Updated June 2026
If you are weighing a move from south west London to Surrey, schools are likely doing most of the heavy lifting in the decision. We see it every week with families across Battersea, Clapham, Wandsworth, Balham, Tooting and Earlsfield. The flat is fine, the commute is fine, but the local state catchment, the prep school choice or the secondary route has tipped the conversation. Surrey is the natural next move for many of these families, and the county's independent sector is one of the strongest in the country.
The landscape has shifted considerably since this guide first went live. Below is what families researching Surrey schools in 2025/26 actually need to know, including the most recent rankings, the major policy change, and how the schools map onto the parts of Surrey that absorb the most former south west London buyers.
The most important change to flag is the one no parent can afford to miss. From 1 January 2025, all education and boarding services provided by a private school or connected person are subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%, ending the sector's long-standing exemption. Anti-forestalling rules apply to fees paid or invoiced after 29 July 2024 for terms starting on or after 1 January 2025, so the option of paying upfront to avoid the change has closed.
Schools have responded differently. Some absorbed part of the cost through internal adjustments to pre-VAT fees, others passed the full 20% on. According to the Independent Schools Council, average private school fees rose by 23% between January 2024 and January 2025. As of April 2025, private schools in England with charitable status, around half of them, no longer receive the 80% relief on business rates, adding further pressure on fees over the medium term.
A few things are worth knowing before ruling any school out on cost. Bursary provision has expanded across the sector since VAT came in. The Treasury estimates the policy will generate £1.8 billion annually by 2029-30, and the legal challenges launched by the Independent Schools Council were dismissed by the High Court in June 2025. The policy is now settled. What matters is comparing schools on their post-VAT published fees and asking each one directly about bursaries and scholarships before making a final shortlist.
For the prep stage, we recommend talking to schools such as Feltonfleet in Cobham, Barfield in Farnham, or Amesbury in Hindhead, each of which feeds into the senior schools below. Honest advice from our side: prep choices are highly local and worth a separate conversation with whichever senior school you are aiming for, since most have established feeder routes.
For senior schools, these are the names that come up most often with families moving out from our patch.
Guildford High School was named Independent Secondary School of the Year in the Southeast in The Sunday Times Parent Power 2026 listings, ranking fifth nationally and as the top performing girls' school in the southeast. The school is a day school for girls aged 4 to 18 on the London Road in Guildford, with consistent academic strength: 90% of grades at 9 or 8 at GCSE and 85% at A* or A at A level in recent years. The school has ranked among the top ten in the country for the past 16 consecutive years. For families with daughters, it is the obvious first call.
RGS Guildford has been one of the country's most academically successful boys' day schools for five centuries, and is about to undergo its biggest change in that history. RGS Prep will admit girls into Nursery, Reception and Year 3 in September 2027, and RGS Senior will welcome girls into the Lower Sixth Form at the same time, with girls also admitted into the First Form in September 2028. Around 300 Oxbridge offers in the past decade still places it among the strongest academic schools in the country. Worth being clear with planning: if you have daughters and are looking at long horizons, RGS now becomes a viable option.
Founded in 1611 and set on a 250-acre campus just outside Godalming, Charterhouse is a fully co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged 13 to 18. Pupil numbers are around 800, most of them boarders. Strong academically, with notable depth in sciences, sport and the arts. Most families looking at Charterhouse are also looking at Godalming and the Waverley villages.
A co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged 11 to 18, on a 200-acre estate in the Harestone Valley. Caterham is consistently strong academically: 2025 A level results showed 64.4% at A or A* and 91.4% of GCSE grades at A or A*, and in September 2025 the school was shortlisted for the 2026 Tatler Schools Guide Awards for best public school in the country alongside Eton, Brighton, Canford and Gresham's. Caterham's current results are published in full on the school's own website and are worth checking directly before applying.
A co-ed day and boarding school for ages 13 to 18 in the Surrey Hills village of Cranleigh, with around 700 pupils across 280 acres. From September 2026, Cranleigh introduces three pathways for families: Day, Day Plus (with one or two nights at school per week at no extra cost) and full Boarding, which gives families more flexibility for those wanting the full breadth of the co-curricular programme without committing to seven nights a week.
Co-educational, day and boarding, ages 11 to 18, set on 72 acres in Epsom. The school was named Independent School of the Year by Tatler in 2022 and remains one of the most popular co-ed options for families moving along the Epsom Downs.
A day and boarding school with strong pastoral care in Cobham, boys aged 11 to 18 with a co-educational sixth form. Around 790 pupils, with girls in the sixth form, and a 2025 ISI inspection that highlighted highly effective personalised feedback. In 2025, 75% of GCSE grades were 9 to 7, with 51% of A level grades at A or A*.
A co-educational day school for ages 2 to 18, with around 1,000 pupils in the senior school. Academically selective, with a flexible curriculum that includes an extended three-year GCSE programme. The school has confirmed there will be no further adjustment to fees specifically for VAT, only the usual annual inflationary adjustment announced each March, which makes it one of the more transparent options on cost.
Worth knowing if you have not looked at it before. From September 2026, Sir William Perkins's School in Chertsey, founded in 1725, opens its doors to boys, with the school becoming fully co-educational by 2030. Academic and co-curricular results are strong, with around 80% of leavers going to Russell Group universities, and the school has a particularly well-regarded rowing programme.
A co-ed day and boarding school for ages 11 to 18 in the village of Mickleham near Dorking, offering both A levels and the International Baccalaureate. Smaller than most of the schools above (around 425 pupils), with a quarter of pupils boarding internationally, and a strong reputation for pastoral warmth and breadth of opportunity.
The most distinctive option on the list. A co-ed sixth-form-only boarding school near Dorking, set within 200 acres of the Surrey Hills, with a creative arts focus that is rare in the independent sector. Alumni include Emily Blunt and Hans Zimmer. For families with a child who is artistically driven, it is worth a look.
If a school looks unaffordable on the published fee, contact the bursar before crossing it off the list. Bursary provision has grown significantly since VAT came in, and most Surrey senior schools now offer meaningful support to families who would otherwise be priced out.
Means-tested bursaries can cover up to 100% of fees in exceptional cases. They are based on detailed financial disclosure and tend to be awarded on a combination of need and academic merit. Academic scholarships are separate and typically worth 5 to 10% of fees, awarded on entrance exam performance. Most senior schools also award co-curricular scholarships in music, art, sport and drama. Reigate Grammar's fee assistance programme and Epsom College's help with fees page are both good examples of clear, accessible information.
Sibling discounts are common, usually 5 to 10% on second and third children. Some schools offer larger discounts where parents work in specific professions (Epsom College's links to the Royal Medical Foundation are a good example). Bursary application deadlines for 2026 entry have already closed at several schools, so for September 2027 entry it is worth beginning conversations now.
Most Surrey senior schools close 11+ registration in the autumn term of Year 6, typically October or November. Most schools charge a registration fee, so check each school's admissions page. Entrance exams cover English and Maths, with some schools using ISEB Common Pre-Tests at 11+ and others setting their own papers. For 13+ entry, the Common Entrance Examination is widely used.
The single most useful thing you can do, beyond admissions paperwork, is attend Open Days at every school on your shortlist. Brochures, websites and league tables only get you so far. Families we work with consistently report that the school they ended up choosing was not the one they had pencilled in at the start of the process.
One question worth asking before committing to a private school budget. Surrey has a strong concentration of state grammar schools and high-performing comprehensives, including some of the best-performing state schools in the country. Most are accessed via the 11+ examination. The county also has strong commuter rail links from Woking, Guildford, Walton-on-Thames, Epsom, Ewell, Reigate and Redhill, which broadens the range of state catchments available to families willing to commute.
For some families, the right answer is a hybrid: state primary, independent senior. For others, it is the reverse. The fee comparison only really makes sense once you know what state alternatives are available where you would actually live.
This is the part of the conversation we tend to spend most time on with sellers from our patch.
Charterhouse draws families to Godalming and the surrounding Waverley villages, with Witley, Hambledon and Bramley all popular. RGS Guildford and Guildford High School pull buyers into the GU1, GU2 and GU3 postcodes around central Guildford, with the villages of Worplesdon, Shalford and Albury offering an alternative for families who want a little more space. Cranleigh draws to the village of Cranleigh itself and the surrounding Surrey Hills. Epsom College draws families to the KT17 to KT22 corridor, with Ashtead and Leatherhead also benefiting. Reed's School pulls strongly into Cobham and Oxshott, an area that has long been one of the most internationally connected parts of Surrey. Reigate Grammar draws to Reigate and Redhill, with their reliable London Bridge and Victoria commutes. Box Hill and Hurtwood House sit closer to Dorking, where the North Downs Line offers a sub-hour journey to Waterloo.
These are the areas where school-motivated demand is consistently strongest, and they tend to hold value more reliably through softer market periods.
If you are weighing a move from south-west London to Surrey, the property side of the equation matters as much as the school choice. School fees are one part of the budget. The price you achieve on your London sale is the other, and it determines what you can afford on the other side. As south-west London's independent estate agent, we know what your home is worth in today's market and how to position it for the buyers who are actively looking.
For more on the practical side of where to live, our companion piece on Surrey commuter towns covers Godalming, Dorking, Guildford, Epsom, Reigate, Walton-on-Thames, Woking and Redhill. For an honest view on what your home would achieve in the current market, book a free valuation or contact the team to talk it through.