with full mock exams in the summer before Year 6, since the test itself falls in mid-September. For Tiffin, add written English and open-answer maths for Stage Two; the school does not publish past papers, only illustrative questions. For Wilson's, practise the SET's multiple-choice English and maths, then the written second-stage papers, which are not multiple choice and run to between 45 minutes and an hour each.
At Leading Tuition, we have specialist tutors for all three examination formats. We can prepare boys for multiple schools simultaneously and run integrated programmes that cover all the relevant papers efficiently. Book a free consultation to discuss your son's application strategy.
Queen Elizabeth's School Barnet says on its own site that it was named The Sunday Times State Secondary School of the Year 2026, and Wilson's School lists State Secondary School of the Year for GCSEs 2026 on its own site. The field at Tiffin keeps growing: it tested 1,866 boys at Stage One for 2026 entry, up from 1,654 for 2024. Yet many families make avoidable errors that cost their sons places. The most common is beginning preparation too late. A single term of intensive tutoring before the September exams is rarely enough for schools like QE Boys. Starting structured practice in Year 4 gives two full years to build up mathematics, reading and writing incrementally.
A second major mistake is neglecting exam-specific question styles. QE Boys' entrance test is two multiple-choice papers in a single session, while Tiffin School's Stage Two papers require hand written answers rather than options, so accurate written answers matter. Practising with the wrong paper format creates false confidence. Tiffin does not publish past papers, only illustrative questions, so parents should use each school's own sample material where it exists, equivalent practice where it does not, and make sure their son sits timed mocks under realistic conditions. Equally, many pupils under-prepare for extended writing: Tiffin's Stage Two and the Wilson's second stage both include a written English paper. Writing cannot be improved by reading alone — it requires repeated, timed practice with feedback on every piece. Aim for at least one full mock examination per month from the spring of Year 5, always reviewing mistakes before the next session.
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On results data, the Department for Education's Key stage 4 performance release covers academic year 2024/25. It says it is not possible to calculate Progress 8 for academic years 2024/25 and 2025/26, so there is no current Progress 8 figure for any school. Its next release is listed for October 2026. The Compare school and college performance service is due to close, with a new service from autumn 2026.
Reviewed October 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against Queen Elizabeth's School, Tiffin School, Wilson's School, Henrietta Barnett School and Tiffin Girls' School admissions pages and policies, and the Department for Education's Key stage 4 performance release.
Yes, but a Tiffin application needs careful thought if you live outside its 10km Priority Area, since Tiffin has offered no place outside it since September 2019. The tests are entirely separate: QE Boys' entrance test is two multiple-choice papers in English and maths on 16 and 17 September 2026, while Tiffin's two-stage test, set with Quest, has Stage One on 2 October 2026 and written Stage Two papers on 12 November 2026. Each has its own registration deadline; for 2027 entry, QE's closed at noon on 8 July 2026 and Tiffin's at noon on 1 September 2026. Preparation for the two overlaps significantly, particularly in maths and English, and a well-structured programme can cover both from Year 5.
QE Boys reported 44 offers from Oxford and Cambridge in February 2026, 29 from Cambridge and 15 from Oxford, and 202 over the past four years. Tiffin School says on its own site that it is the #1 state secondary school in the UK for Oxbridge offers, citing a 2025 league table. These are the schools' own statements, and they cover different years, so they are not a like-for-like comparison. For families for whom Oxbridge progression is a primary criterion, both are worth a close look. If you are weighing QE against Tiffin or Wilson's for your son, book a free consultation and we will go through the choice with you.
Neither school has a catchment area. QE Boys admits boys by score, using distance only to separate boys with the same score. Wilson's, after any looked-after children, keeps 14 places for boys eligible for free school meals and 9 each for sport and music aptitude, and fills the rest in rank order of score; living in the London Borough of Sutton counts only when two boys have the same score. Its admissions FAQ does advise that a boy's journey should not be more than an hour.
QE Boys Barnet, Tiffin School and Wilson's School are all strongly academic schools: QE says on its own site that it was named State Secondary School of the Year in The Sunday Times Parent Power guide for 2026, and Wilson's lists State Secondary School of the Year for GCSEs 2026 on its own site. The best choice depends on geography (QE Boys and Wilson's have no catchment, while Tiffin ranks boys living within 10km of the school first), each school's admissions rules, and cultural fit. QE reported 44 Oxford and Cambridge offers in February 2026, and Tiffin says on its own site that it is the #1 state secondary school in the UK for Oxbridge offers, citing a 2025 league table.
Yes. The three tests fall on different dates at the start of Year 6: for 2027 entry, the Sutton SET was on 15 September 2026 and QE's test on 16 and 17 September 2026, while Tiffin's Stage One was held on 2 October 2026 and the Wilson's second-stage examination was held on Saturday 3 October 2026. All three test English and maths, so preparation overlaps significantly. Families can name all three on the local authority secondary school application, but each school has its own registration and deadline, set in the summer before Year 6 or at the very start of it: for 2027 entry, QE's closed at noon on 8 July 2026, the SET's at midnight on 31 July 2026 and Tiffin's at noon on 1 September 2026.
QE Boys has no catchment area: it ranks boys by score, using distance only to separate tied scores. Tiffin School ranks boys living within 10km of the school first, apart from a boy with an EHCP naming the school, and since that Priority Area was introduced in 2019 no place has gone to a boy outside it. Wilson's School has no catchment either: living in the London Borough of Sutton counts only when two boys have the same score. So distance decides a place at Tiffin, but at QE and Wilson's it matters only at a tie.
When choosing a tutor for Top Boys' Grammar Schools in London 2026, the most important factors are subject expertise at the relevant level, familiarity with the specific examination format, and a structured teaching approach. A good tutor should begin with a diagnostic assessment to understand your current level, set clear goals, and provide measurable feedback after every session. Checking reviews from other students and families is also useful.
Tiffin's own admissions figures show 1,866 boys tested at Stage One for 2026 entry and 186 places offered initially, about one offer for every ten boys tested, or 10%. The rate was about 11% for 2024 and 2025 entry. The count includes every boy tested, wherever he lives, and since 2019 every place has gone to a boy living within the school's 10km Priority Area.
Leading Tuition provides specialist preparation for London's most competitive boys' grammar schools, including Queen Elizabeth's School Barnet, Tiffin School, Wilson's School, Sutton Grammar School, and Wallington County Grammar School. Different schools use different examination formats — QE Boys' own multiple-choice papers, Tiffin's own two-stage test, or the Sutton SET and its second stage — and our specialist tutors prepare boys for all of these exams. We work with boys from Year 4 through to the examination, building reading and writing depth, mathematical fluency, and exam technique. To build a preparation plan matched to your son's target schools, book a free consultation at leadingtuition.co.uk/consultation or message us on WhatsApp.
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