The 10 best private schools in Europe in 2024 (2024)

The 10 best private schools in Europe are featured in the Spear’s Schools Index 2024, which recognises the world’s 100 leading private schools.

This competitive ranking includes 10 schools across 10 countries: France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Monaco, Italy, Malta and Belgium. The list doesn’t include Switzerland, whose world-leading schools are granted a ranking of their own.

[See also: The most expensive private schools in the European Union]

Each of these Top Flight schools provides an outstanding education, impressive selection of co-curricular activities and prepares students for life at leading universities in the UK, US and around the world.

• Jump to: Methodology
• Jump to: Best private schools in Europe (excluding Switzerland)

The best private schools in Europe: names to know

Half of the schools on this year’s index were added for the 2024 edition and reflect the growing depth and breadth of the Spear’s Schools Index.

British School of Paris

The British School of Paris is a co-educational British independent day school for pupils aged 3-18. The school plays an essential role in providing continuity of British education for children of all nationalities who find themselves living in the vibrant French capital. Students benefit from a rounded education shaped by the school’s motto: Validus Corpore Animoque, meaning ‘strength in body and mind’.

Read the full profile on Spears500.com

Campion School

Born from the desire to found a school in Athens that would prepare students for university in the UK and US, Campion claims to be ‘the first international school in the [city] for many years to build a fully equipped and modern facility for all of its children’. There are 660 pupils aged 3–18 at this school.

Read the full profile on Spears500.com

The English School, Cyprus

With a reputation as the country’s leading educational institution, The English School, Cyprus, is popular among Cypriot families. The school offers a British curriculum with students sitting for IGCSE and A-Level examinations for 1,117 students aged 11-18.

Read the full profile on Spears500.com

King’s College Soto (The British School of Madrid)

On a 12-acre campus just north of Madrid sits King’s College Soto (The British School of Madrid) is a co-educational British day and boarding school which takes children from pre-prep to sixth form. The 1,600 students (across all years) have the option to study A-Levels or the IB diploma. Students have been accepted into Britain’s best universities.

Read the full profile on Spears500.com

St Edward’s College, Malta

Just 700 pupils aged 2 to 19 study at this school on the island of Malta – but they come from all around the world. Occupying a number of buildings, the campus offers sports facilities, boarding houses and a chapel. Under the leadership of headteacher Nollaig Mac an Bhaird, students study for their IB diploma and go on to universities in Europe, the UK and the US.

Read the full profile on Spears500.com

Methodology

Spear’s has worked closely with the expert team at Thuso to refine the methodology underpinning the index, and to convene an expert panel of leading international educationalists to contribute their knowledge and insight to the research and selection process.

The Spear’s Research Unit collected data and information directly from candidate schools, using a combination of online forms and interviews. This was supplemented with additional research and by intelligence and insight from Thuso and the panel of expert educationalists.

The Spear’s Schools Index 2024 has also been underpinned by the following key principles:

• While examination results and academic attainment is a key consideration, it is not the only thing that matters. Leading schools are not necessarily the most ‘academic’: A wide range of social, cultural, and pastoral factors have been weighed in finalising the index. In some cases, some schools with strong academics have been omitted where they fall short in relation to these wider considerations.

• Families are increasingly ‘mobile’, with new ‘global cities’ emerging as key hubs: This is particularly the case for cities such as Dubai, as well as established regional hubs in Europe, Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia, and the Pacific.

• Reputation and standing are not insignificant: The reputation and standing of a school shape and influence its character, the parents and pupils it attracts, and its position both regionally, and internationally.

Building on these principles, Spear’s, in collaboration with Thuso, brought together an Expert Advisory Panel, jointly chaired by Matthew Goldie-Scot, managing director at Thuso Group, and Ian Douglas, Spear’s head of research. Further information about the composition of the panel is available here.

Best schools in Europe (excluding Switzerland): the complete list

Click on individual schools to read their full profiles onSpears500.com. All schools have been awarded Top Flight ranking. Schools listed in alphabetical order