A relocation guide to UK schools for families moving to London: ages and stages, state versus independent, catchments, entry points and where to live.

By Aldo Attanasio d’Aponte – September 9, 2026

UK schools explained for families moving to London

For most families who move to London, the school is chosen before the house, and the house is chosen because of the school. That is the right order. The British system is excellent and, to a newcomer, confusing: three names for the same kind of school, entry at unusual ages, a catchment rule that can turn on a single street. This guide sets out how it works and what it means for where you should live.

How is the UK school system structured?

Children in England start school in the September after their fourth birthday, in a year called Reception. From there the years are numbered: Year 1 at age five through to Year 13 at eighteen. The system is divided into stages.

• Early years and Reception: ages three to five, nursery and the first school year.
• Key Stage 1 and 2: ages five to eleven, primary school, ending with national tests at eleven.
• Key Stage 3: ages eleven to fourteen, the first years of secondary school.
• Key Stage 4: ages fourteen to sixteen, ending with GCSE examinations in around nine or ten subjects.
• Sixth form: ages sixteen to eighteen, typically three or four A-levels or the International Baccalaureate, which is the route to university.

Education is compulsory to eighteen, though after sixteen it may be an apprenticeship rather than school. The academic year runs from early September to July with three terms and long breaks at Christmas, Easter and through the summer.

What is the difference between state, private, public and independent schools?

State schools are funded by the government, free to attend and, for the most part, admit children on the basis of where they live. Independent schools charge fees and set their own admissions. The words “private school” and “public school” both mean independent school; the second is an old term for the grandest of them. Since January 2025 school fees have carried VAT at 20%, which took the cost of a London day school to somewhere between £25,000 and £40,000 a year per child, and boarding to £50,000 and beyond.

Within the independent sector, the structure that most confuses arriving families is the sequence of schools. Pre-preparatory schools take children from three or four to seven or eight. Preparatory schools take them to eleven or thirteen. Senior schools take them from eleven or thirteen to eighteen. The major entry points are therefore at four, seven, eleven and thirteen, and each involves an assessment or examination set by the school. A child arriving at nine, in the middle of a stage, will find fewer places than one arriving at a natural entry point; timing the move around the school calendar matters more than timing it around the property market.

What are catchment areas and why do they affect property prices?

A state school that is oversubscribed, which in London means every good one, allocates places by distance from the school gate. The area from which it admitted children in the previous year is the catchment, and in the denser parts of London it can be a few hundred metres. A family that lives on one side of a road may get a place; a family on the other side may not. The catchment shrinks when a school’s reputation rises and shifts as the population changes.

The effect on property is direct. Houses inside the catchment of a well-regarded state primary in Hampstead, Chiswick or Dulwich carry a premium that is, in practice, the capitalised value of several years of fees avoided. Some families buy for that reason alone. A buyer paying the premium should confirm the current admissions distance with the school, not rely on an agent’s assurance, because the line moves.

Independent schools do not have catchments, but London day schools may limit the distance from which they will accept pupils, and the practical reality of a school run in central London traffic imposes its own limit. Living within a twenty-minute journey of the school, ideally on foot, is the sensible aim.

How is a school’s quality judged?

State schools are inspected by Ofsted, the government inspectorate, which until recently gave a single overall grade from Outstanding to Inadequate. That grade has been replaced by a report card assessing several areas separately, so an older reference to an “Outstanding” school reflects the previous system. Independent schools are inspected by a separate body and reported in similar terms. Both reports are public and worth reading in full rather than by headline.

League tables based on examination results are published annually and are useful for senior schools, less so for primary. For a family arriving from abroad, the more reliable guide is often an independent education consultant who knows the individual schools, their entry standards and their character, and can say frankly where a particular child will be happy. We introduce clients to consultants we have worked with; it is money well spent and the search is easier once the school is fixed.

Which schools do international families in London choose?

Three routes are common. Families who intend to stay and want their children in the British system choose a preparatory school and then a London senior school, and the choice of school usually determines the neighbourhood: Kensington, Chelsea, Hampstead, Dulwich and Wimbledon each have clusters.

Families who expect to move again, or whose children arrive with limited English, choose an international school offering the IB or their home curriculum. The American School in London anchors the market in St John’s Wood, which is why that neighbourhood is so strongly American. The French lycée and the Italian and German schools anchor South Kensington and its surroundings. Living close to an international school is not just convenient; it places the family among others in the same situation.

Families with older children, or parents who travel constantly, consider boarding, either full or weekly. The great boarding schools are outside London, within an hour or two, and free the family to live wherever suits the parents’ work.

What does this mean for choosing where to live?

Fix the school, or the shortlist of schools, before viewing a single property. Then draw the map: catchment for a state school, a realistic journey for an independent one, walking distance for the international schools. Most families discover that the map is smaller than they expected and that the property brief follows from it. It is far easier to find a good house in a defined area than the perfect house in the whole of London.

I would add one practical note from twenty years of helping families arrive. Schools in London are full. A place secured for September is a reason to accept a rented home for a year and buy later; a house bought in June without a school place is a house in the wrong place. The school comes first.

Rates and figures correct at the time of writing; confirm the current position before relying on them.

How Arbitrage can help

At Arbitrage we act only for the family moving in, never for the seller or landlord. Our relocation service finds rental homes for individuals and corporate transferees around the school they have chosen, on a fee of around three weeks’ rent plus VAT on success, and our acquisition service finds and negotiates the house when the family is ready to buy. We introduce education consultants where they are needed and coordinate with the employer, the bank and the family’s advisers so that the move happens in the right order.

Frequently asked questions

At what age do children start school in England?

In the September after their fourth birthday, in a year called Reception. Nursery places are available from three, and many independent pre-preparatory schools admit at three or four.

Can international families use state schools in London?

Yes. State schools are free and open to any child resident in the area, subject to admissions rules based on distance. Good state schools in London are heavily oversubscribed, so living inside the catchment is essential.

How much do private schools in London cost?

Day fees at London independent schools are generally between £25,000 and £40,000 a year per child including VAT, and boarding can exceed £50,000. Extras such as uniform, trips and music add several thousand more.

When is the best time of year to move to London with school-age children?

Aim to arrive for the start of the academic year in September, having secured places in the preceding winter or spring. Mid-year moves are possible but places are scarcer and the choice of schools narrower.