Harrow School
Stet Fortuna Domus
Founded in 1572 under a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, Harrow School sits on its own hill above London, and is one of a small number of schools that admit boys only on a full boarding basis. Its hilltop setting, distinctive straw boater uniform, and the annual Harrow Songs concert have given it a character recognised well beyond the world of British schools.
Key Facts
Location : Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex
Type : All-boys, full boarding
Age Range : 13 to 18
Pupil Numbers : Approx. 830 boys
Founded : 1572
Motto : Stet Fortuna Domus ("May the Fortune of the House Stand")
Academic Profile
In the Shell year, boys at Harrow choose two languages from eight, including Mandarin and Russian, before taking their GCSEs, supported by a Super-Curriculum reaching beyond the syllabus. In the Sixth Form they study A Levels, and Old Harrovians proceed to Oxford and Cambridge, alongside Imperial College London and UCL.
Co-Curricular Life
Music is served by dedicated music schools with specialist teaching and practice rooms and a concert hall, and by ensembles that include the Byron Consort, the school's elite vocal group, with boys regularly reaching the National Youth Orchestra. Harrow Songs, an annual tradition of communal singing stretching back well over a century, remains a cornerstone of school life and is performed every five years at the Royal Albert Hall. Drama centres on the Ryan Theatre, an industry-standard auditorium staffed by professional production teams, where a strong Shakespearean tradition has taken boys as far as Shakespeare's Globe, alongside a busy programme of visual arts. Sport is taken seriously across more than a dozen disciplines, with cricket, rugby, football, and rowing among the longest standing, supported by extensive facilities and specialist coaching partnerships with professional clubs. Boys also share in a programme of joint academic, co-curricular, and social activities with Downe House School, through a partnership between the two schools that broadens the opportunities open to Harrovians while each school keeps its own single-sex character.
Admissions Essentials
Boys join Harrow School in Year 9, at age thirteen, with a small number of places available in the Sixth Form. Registration for Year 9 entry takes place in the summer term of Year 5. The process begins with the ISEB Common Pre-Test in the autumn term of Year 6, followed by the Harrow Test, comprising an interview, an English and Maths assessment, and a group activity, in the spring term of Year 6. A place is confirmed through Common Entrance or an Academic Scholarship examination in Year 8. A small number of places occasionally become available at the start of Year 10, for which enquiries should be made directly to the Registrar. At Year 9 entry, scholarships span six categories, awarded for academic distinction, art, design technology and engineering, drama, music, and sport.
In Essence
For a boy who is drawn to shared ritual and a strong sense of belonging, Harrow's hilltop community runs on its own songs, its own language, and deep House loyalty, a depth of tradition and camaraderie that stays with Old Harrovians long after they leave.