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Highgate School has been named The Sunday Times London Independent School of the Decade by Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide, published in The Sunday Times on November 29. 

 Alastair McCall of Parent Power, said:  

“Our Schools of the Decade awards are designed to recognise sustained academic excellence and the work outstanding schools undertake to disseminate best practice. Few schools in the country can match Highgate in both regards. Ranking in the top 25 independent schools in the UK for its results in the examination hall, Highgate achieves well for its children. But it also makes a difference for many more children beyond its own gates. 

“It has played a key role as lead educational sponsor in the establishment of the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham, the Sunday Times Sixth Form College of the Year, seconding staff and expertise to help transform educational prospects in one of London’s most deprived areas, and Highgate’s Chrysalis Programme delivers timetabled classes, sessions in partner schools and events to thousands of children in more than 50 partner schools each year.  

“Few schools can do more to help raise educational standards with head teacher Adam Pettitt even running marathons to raise money to buy laptops for children in schools less fortunate than his own to help deliver online learning in the age of Coronavirus. It makes Highgate a thoroughly deserving winner of our London Independent School of the Decade award.” 

Highgate School Head Adam, Pettitt commented:  

On behalf of the pupils, staff, governors and parents of Highgate, I want to say a big thank you to the Sunday Times for this award. We’re honoured and pleased as punch to have been chosen as London Independent School of the Decade. Thank you so much!” 

Congratulations also go to Highgate’s sibling School, London Academy of Excellence in Tottenham, which has been named The Sunday Times Sixth Form College of the Year by Parent Power. The selective, free sixth form college was co-founded by Highgate in 2017, with Tottenham Hotspur FC as Business SponsorAlastair McCall said of LAET 

The children have scored heavily in their A-levels both last year and again this year, with more than two-thirds of the students progressing to Russell Group universities and 11 gaining places at Oxford or Cambridge this summer, unprecedented numbers for the area. The dynamic partnerships with Spurs and Highgate School in the independent sector promise even greater things in the years ahead.” 

Socially distanced results day 2020 London Academy of Excellence Tottenham

In Sunday’s article, Alastair elaborates on how Highgate “puts much energy into bridging the gap between educational haves and have-nots in the capital” and how “few independent schools can match Highgate’s efforts by staff and former students to promote social mobility through education.”

As well as assessment of all academic results on a school-by-school basis, Parent Power enables parents to compare the performance of a given school with other schools in the same town, local authority or nationally. There are also live links to school websites and schools’ most recent inspection reports.  Parent Power is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative survey of the country’s best schools. The rankings in the secondary school league tables are determined by the percentage of examination entries gaining A* to B grades at A-level (which is given double weighting) and the percentage of entries graded 9, 8 and 7, at GCSE and iGCSE.  You can read the full article in Parent Power here.