Harrow School: Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, UK

Looking for best private boarding schools for boys in UK? Harrow School in Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex is one of England’s leading private independent schools, one of a very few schools still specialising in providing a high quality boarding school education for boys.

For the purposes of the academic curriculum there are five year-groups: Shell, Remove, Fifth Form, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth.

First Year

Boys normally enter Harrow at age 13 from a wide variety of schools: the Shell therefore provides a foundation-year covering a large number of subjects. All boys take English, French or Spanish, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, Geography, Latin or Classical Civilisation or Japanese, Religious Studies, Art, Music, Design Technology and Information Technology. Greek, German or Spanish are offered to boys with good linguistic ability.

Second and Third Years

In the Remove and Fifth Form boys work towards GCSE and/or IGCSE examinations.

Most subjects require two years for their GCSE courses; however, pupils take Religious Studies GCSE in one year and some pupils also take French and Mathematics at the end of the Remove, going on to more advanced study. Lessons in Study Skills are also available.

International GCSEs are slightly harder than GCSE and thus a better preparation for A-level than normal GCSEs. The following subjects are offered: Maths, History, French, Spanish, German, and Biology.

By the end of the Fifth Form all boys will have taken English Language, English Literature, French or Spanish, Mathematics, Religious Studies and a Science. In addition to these core subjects pupils choose, in a wide variety of combinations, four other subjects from History, Geography, Latin, Classical Civilisation, Greek, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Music, Art and Design Technology.

Fourth and Fifth Years

In the Sixth Forms all pupils are expected to take AS-level in four main subjects, going on to A-level in at least three. There are many to choose from including English Literature, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, History, Geography, Economics, Business Studies, Ancient History, Political Studies, Religious Studies, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Design Technology, Physical Education, Music, Music Technology, Art, History of Art, Theatre Studies, Statistics and Photography.

Each boy is given plenty of help to make sure that his chosen combination is appropriate to his interests, abilities and future plans. Some boys reach beyond A-level to work for entrance to Oxford and Cambridge, and to universities abroad, particularly in America. For the latter, we prepare boys to take American SAT exams.

A-levels are the norm in most good schools, despite the impression sometimes given in the media.