Harrow School

Sport at the Heart of Harrow Life

Sport at Harrow is not optional — afternoon games take place five times per week, and over 30 different sports are offered across the school's extensive grounds. The sports estate includes:

• Acres of playing fields for cricket, rugby, and football
• A floodlit all-weather AstroTurf pitch
• An indoor swimming pool
• A 9-hole golf course
• 12 tennis courts and 6 rackets courts
• Multiple fives courts (a game invented at Harrow)
• A modern gymnasium and sports centre

Key sports include rugby, football, cricket, athletics, fencing, judo, boxing, water polo, rowing, sailing, shooting, basketball, hockey, squash, and equestrian activities.

Music: An Exceptional Programme

Harrow's music programme is one of the most extensive of any school in the country. Named ensembles include:

• Byron Consort — the school's elite vocal ensemble
• Chapel Choir — approximately 60 voices performing major choral works
• Big Band — a jazz ensemble with a repertoire of around 40 titles
• Concert Band — approximately 80 players
• Jazz Ensemble, Pipe Band, Senior Brass Ensemble
• String, Wind, and Symphony Orchestras
• Rock and Pop Bands — performing in termly concerts

The Music Production Society also meets regularly to record and release music to the school community.

Arts, Drama, and Creative Life

The Rattigan Society is Harrow's senior drama club, producing major annual theatrical productions. A junior drama club introduces younger boys to acting, while the Theatre Production Crew offers technical roles for those interested in behind-the-scenes work. The Fox Talbot Society runs photography, and the Old Speech Room Gallery hosts art exhibitions.

Academic and Leadership Clubs

The intellectual life of the school is animated by dozens of academic societies:

• Model United Nations (MUN) — participating in national and international conferences
• Debating Society — preparing boys for inter-school competitions
• Astronomical Society — using the school's on-site observatory
• Alexander Society (military history), Peel Society (history and politics), Evans Society (ancient history)
• Philosophy Society, Turing Society (code-breaking), Brabazon Society (aviation)

Service and Adventure

• Combined Cadet Force (CCF) — with Army, Navy, and RAF sections
• Duke of Edinburgh's Award at Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels
• Amnesty International — campaigning on human rights issues
• Marmots — a mountaineering and outdoor adventure club
• Fly Fishing, Coarse Fishing, Sub-Aqua (scuba diving), and Motorsport Society

This extraordinary breadth of activity reflects Harrow's conviction that a complete education cannot be achieved through academics alone — and that every boy, whatever his passion, should find it nurtured on the Hill.

A Highly Selective Process

Harrow admits approximately 160 boys each year at Year 9 (age 13), making it one of the more selective full-boarding schools in England. A smaller cohort of 15–20 boys may also enter at Year 12 (Sixth Form entry). The school's reputation and the scale of demand relative to places available make this a highly competitive application.

The Year 9 Entry Process

The typical Year 9 admissions journey involves:

• Registration — families register years in advance, paying a non-refundable registration fee of £450
• The Harrow Test — a written entrance examination held in January of the entry year (typically when boys are in Year 7)
• A group activity lasting approximately 20 minutes
• An interview for shortlisted candidates
• School reports from the current school
• Offers are made in spring, with a deposit of £2,400 required to secure a place

Scholarships: Merit Recognition

Harrow offers merit scholarships in six categories — Academic, Music, Art & Design, Drama, Sport — each worth 5% of termly fees. While the monetary value is modest, a scholarship carries significant prestige and is formally recognised throughout a boy's time at the school. Scholarships are available at both Year 9 and Year 12 entry.

Bursaries: Access Through Need

Harrow's means-tested bursary programme is extensive and generous:

• Year 7 Awards — available to UK Year 5 pupils, covering up to 100% of fees including preparatory school costs; deadline 1 July of Year 5
• Year 9 Bursaries — open to all Year 9 applicants, means-tested, up to 100% of fees
• Year 12 Bursaries — for Sixth Form entrants, means-tested, up to 100% of fees
• HJ Flower & H Gower Award — for sons of serving British armed forces members
• Derek Kelsey & R. Lister-Buttle Awards — for sons of Harrow Old Boys

Bursaries are reviewed annually and can be combined with scholarships in some cases. This programme reflects Harrow's stated commitment to ensuring that financial circumstances do not bar talented boys from attending.

Fees for 2025/26

Harrow is a full-boarding school — there is no day option. The single termly fee of £21,245 (annual: £63,735) covers tuition, boarding, textbooks, and laundry. There are no separate boarding or lunch fees. Extra-curricular activities and optional trips incur additional charges.

A Charter from Elizabeth I

Harrow School's origins lie in a royal charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1572 to John Lyon, a prosperous yeoman farmer of Harrow-on-the-Hill. Lyon's intention was to establish a free grammar school for the local community, endowing it with lands and revenues to ensure its permanence. What began as a small local institution would evolve, over four centuries, into one of the world's most recognised boarding schools.

Growth and Transformation

Through the 17th and 18th centuries, Harrow gradually transitioned from a local school to a boarding institution attracting boys from across England and the Empire. The school expanded its estate on the Hill, constructing additional boarding houses, academic buildings, and chapels. By the 19th century, it had firmly established itself among the 'Great Nine' public schools of England, a status cemented by the Public Schools Act of 1868.

A Legacy of Notable Alumni

Few schools can claim a comparable alumni roll. Harrow has educated:

• Sir Winston Churchill — Prime Minister and wartime leader
• Lord Byron — poet and Romantic icon
• Jawaharlal Nehru — first Prime Minister of India
• King Hussein of Jordan and other international heads of state
• Numerous British prime ministers, judges, and cultural figures

This extraordinary list of former pupils has made the school a byword for elite British education globally.

Today's Harrow

Despite its antiquity, Harrow is a living, evolving institution. Its 12 boarding houses retain their individual characters and traditions — including famous Harrow songs, the distinctive straw boater hat uniform, and house loyalties that persist throughout a boy's school career and beyond. The school now educates approximately 830 boys aged 13–18, with a teaching staff of around 150 and an average class size of just 14. Academic results consistently place Harrow among England's top schools, with students progressing to Oxbridge, Ivy League universities, and leading institutions across the globe.

Continuity and Heritage

What makes Harrow's history particularly distinctive is its physical continuity: the school has remained on the same hilltop in Middlesex since 1572, and several of its original buildings still stand. The Old Speech Room, the Fourth Form Room (where Churchill carved his name), and the Chapel are all visited as part of the school's heritage tours. This deep sense of place — of education anchored in a specific, storied landscape — forms an important part of Harrow's identity and appeal.

Life in a Harrow House

At Harrow, the boarding house is not merely a place to sleep — it is the primary community within which a boy's school life unfolds. Each of the school's 12 houses has its own character, traditions, loyalties, and physical space, from historic buildings with gardens to common rooms and study areas. All 830 boys are allocated to a house upon entry and remain in that house until they leave at 18.

A Housemaster at the Centre

Each house is led by a Housemaster (and typically a resident couple), supported by a team of house tutors, a house matron, and support staff. The Housemaster knows every boy in the house intimately — their academic progress, personal challenges, friendships, and ambitions. This personalised, consistent relationship over five years is central to Harrow's pastoral philosophy.

Professional Wellbeing Provision

Beyond the house structure, Harrow provides a remarkable level of professional pastoral support for an independent school:

• A resident school psychologist, available to all boys
• An additional school counsellor for mental health and personal support
• A 24/7 medical centre staffed by qualified nurses, with a visiting GP and psychiatrist
• Two chaplains (Church of England and Roman Catholic) providing spiritual and emotional support

Safeguarding and Anti-Bullying

Harrow operates under a formal statutory Safeguarding Policy, with designated Safeguarding Officers and clearly defined reporting procedures. The school's pastoral care framework is designed to identify and address concerns early, maintaining a safe and supportive environment for all boys.

Inter-House Competition

The house system also animates Harrow's co-curricular life. Houses compete across a vast range of activities — sports, drama, singing (the famous Harrow Songs), art, and academic competitions — fostering loyalty, teamwork, and a healthy competitive spirit. House identity is one of the most enduring aspects of a Harrovian's school experience and, for many alumni, a lifelong affiliation.

Diversity Within Each House

Officially, each house is described as having 'a diverse range of boys in terms of their talents, interests, and backgrounds.' This deliberate mixing ensures that boys from different nationalities, academic abilities, and social backgrounds share a house, broadening perspectives and building the cross-cultural friendships that characterise a Harrow education.

The Shell: A Foundation in Breadth

Every boy entering Harrow at Year 9 begins in the 'Shell,' a deliberately broad foundation year designed to expose students to the full range of academic disciplines before any specialism. Shell boys study:

• All core sciences and mathematics
• English Language and Literature
• History and Geography
• Theology and Philosophy
• Latin (compulsory for all)
• Two modern foreign languages chosen from: French, German, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin), Italian, Russian, or Japanese
• Art, Music, Design Technology, and Computing

This approach reflects Harrow's belief that intellectual curiosity should precede specialisation.

IGCSE Years

In Years 10 and 11, boys narrow their focus somewhat, selecting IGCSE subjects from a broad menu that includes all three sciences separately, Further Mathematics, Classical Greek (optional), and a wide range of humanities and languages. IGCSE results at Harrow are strong: over 40% of grades are A* and over 85% are A or A*, according to official published results.

A-Level and University Preparation

In the Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13), Harrow boys typically choose four or five A-Level subjects, preparing for university entry with the support of a dedicated university counselling team. The school's A-Level outcomes are consistently outstanding:

• Five boys achieved five or more A grades* in 2023
• 83 students achieved three or more A–A grades*
• 110 students received offers from QS Top-100 universities
• 14 offers to Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge combined)
• 6 Ivy League offers (including to Harvard and other top US universities)
• 19 offers at Imperial College London
• 40 offers at University College London

Class Sizes and Teaching Quality

With an average class size of just 14, Harrow provides a level of individual attention unusual even among elite independent schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is approximately 5.5:1. Nearly all leavers progress to higher education, with some choosing a gap year first.

A Culture of Curiosity Beyond the Classroom

Academic culture at Harrow extends well beyond formal lessons. The school hosts a rich programme of visiting speakers, academic societies (from Astronomy to Philosophy to Ancient History), and inter-house competitions that reward intellectual engagement as well as sporting prowess. This culture — where being clever is celebrated, not hidden — is a defining feature of life on the Hill.