Surrey independent schools: A parent's guide

Surrey has more independent schools per square mile than almost any other English county. The mix runs from large historic boarding schools like Charterhouse and Cranleigh, through London-fringe day schools like Whitgift, Trinity, and KCS Wimbledon (technically Greater London but very much a Surrey commuter school), to smaller specialist options across Guildford, Cobham, and Reigate.

This guide explains how entry works at the main routes, what to expect on fees, and how to think about a shortlist when the choice is this wide. It's written for parents thinking about 11+ entry, but a lot of the same logic applies at 13+ for the boarding schools.

Most Surrey independents take pupils at one of two main entry points: 11+ for Year 7, or 13+ for Year 9. Some, like Cranleigh and Charterhouse, prioritise 13+; others, like Reed's and Royal Russell, run substantial intakes at both. A handful are 4-18 schools where the main internal progression is from the prep into the senior school.

The ISEB Common Pre-Test sits at the centre of admissions. Caterham, St John's Leatherhead, Royal Russell, Reed's, and a number of others all use it. The Pre-Test is taken once on a computer between October of Year 6 and January of Year 7, and the score is shared across any schools on your registered list. The schools then add their own paper, interview, or task in the spring before final offers are made.

Schools like Charterhouse and Cranleigh, which test at 13+, often run pre-tests in Year 6 or Year 7 to filter who's invited to the final 13+ assessment. Whitgift, Trinity, and KCS Wimbledon run their own 11+ entrance papers in English, maths, and reasoning, plus interviews.

Surrey's boarding sector is heavily weighted towards 13+ entry. Charterhouse (Godalming), Cranleigh (Cranleigh), and RGS Surrey Hills (the school near Mickleham reported to have rebranded from Box Hill School in 2025 after joining the Reigate Grammar School group; subject to school confirmation. The RGS in the new name refers to Reigate Grammar School, not Royal Grammar School Guildford) all take their main senior cohorts in Year 9 rather than Year 7. King Edward's Witley is another full boarding option with mixed 11+ and 13+ intakes.

The practical implication is that the meaningful registration moment for these schools is in Year 5 or Year 6, even though the test isn't until later. Charterhouse pre-tests in Year 6 ahead of 13+ offers. Cranleigh runs its own assessment days and references from current schools. Families targeting one of these often pair it with a prep school that runs to 13+ rather than a state primary, because the standard state school finishes at the end of Year 6.

Weekly and flexi-boarding now dominate over full boarding for UK-based families. Several schools price flexi-boarding per night, which lets you start with one or two nights a week and scale up as a child gets older.

Surrey's day school options run from Guildford in the west to Croydon in the east. The Guildford cluster includes Guildford High School (girls), Tormead (girls), and the Royal Grammar School Guildford (boys). St Catherine's Bramley is a girls' day and boarding school just south of Guildford with a strong academic record.

In the north, Surbiton High School and KCS Wimbledon serve families in the Kingston and Wimbledon catchment, with KCS particularly competitive on its 11+ entry test. Reed's School (Cobham), is co-ed at sixth form but boys-only lower down, and runs both 11+ and 13+ entry routes. Lord Wandsworth College sits further south near Hook on the Hampshire border but pulls heavily from west Surrey.

The Croydon cluster includes Whitgift, Trinity, Royal Russell, and Old Palace. Whitgift and Trinity are both highly selective boys' day schools (with a co-ed sixth form at Trinity). Royal Russell is co-ed throughout and uses the ISEB Common Pre-Test for 11+ entry.

Surrey sits at the more expensive end of the UK independent sector. As a rough range for Year 7 day fees in 2026, expect £8,000 to £11,000 per term at the more selective day schools, which works out at roughly £24,000 to £33,000 a year. Boarding fees at the full boarding schools sit just above £19,000 per term (around £57,000 to £60,000 a year inc VAT) at Cranleigh (£19,130/term for 2025/26) and a touch over £20,000 per term at Charterhouse (£20,016/term for 2025/26), with the highest day-plus options sitting in between.

VAT has applied to private school fees in the UK since 1 January 2025 at the standard 20% rate. Many schools absorbed part of the increase rather than passing the full 20% to parents, but the longer-term picture is still a meaningful step up on pre-2025 fee levels. When comparing schools, check whether quoted figures are inclusive of VAT and what's covered (lunches, transport, trips, exam fees can all sit inside or outside the headline fee).

Almost every Surrey independent offers means-tested bursaries alongside scholarships in academic, music, sport, art, and drama. As at many schools, the headline scholarship awards have shrunk in recent years (many schools cap academic scholarships at a small percentage of fees), while the bursary route is the more meaningful one for families who would struggle to pay full fees.

Whitgift in particular has a long-standing reputation for substantial bursary provision and funds a significant proportion of its intake on bursary support. Charterhouse and Cranleigh have their own foundation schemes for boarding bursary support. Many schools assess household income and circumstances rather than salary alone, and they reassess each year.

Application deadlines for bursary support usually mirror or sit slightly ahead of the school's standard entrance deadline. If a bursary will be part of how you fund a place, flag it at the earliest open day rather than at the offer stage.

Surrey has so many options that the danger isn't finding schools, it's failing to narrow down. A workable shortlist is three to five schools, prioritised by what's realistic from your home and what aligns with how your child works.

Map travel times door-to-door for each option, including any train or coach legs. A school that's twenty minutes by car on a quiet Sunday morning is often forty-five minutes plus on a wet Monday. Then filter by entry route, because if two schools both pre-test in November they may not coexist on a calendar.

Finally, visit. Most Surrey schools run weekday tours alongside their open days, and the weekday tours give a more honest feel for normal operation. Try to visit before Year 6 starts so you're choosing schools to register at, not schools to add to a long list.