Harrow SchoolHARROW SCHOOL · PRIVATE SCHOOL GUIDE
Harrow is a boys’ boarding school in northwest London, about 30 minutes by car from Heathrow. About a quarter of its boys have homes overseas. Parents don’t need to live in the UK for a full-fee place.
Entry at 13 in 2030, at 16 in 2028
GET TO KNOW THE SCHOOL
Harrow has its own names for the years: the Shell (Year 9, age 13 to 14), the Remove (Year 10), the Fifth Form (Year 11), the Lower Sixth (Year 12, age 16 to 17), and the Upper Sixth (Year 13).
IN HIS HOUSE
A House Master, an Assistant House Master, and a Matron live in each house. For his first three to six terms, he shares a room with a boy his own age, then he has his own.
IN CLASS
At the end of the Fifth Form he takes GCSEs, the subject exams at 16, then starts the sixth form with four A levels, the exams at 18 that universities look at.
AFTER LESSONS
Harrow has around 30 sports and over 80 interest groups, and over half the boys learn an instrument.
A Shepherd from the Remove and a Mentor from the Upper Sixth help him settle in.
Floating exeats: An exeat is time away from school. Floating exeats are breaks of up to 24 hours: he can usually leave after 5 p.m. on Saturday, and he must be back by 6 p.m. on Sunday. Each depends on permission, his conduct, and his commitments, and younger boys have fewer.
Fixed exeats and half-terms: The school calendar sets these.
Phones: Boys in the Shell, the Remove, and the Fifth Form hand in their phones and computers overnight. The sixth form has more flexibility.
Health: Nursing care runs around the clock, and a doctor is available on weekdays.
Wellbeing: A resident psychologist, a visiting psychiatrist, and a school counselor support the boys.
Learning needs: Tell Harrow about them when you register, with past and current reports. Its specialist team agrees his support and any changes to how he’s assessed, but it can’t offer highly specialized, intensive support.
Access arrangements from another school: Harrow reassesses them after he joins, so they don’t carry over automatically. For the ISEB tests, Harrow must agree to any arrangements before he sits them.
What’s charged: Lessons for an identified, documented need are free. Diagnostic work and other extra support can be charged by prior agreement, and an educational psychologist costs extra.
UNDERSTAND WHAT HARROW LOOKS FOR
On the standard route, Harrow makes its decisions for entry at 13 while boys are in Year 6, age 10 to 11. It says character matters as well as attainment.
AT 13 · HIS POTENTIAL
Harrow assesses “academic potential” at 13, with his behavior, his interests, and what he’d contribute.
Letrado’s adviceStretch him in the hardest work his own school offers, rather than piling on outside classes.
AT 13 · BOARDING
Harrow also assesses his “suitability for boarding,” and he’ll move into his house at 13.
Letrado’s adviceGive him real responsibilities now, like his own alarm and his own weekly plan, and ask how he feels about living away.
AT 16 · HIS CONTRIBUTION
At 16, Harrow looks for contribution in and out of class, talent, good behavior, and “the potential to show leadership.”
Letrado’s adviceFor each, show what he actually did and what changed because of it.
WHAT HARROW PUBLISHES
Registration closes in Year 6, when he takes his tests, and he sits Common Entrance in Year 8 before joining the Shell.
He registers in Year 10 or 11, names four A-level subjects, and is assessed in Year 11. He joins the Lower Sixth.
At 16, successful candidates have eight or more GCSE passes at grades 7 to 9, very likely 8s and 9s in the subjects they plan to study. Your son’s offer will set the exact grades.
Harrow occasionally has a place in Year 10, too.
WHAT HARROW DESCRIBES
It runs 12 open mornings a year, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
You can tell Harrow which houses you’d prefer. It balances the houses, though, so preferences aren’t guaranteed.
HARROW’S PUBLISHED FIGURES
PLAN THE APPLICATION
Registration for September 2029 entry at 13 closed on 30 September 2026, and for September 2027 entry at 16 on 7 September 2026. Both still have a late route. From abroad, ask the admissions office whether your son can use it.
At 13 · September 2030 entry · registration usually closes
30 Sep of Year 6At 13 · September 2029 late route
1 Jan 2028At 16 · September 2028 entry · registration opens
Apr of Year 10At 16 · September 2027 late route
6 Jan 2027Dates without a year are as Harrow lists them.
£450 including VAT, at 13 or 16, not refunded. At 13, you upload his passport’s ID page and say whether you’ll need a bursary.
Free, and separate from Harrow’s. ISEB is the board that runs the Pre-Test. Share his applicant ID with Harrow and his test center.
Harrow asks his current school for a confidential reference at the start of Year 6, or straight away if you register later.
His CV, a letter to the Head Master, his latest report with a note on its grading, and his passport’s ID page.
No quota: Harrow says it doesn’t run a quota for overseas applicants.
The Harrow Test: It’s generally in person at Harrow, so plan a trip for it.
Hong Kong and mainland China: Boys at school there first register through representatives Harrow names: Academic Asia in Hong Kong, and the UK Boarding Schools Admissions Service in mainland China.
English: At 13, the ISEB test and the Harrow Test measure his English. At 16, if English isn’t his first language, Harrow assesses it on the assessment day.
Visa sponsorship: Harrow is a licensed sponsor for both the Child Student and Student visas.
Who needs a visa: That depends on his citizenship, any UK immigration status he already holds, and his age. An EU passport alone doesn’t give him the right to come to the UK for school.
The government’s rules: The Child Student visa is for ages 4 to 17. He needs an unconditional offer and a CAS, the school’s reference number for the application. You show you can pay course and boarding fees for one academic year, up to nine months, and both parents consent in writing unless one has sole responsibility. You can apply up to six months before he starts.
Illness: If he’s ill for a long time, or has something contagious, he usually goes home or to a guardian.
Holidays and exeats: Before you book travel, ask the admissions office what it expects of a guardian, and where boys stay over half-terms, fixed exeats, and holidays.
Who can apply at 13: Boys with a confirmed place or on the waiting list, and boys applying for a scholarship alone, without an earlier standard or late application. A scholarship-only application costs £140, not refunded, and Harrow’s admissions policy accepts these from 1 January of Year 7 to 22 November of Year 8.
At 13, for September 2027 entry: Sport applications closed on 30 September 2026, and the rest close on 22 November 2026. The assessments and academic papers run from 25 January to 25 February 2027.
At 13, for September 2029 entry: Sport applications close on 30 September 2028, and the rest on 22 November 2028. Assessments are expected in January and February 2029.
What each award asks: Music normally asks for Grade 5 with Distinction on his main instrument, and a pre-audition at least six months before the assessment: ask the admissions office when to book it. Art looks at up to 15–20 pieces and a sketchbook, an interview, and an observed drawing. Drama uses a workshop and an interview, and sport looks for exceptional talent, normally at county (regional) or academy level.
Recommendations: For art and design, the head of the subject at Harrow must recommend him before the November deadline in Year 8.
Common Entrance: Awards outside academic work also need Common Entrance at the required standard, or a strong academic scholarship result.
At 16: Scholarships are assessed during the normal application tests. Music asks for Grade 8 or the equivalent, and sport for county level or higher, each with a practical test.
PREPARE FOR EACH STAGE
One handwritten pageAt 16, his letter to the Head Master fits on one page and is handwritten. His CV at 13 is handwritten too.
Harrow recommends ISEB’s walkthrough and practice in the skills its pre-test covers. It says there are no past papers for the Harrow Test.
Letrado’s adviceAim for familiarity, not drilling. His CV at 13 and his letter at 16 are his own work: AI can help him brainstorm, but he decides what to say and writes every word himself, and our mentors never write for him. We still help with planning, school choice, and interview practice.
On the standard route, he sits them in the fall of Year 6, and for September 2029 entry, Harrow asks for them before 30 November 2026. Abroad, he can take them at his own school or, if it can’t supervise, at a British Council center or another school.
After a qualifying ISEB result and a strong school reference, Harrow invites him and asks for his CV. Then come a 20-minute interview in one of the houses, an hour of computer tests in English and math, and a 20-minute group activity. For September 2029 entry, the Harrow Test runs from January to March 2027. Results come in late April or early May of Year 6: a place in a named house, a place with the house chosen later, the waiting list, or no place.
Common Entrance is a set of subject exams in Year 8, at age 12 to 13. If his school doesn’t teach it, he still sits the core English, science, and math papers in June, plus French or Latin if he studies them. Boys from Singapore, mainland China, and Hong Kong add an extra math paper. Very strong academic scholars may be excused from Common Entrance. Ask Harrow what standard it expects.
It goes in with his registration.
He can take those tests at his school, at Harrow, or at a recognized center. Boys on the shortlist take the remaining tests, then interviews and a subject seminar at Harrow. On the standard route, boys from schools overseas, except those applying through the Hong Kong and mainland China representatives, come for a Friday night and Saturday in November.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE FINANCIAL QUESTION
Harrow charges its fee by the term, three terms a year, with VAT included.
MEANS-TESTED BURSARY
For parents fully resident in the UK for at least two continuous years when they apply.
SCHOLARSHIP AT 13 OR 16
Merit awards for academic work, music, art, drama, sport, or design, separate from bursaries.
OLD HARROVIAN FAMILIES
For eligible sons, nephews, and grandsons of Old Harrovians (Harrow’s former pupils), from September 2026, on top of any scholarship or bursary.
2026–27 BOARDING FEE PER TERM · VAT INCLUDED
£21,990It covers boarding, tuition, textbooks, a stationery allowance, and laundry. You pay it in advance by the first day of each term.
For September 2027 entry or later, use that year’s fees when Harrow publishes them.
Fees and deposits (opens in a new tab)Letrado’s adviceFrom abroad, build your budget on the full fee, the overseas deposit, and the visa charge, and count any scholarship as a bonus. If you’re moving to the UK, ask the Access Team how the two-year rule fits your dates before you register.
CLIENT JOURNEYS
Here are three related stories. These students applied to American boarding schools, and they worked through questions Harrow families face too: answering an interview honestly, explaining a hard term on a report, and deciding whether to move or stay.
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AI illustrationWHEN YOU’D LIKE A HAND
Bring your questions to a free 45-minute introduction with your proposed mentor. Afterward, we’ll email a personalized plan with recommended next steps.
