Found along a quiet bend of the Thames, Barnes is one of London’s most enviable enclaves. With its village-like streets, Georgian terraces and riverside walks, it exudes a charm that belies its proximity to the capital. However, the many families who choose to settle in the area are drawn not only to its farmers’ markets, historic pubs and commons, but also to its schools, which consistently feature among the finest in South West London.
Below, we take a closer look at some of the borough’s most notable primary and secondary schools.
Barnes Primary School
Barnes Primary School has a long-standing reputation for academic excellence and is found in the heart of the village. Its curriculum is broad, with smaller class sizes that allow tailored support to each pupil.
In 2025, Key Stage 2 outcomes significantly outperformed national averages across every measure, with 96% of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths, and 39% reaching the higher standard, compared to a national figure of just 8%. The school is committed to nurturing a love of learning that extends beyond the classroom and aims to develop independent and self-motivated learners that are equipped with a broad range of skills that will serve them throughout their lives.
East Sheen Primary School
Found on Upper Richmond Road West and as an accredited thinking school, East Sheen Primary prioritises the teaching of thinking skills alongside the National Curriculum. Rated by Ofsted as ‘Outstanding’, pupils develop abilities such as problem-solving, empathetic listening and collaborative working in order to prepare them effectively for the challenges of the future.
The school was recently awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag with distinction, in recognition of its innovative environmental curriculum, which teaches pupils about ecological issues in a solution-focused manner. The most recent performance data demonstrated exceptional results, with the school sitting well above national averages and placing it within the top 3% of schools in the country.
St Osmund’s Catholic Primary School
Located a few steps from the riverside, St Osmund’s offers a values-driven education within a strong academic framework. Faith and moral education underpin its approach, whilst modern facilities and a well-resourced curriculum allow students to pursue a range of interests that extend from sport and music to STEM subjects.
Inspection reports consistently commend the school’s leadership and its ability to raise achievement across a diverse pupil body, where students achieve consistently strong results in the Year 6 National Curriculum tests, sitting above both national and local averages. Attainment is particularly strong in individual subjects, with 92% of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading and maths alongside 100% in science.
Lowther Primary School
Found on Stillingfleet Road, Lowther Primary School has proudly served the local community since 1929 and provides an education in which every pupil is encouraged to grow and learn with confidence. The school offers a rich and broad curriculum alongside a strong ethos focused on making learning inclusive, fun and challenging and for children to be inquisitive about the world around them.
Lessons are tailored to the variety of abilities within each class and aim to nurture every child’s strengths and interests. The school's recent results reflect the success of this approach to learning, with attainment and progress scores that place well above national averages. The school also boasts extensive and well-equipped grounds, including an adventure trail, astro turf pitch, climbing frame equipment, allotment garden, as well as a traditional hard surface playground, to further encourage learning and development outside of the classroom.
St Paul’s School
St Paul’s, one of the country’s leading independent boys’ schools, offers a rigorous academic programme alongside extensive extracurricular opportunities. Founded by John Colet in 1509, St Paul’s School was established to educate boys and ranked 3rd nationally in 2024.
The school’s campus, including St Paul’s Juniors, spans 45 acres of green space on the banks of the River Thames in Barnes. Its facilities are exceptional for a London school and encompass a boat club, theatre, art gallery, cricket pitches, concert hall and engineering workshop. Recent refurbishments have further enhanced the senior school site, with a new astro-turf pitch, a state-of-the-art Drama Centre featuring the Dorfman Theatre and an RIBA award-winning Science building.
The Class of 2025 secured the school’s strongest A-Level results in over a decade, with the vast majority of grades awarded at the very top level and almost all pupils progressing to their first-choice university destinations in the UK and abroad. GCSE performance was similarly impressive, with most grades falling within the highest bands.
The Harrodian School
The Harrodian School was established in 1993, on a riverside site in Barnes that had previously served as a farm, private residence and sports club. Its timeline traces both the evolution of the estate and the school’s development during its first quarter-century, charting its growth from a fledgling institution into a thriving educational community.
One of Harrodian’s greatest assets is its exceptional riverside setting, a perfect environment in which to learn, play and grow. The 25-acre site has been carefully developed over time, with elegant buildings tailored to the school’s needs and a host of modern facilities including science labs, ICT suites and dedicated centres for music and drama. The campus continues to evolve, most notably with the addition of a state-of-the-art Senior School floor that provides Sixth Form and media spaces.
In 2025, The Harrodian School reported outstanding GCSE and A-Level outcomes, with pupils achieving an exceptionally high Average Point Score at GCSE and the majority of grades awarded within the top bands. A-Level performance remained strong, even in the face of rising grade boundaries, reflecting the school’s academic consistency and high expectations.
Beyond serving as a nice place to live, Barnes is somewhere children can genuinely thrive. With many strong schools to choose from, families don’t have to look far to find the right fit, and it’s this sense of opportunity that makes Barnes such a popular place to put down roots.
