Best private schools in Clapham

Clapham, or Nappy Valley as it is sometimes known to locals, has seen many independent junior schools spring up to meet demand over the years, so there’s plenty of choice and space for everyone. As with elsewhere in London, big educational chains dominate much of the landscape: Thomas’s has two sites, one, Thomas’s Clapham, a stone’s throw from the west side of the Common on Broomwood Road and another one, Thomas’s Battersea, just off Battersea High Street. Dukes Education runs Broomwood Pre-Prep and then separate preps (Broomwood Prep – Boys and Broomwood Prep – Girls) taking 8-13-year-olds in central Clapham. Also in the Dukes stable are Eaton House the Manor Boys’ (taking 4-13-year-olds) and Eaton House the Manor Girls’ (4 -11-year-olds) located along the north side of Clapham Common. If you are looking for something a little smaller or family run, there are several schools: The Dolphin, Parkgate House and The Roche School in Wandsworth, and The White House in Lambeth.

Heading south west of the common, towards Balham, are two other popular and well-established preps: Finton House and Hornsby House, both take children from 4-11-years-old. A much bigger proposition is Newton Prep, in Battersea (3-13), ‘A tremendously happy and kind school,’ one parent told our reviewer, and whose recent destination schools reads like a list of the most illustrious private senior schools in London and the south east.

With such a variety of local preps on offer, few who want private education venture far beyond the immediate area. Putney High Junior School draws families west, not least if they are keen on the senior school for their daughter – there’s generally a seamless transition from one to the other. Feltonfleet School in Surrey runs a daily minibus service to and from West Hill in east Putney.

A handful of families cross the river to chic Kensington and Chelsea preps. Westminster Under School, Dulwich College: The Junior School or King’s College Junior Wimbledon hold a draw for those with grand academic ambitions.

Clapham has one impressive longstanding co-ed private secondary school: Emanuel School, and two relatively young upstarts: Thames Christian School and London Park School Clapham. Emanuel School, with its illustrious Elizabethan history and grand central building, takes pupils aged 10-18. Our reviewer remarked on the school’s ‘excellent academic results’ and ‘warm environment’. Thames Christian School is far smaller and only opened its doors in 2000, but its gentle approach has made it a popular feature of the local education landscape. London Park School Clapham is still in its infancy, but as part of the Duke’s Education group has the pedigree and the local connections to be a big success at its prime location on the southern edge of the Common.

Clapham’s good travel links enable children to head in all directions for senior schools, with the Dulwich foundation schools probably the most popular destinations. For boys it’s Dulwich College, for girls James Allen Girls’ School (JAGS) and for co-ed Alleyn’s School. With co-eds and all-throughs proving particularly popular nowadays, parents also look at nearby Fidelis College (formally The Cedars and The Laurels) in West Norwood, Royal Russell in Croydon, Ibstock Place, Roehampton and Trinity Croydon which will be fully co-ed from Sept 2026. Those wanting single sex girls’ education might head for one of the GDST schools in the area – Putney High School, Wimbledon High School, Streatham & Clapham High School – and buses make the journey over the river easy from Clapham Common to Francis Holland School Sloane Square and More House in Chelsea.

Westminster School, St Paul’s School, St Paul’s Girls’, City of London and City of London School for Girls are some of the best-known of all London schools and so naturally draw pupils from Clapham. Distance, though entirely doable, does mean that the commute requires a little more time and thought.

Trains from Clapham Junction and Balham station along with squads of private bus services pick up children from all over central and south London whizzing them away to the Dulwich foundation schools, Trinity School and Whitgift in Croydon and further afield to Epsom College, Claremont Fan Court, Reed’s School, St John’s, Leatherhead and Woldingham.

BeyondAutism Tram House School is a senior school in Earlsfield taking 11-18-year-olds. Aspris runs Roehampton Gate School in East Sheen, which takes children with autism aged 11-19, and Centre Academy London on St John’s Hill, takes 11-19-year-olds with ADHD/SpLDs and related neuro diverse conditions. For pupils aged 5-18 with speech and language difficulties and associated communication disorders, the closest independent is Blossom House in Motspur Park.