Highgate School

Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, was founded in 1565 by Sir Roger Cholmeley — a former Chief Justice — under a charter granted by the Bishop of London. For four centuries it operated as a boys-only foundation, becoming fully co-educational in 2004. Today it educates approximately 1,950 pupils across three integrated schools on its historic island site in Highgate village: a Pre-Preparatory (ages 4-8), a Junior School (8-11) and a Senior School (11-18). The Senior School sits at the heart of the academic offering, with sixth-form A-Level grades placing Highgate consistently in the upper tier of London independent day schools (recent A-Level cohort reported 66% AAB+ attainment).

Highgate is one of twelve member schools of the Eton Group, a self-selecting consortium of historically leading English boys' (now mostly co-educational) public schools. It is also a member of the HMC and IAPS. Religious affiliation is Church of England, and the foundation's wider charitable work includes founding sponsorship of the state London Academy of Excellence Tottenham and the Chrysalis Partnership supporting 26 state schools across six London boroughs.

Academically the school's specialisms blend rigour with cultural breadth. STEM provision is exceptional — the school introduced aeronautics as a subject in 1928 with a Sopwith Snipe and Avro 504K on site — and classical music is a defining strength (composer John Rutter, violinist Daniel Hope and the late Sir John Tavener all attended). Drama and film carry equal weight: Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper, actor Freddie Highmore and writer Nigel Williams are among Old Cholmeleians.

Most famously, T. S. Eliot taught at Highgate after 1916 — one of his pupils was the future Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. The school's literary lineage runs through Gerard Manley Hopkins, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (originally buried in the school chapel) and Sir Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill. The headteacher since 2006 is Adam Pettitt.