HBS, Tiffin Girls, NLCS and City of London Girls — compared on entry, results and culture.
The four most sought-after selective girls' schools in and around London are Henrietta Barnett School, Tiffin Girls' School, North London Collegiate School and City of London School for Girls. Two are free state grammars and two are independent. Henrietta Barnett recorded 3,121 applications against 104 places in 2025 and has a Published Admission Number of 120 for September 2027 entry.
They compete for the same pool of applicants across overlapping examination windows, and their admissions processes have almost nothing in common. This guide sets out what each one actually tests, when, and on what criteria places are allocated.
The differences that matter are the test each school sets, the term it falls in, and whether anything other than score decides a place.
| School | Sector | Entrance test | When | Does geography affect allocation? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henrietta Barnett School | State grammar | Two rounds set by the school: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and English, then English and Mathematics | September and early October of Year 6 | Yes — candidates living within three miles at the point of application rank above those admitted on score alone |
| Tiffin Girls' School | State grammar | The school's own selection process | Autumn of Year 6 | Yes — it operates a designated area; check the school's current criteria |
| North London Collegiate School | Independent | The school's own assessment | January of Year 6 | No |
| City of London School for Girls | Independent | The school's own assessment | January of Year 6 | No |
Source: each school's own published admissions material. The Henrietta Barnett row is taken from its Admissions Policy 2027-2028 and its admissions FAQ document; always check the current version, because dates and criteria move between cycles.
The row that surprises families most is the last one. “Super-selective” is widely read as “address-blind”, and for the two independent schools that is broadly right. It is not right for Henrietta Barnett, whose published oversubscription criteria place Looked After Children, Pupil Premium candidates and girls living within three miles of its Central Square entrance ahead of every candidate admitted on rank order alone. The school does add that the rank-order group “has so far been the substantial majority”, so most places are still won on score.
The second is the timing. Because the state tests fall in September and October of Year 6 and the independent assessments in January, a girl can sit all four without a clash. What she cannot do is treat them as one preparation task: the state schools test reasoning that the independent papers largely do not, and Henrietta Barnett's second round has no published material of any kind.
One practical consequence follows for families weighing state against independent. Because the two state schools test in the autumn and give their answers late, and the two independent schools test in January, a family that applies to all four spends the whole of the autumn term without knowing where it stands — and at Henrietta Barnett, without even a score to reason from. Building the Common Application Form around that uncertainty, rather than waiting for it to resolve, is the single most useful thing a family can do in October.
Every figure on this page comes from the schools' own published documents rather than from parent reports. Henrietta Barnett's Admissions Policy, admissions FAQ and current waiting-list position are all on the school's admissions page. Our companion guides cover the Henrietta Barnett Round Two test, the three-mile priority criterion and how far its waiting list moves in detail.
Henrietta Barnett School is consistently ranked as the top state school for girls in England and regularly features in top-five lists of all schools nationally. It is a super-selective grammar school in Hampstead Garden Suburb with a Published Admission Number of 120 for September 2027 entry; the school recorded 3,121 applications against 104 places in 2025. Entry is by the school's own two-round test — verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and English in the first round, English and Mathematics in the second — and not by a shared consortium paper. There is no catchment area and no interview, but the published oversubscription criteria do place Looked After Children, Pupil Premium candidates and girls living within three miles of the school ahead of the candidates admitted on rank order alone.
HBS is free to attend as a state school, which makes it an outstanding option for families who cannot or do not wish to pay independent school fees. The school's GCSE and A-level results are exceptional — consistently among the very best in the country — and its Oxbridge and Russell Group progression is remarkable for a non-fee-paying school. The difficulty is that the score threshold is extremely high: candidates typically need to score in approximately the top 3% nationally to receive an offer.
For a detailed guide to HBS entry, see our Henrietta Barnett School Complete Admissions Guide.
Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston upon Thames is one of the most sought-after state grammar schools for girls in London. Unlike HBS, Tiffin Girls' uses a designated area as part of its admissions process — girls who live within the designated boroughs (Kingston, Richmond, Merton, Sutton, and parts of others) receive priority in the allocation of places, provided they pass the 11+ examination to the required standard.
Around 2,500 girls apply for approximately 140 Year 7 places. The school uses the GL Assessment 11+ examination and girls must sit and pass the test to qualify. Results at Tiffin Girls' are consistently outstanding — the school regularly appears in top 10 state school rankings nationally — and its sixth form has a strong Oxbridge record. The designated area makes it more accessible than HBS for families in South West London, but the test is still extremely competitive.
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NLCS is one of England's most prestigious independent girls' schools, with a history stretching back to 1850. It is fee-paying (currently around £22,000 per year for senior school) but offers substantial means-tested bursaries that can cover up to 100% of fees. NLCS runs its own entrance examination — English, Mathematics, and Reasoning papers, plus an interview — rather than using the grammar school consortium papers. Around 500 girls apply for approximately 60 Year 7 places.
What distinguishes NLCS from state grammar schools is the interview and the breadth of what the school looks for: intellectual curiosity, the ability to engage with ideas across disciplines, and a genuine love of learning. Academic scholarships are also awarded. Educationally, NLCS is considered peer-level to HBS and Tiffin Girls' — all three schools achieve outstanding results and send significant numbers of girls to the most competitive universities. For a detailed guide, see our NLCS 11+ Guide.
City of London School for Girls is an independent day school in the Barbican with approximately 55 Year 7 places, fees of around £22,000 per year, and a strong bursary programme backed by the City of London Corporation. Like NLCS, it runs its own entrance examination with an interview and looks for girls who are intellectually engaged and capable of independent thinking, not just high exam scorers. Results are consistently excellent and the school's location gives girls access to an exceptional range of cultural and professional enrichment opportunities. For a detailed guide, see our CLSG 11+ Guide.
The right school for any given family depends on several factors beyond raw academic prestige. Here are the most important dimensions to consider:
Cost: HBS and Tiffin Girls' are free state schools. NLCS and CLSG charge fees of approximately £22,000 per year but offer bursaries. For families eligible for significant bursary support, the independent schools may be more accessible than their fee levels suggest. Many families apply to both state and independent schools simultaneously.
Geography: HBS draws from across North London and beyond; Tiffin Girls' prioritises South West London boroughs; NLCS is in Edgware (north-west London); CLSG is in the Barbican (central London). Travel time should be considered seriously — a long daily commute for a Year 7 pupil is a meaningful quality-of-life issue.
Admissions process: HBS and Tiffin Girls' select purely on 11+ exam score (plus designated area for Tiffin). NLCS and CLSG use a proprietary exam plus interview. If a girl performs well in high-stakes standardised tests, HBS is a strong choice. If she thinks well under conversational pressure and has broad intellectual interests, the independent school interview process may favour her.
School culture: All four schools have strong academic cultures but distinct characters. HBS has a comprehensive state school framework with outstanding results; Tiffin Girls' combines academic rigour with a focus on community; NLCS and CLSG are full independent schools with substantial co-curricular provision and significant investment in sport, arts, and enrichment.
Most families applying to London's top girls' schools apply to several simultaneously. A sensible strategy is to apply to both state grammar schools (HBS, Tiffin Girls') and at least one independent school (NLCS and/or CLSG), since the examination windows overlap and preparation is largely complementary. The grammar school tests are taken in the autumn — each school setting its own, not a shared consortium paper — while independent school examinations take place in January. A child who begins preparation in Year 5 can realistically prepare for all of these simultaneously with good tutoring support.
At Leading Tuition, we specialise in integrated preparation programmes that cover multiple applications. Our tutors understand the specific demands of each school's process — from each grammar school's own entrance test to independent school interviews — and we tailor our programmes to each child's strengths and target schools. Book a free consultation to discuss your daughter's application strategy.
Parents researching London's top girls' grammar schools often underestimate how differently each school tests its applicants. One of the most widespread mistakes is treating every entrance exam as interchangeable. The Henrietta Barnett School's two-stage process — a CEM-style first round in September followed by a bespoke second paper in October — demands a very different strategy from Tiffin Girls' School, which uses GL Assessment verbal and numerical reasoning alongside English and maths papers. Preparing exclusively with one exam board's materials while ignoring the other leaves significant gaps.
A second common error is leaving vocabulary and reading comprehension too late. These skills, tested heavily in both HBS and Tiffin Girls' papers, cannot be crammed in a few weeks. Families who begin structured reading in Year 4 — choosing challenging fiction, non-fiction and classic texts — build the analytical depth examiners are looking for. Similarly, many pupils over-invest in maths drills while neglecting non-verbal reasoning, which appears in the NLCS and City of London School for Girls assessments and requires its own systematic practice. Finally, sitting fewer than five or six full mock exams under timed conditions is a mistake: London's most selective girls' schools are oversubscribed by ten to fifteen applicants per place, so exam technique and composure on the day are as important as raw ability. Build in at least one mock per half-term from Year 5 onwards, and always review every error before moving on to the next paper.
By raw numbers Henrietta Barnett is harder. The school recorded 3,121 applications against 104 places in 2025, a ratio of about 30 to one, and its Published Admission Number for September 2027 entry is 120. North London Collegiate School takes roughly 60 girls from around 500 applicants. The applicant pools differ, though: NLCS candidates are more self-selected, so the ratios are not directly comparable. The very strongest candidates are often offered places at both, and the choice comes down to fees, travel and school character.
No, and Henrietta Barnett does not sit a London Consortium paper of any kind. Its entrance test runs in two rounds it sets itself: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and English in the first round, for which the school signposts GL Assessment familiarisation booklets, then its own English and Mathematics paper in the second round, for which it releases no materials at all. Tiffin Girls' School runs a separate process with its own timetable and its own designated area criterion.
Yes, and most families targeting highly selective schools do. State grammar school tests fall in September and October of Year 6, while independent school assessments are generally in January, so the two rounds do not clash. A girl sitting Henrietta Barnett or Tiffin Girls in the autumn can sit NLCS or City of London School for Girls in the new year. The state applications go on the Common Application Form, which is due on 31 October 2026 for September 2027 entry; independent applications are made direct to each school.
Yes, more than most families realise. There is no catchment area, so any girl may apply and sit the first round wherever she lives. But the school's published oversubscription criteria place Looked After Children, Pupil Premium candidates and girls living within three miles of its Central Square entrance ahead of every candidate admitted on rank order alone. The address is fixed at the point the Common Application Form is submitted in October, and the school notes that the rank-order group has so far been the substantial majority.
Start with whether the tutor can name the actual test each of your target schools sets, because they differ more than the phrase “GL Assessment” suggests. Ask what happens where a school publishes no past papers, as Henrietta Barnett does for its second round; the honest answer is subject work under timed conditions, not a paper nobody has. Then look for a diagnostic assessment at the start, clear goals set against your daughter's current level, and written feedback after each session rather than reassurance.
We prepare girls for Henrietta Barnett, Tiffin Girls' School, Nonsuch High School and Wallington High School for Girls, and the formats differ enough that the preparation has to be built per school rather than per subject. In the 2025 admissions cycle we worked with 40 students sitting selective entrance examinations at 11+ and 13+, of whom 38 received at least one offer from a school the family had genuinely targeted. Families rate us Excellent on Trustpilot, 4.8 out of 5 from 57 reviews.
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