Harrow School — admissions, boarding and fee guide

Harrow School is an independent boys’ boarding school in Harrow on the Hill. Every pupil boards; there is no day-pupil route. The school normally admits about 160 boys into Year 9 and up to 20 into Year 12.

The address is 5 High Street, Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex HA1 3HP. This is a different school from nearby John Lyon School, which is co-educational and day-only.

Programme and boarding

Most boys enter Year 9 at age 13, complete GCSE courses and continue to A levels. Year 12 entry is available for a much smaller group at age 16. Harrow expects entrants to remain until age 18.

All boys live in a boarding house under a House Master. Families should ask for the actual weekend, exeat and holiday arrangements before accepting. International families also need a workable guardian, travel and visa plan.

Occasional vacancies may arise outside the main entry points, including Year 10, but they are not a predictable admissions route. Contact Admissions before preparing an application for another year group.

Year 9 admissions

The Year 9 process begins several years before entry. It normally includes a school reference, the ISEB Common Pre-Test, the Harrow Test and later Common Entrance or Academic Scholarship examinations.

The school asks families to register by 30 September of Year 6. Its general page also says registrations received after the end of Year 5 are treated as late. The dated key-dates page should therefore be checked for the applicant’s intended entry year.

As of 4 September 2026:

• Year 9 applications for 2027 entry are closed.
• The standard deadline for 2028 entry has passed, but the dated page gives 1 January 2027 as the late-applicant deadline.
• The standard deadline for 2029 entry is 30 September 2026. The ISEB test must be completed by 30 November 2026, with the Harrow Test scheduled for January to March 2027.

The current pages are not perfectly aligned: one defines applications after Year 5 as late, while the dated table labels 30 September 2026 as the standard 2029 deadline. Families near this boundary should obtain their route in writing from Admissions.

Registration costs £450, including VAT, and is non-refundable. The form also requires the identity page from the applicant’s passport. Families can indicate that they would accept a place only with a means-tested bursary.

All Year 9 applicants take the online ISEB Common Pre-Test. It covers verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, English and Mathematics and takes about two and a half hours. An applicant may sit it only once in an academic year.

Applicants who progress take the Harrow Test in Year 6. It includes a House Master interview, a computerised English and Mathematics assessment and a classroom group activity. Results are normally issued in late April or early May as a named-house offer, an offer with house allocation later, a waiting-list place or no offer.

An offer remains conditional on the Year 8 Common Entrance or Academic Scholarship stage. Requirements vary according to the applicant’s current school and the subjects it teaches. Families outside the British preparatory-school system should agree the required papers with Harrow early.

Year 12 admissions

Year 12 applicants are normally expected to be predicted seven or eight GCSE passes, or their equivalent, at grades 7–9. They select four proposed A-level subjects for the assessment process.

For 2027 entry, the standard application deadline is 7 September 2026. Initial tests in two proposed subjects must reach Harrow by 21 September. Shortlisted applicants attend Harrow on 7 or 14 November, and results are due in mid-December.

The dated page also lists a late route for 2027 entry. Applications close on 6 January 2027, initial tests are due by 27 January and the shortlisted assessment day is 6 March. Late applicants compete for fewer places. The school’s FAQ says it cannot assess late applicants from overseas schools, so overseas families should not rely on this route.

The Year 12 application also costs £450. It requires a curriculum vitae, a handwritten letter to the Head Master, the latest school report and the passport identity page.

Learning support

Harrow’s Learning Skills team can provide individual or group lessons, study-skills help, classroom adjustments and examination access arrangements. The school says it can support mild dyslexia and some other learning difficulties.

It does not provide highly specialised or intensive support. Provision is decided case by case, and external specialist help may carry separate arrangements or costs. Discuss needs and assessment adjustments with the Registrar before registering.

Bursaries and scholarships

Means-tested bursaries can cover up to 100% of fees for strong Year 9 or Year 12 applicants. A family should declare the need for assistance on registration and contact the Access team early. The award is separate from academic selection and is not guaranteed.

The Year 7 Award is a distinct UK-only route for pupils at local primary schools. It can fund Years 7 and 8 at a preparatory school before Harrow entry in Year 9. Its normal deadline is 1 July of Year 5.

Academic, Music, Art, Sport, Drama and Design Technology and Engineering scholarships are available at Year 9 and Year 12. Scholarships normally reduce school fees by 5%. Their application and assessment dates differ, so use the dated schedule rather than the general admissions deadline.

Fees for 2026–27

The current boarding fee is £21,990 per term, including VAT. Three terms total £65,970. The fee includes boarding, tuition, textbooks, a stationery allowance and laundry. Additional tuition for some subjects costs extra.

Other published charges are:

Charge	Amount	Treatment
Registration	£450	Non-refundable
Year 9 Entry Deposit	£2,400	Public page does not state its final treatment
Year 9 Final Confirmation Deposit	£2,400	Due by 31 January in the entry year; final treatment not stated
Year 9 Acceptance Fee	£1,200	Non-refundable
Year 12 Acceptance Fee	£600	Non-refundable
Visa administration	£3,000 a year	Payable termly when Harrow sponsors the visa

If at least one parent normally lives overseas, the school also requires an additional deposit equal to one term’s fees. At 2026–27 rates this is £21,990. It is credited to the final bill, or refunded if the pupil withdraws with a full term’s notice before entry.

For a Year 9 entrant, annual tuition, registration and the non-refundable acceptance fee total £67,620 before extras. The two £2,400 deposits make the initial cash requirement higher, but should not be described as fees without their final contract terms.

An overseas Year 9 family may also need the one-term deposit and £3,000 annual visa charge. Ask for a personalised payment schedule, cancellation terms and a list of extras before accepting.

How to compare it

Harrow is relevant only if boys-only full boarding is acceptable. Eton College is another boys-only full-boarding option, but it has its own timetable, assessment route and fees. Westminster School offers day and boarding places and is moving towards full co-education in stages.

Compare the boarding calendar, house allocation, entry year, learning-support capacity and complete cash requirement. Contact admissions@harrowschool.org.uk before relying on a general deadline or paying the registration fee.

Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.