you are here: schools guide

Tatler School Guide

Tatler Schools Guide 2010

For parents, choosing the right school is the most daunting of tasks. Day or boarding, city or country, single-sex or co-ed? And that's just for starters. Each set of exam results tells a different story, heads say one thing and parents another and every prospectus trots out the same platitudes about 'well-balanced all-rounders'. As we go to press, the Charities Commission is examining the question of schools' charitable status. The prime qualification for sixth-formers is fluctuating wildly from A-levels to IB, from the AQA Bacc to the Cambridge Pre-U. Schools Secretary Ed Balls wants to ditch league tables altogether in favour of newfangled 'wellbeing' charts. If they can't make their minds up in Westminster about how best to shape contemporary education, how on earth are you supposed to?

Thank heavens for Tatler's Schools Guide, the most authoritative insider view there is. Our pick of the top 225 prep and public schools is bigger and better than ever. We've quizzed the teachers, talked to pupils and sent our team of researchers to peer behind the bikesheds and sample lunches on the sly. We've challenged schools about addressing current educational issues and found out how they balance academic prowess with baking brownies. We don't hesitate to tell you if the dorms are a bit scruffy, but we're delighted to sing the praises of these remarkable institutions, their inspirational heads and dedicated staff.

Issy von Simson and Alice Rose, Editors