Knightsbridge School

Knightsbridge School suits a curious, sociable child who does better somewhere small, where teachers know them by name, than somewhere large and openly competitive. It is an independent co-educational day school for children aged 3 to 16, in a townhouse at 67 Pont Street, London SW1X 0BD, a short walk from Knightsbridge and Sloane Square. There is no sixth form, so a family choosing it at 11 is choosing five years to GCSE, with pupils moving on elsewhere at 16. Entry at 11+ is into Year 7, the school is not academically selective, and admissions begin with an informal interview with child and parents, then a taster day.

The school opened in 2006 and marks twenty years in 2026, having grown upwards class by class into a senior school that runs to GCSE. It has no playing fields of its own, so games mean walking out to venues nearby, an ordinary part of the week. Indoors, more than seventy clubs run weekly, from fencing and show choir to robotics, textiles and cooking, with skiing from Year 4 and a Key Skills Week each autumn given to practical life skills. Former pupils have gone on to West End stages and competitive fencing.

The Good Schools Guide calls it 'a busy, happy school' that runs 'like a busy family home', with friendly chatter in lessons and corridors, and parents describe form tutors as 'extremely supportive'. Counselling is available in school through Place2Be, and houses give younger and older children reason to mix. It suits a child who wants to be known, who will try the club they are not obviously good at, and who would rather be somewhere warm and a little noisy than large and formal.