London guides · events · places
Universities, schools, admissions, visas and international-student decisions explained from official sources.
The 18+ Student Oyster card reduces eligible season tickets—not every journey. Start with how often you travel, then decide whether applying and buying a pass makes sense.
Find a realistic school shortlist. Four London regions, four school types, and five carefully explained choices in each guide.
Five independent secondary choices in South London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five independent primary & prep choices in South London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five state secondary choices in South London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five state primary choices in South London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five independent secondary choices in West London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five independent primary & prep choices in West London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five state secondary choices in West London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five state primary choices in West London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five independent secondary choices in East London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five independent primary & prep choices in East London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five state secondary choices in East London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five state primary choices in East London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five independent secondary choices in North London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five independent primary & prep choices in North London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five state secondary choices in North London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five state primary choices in North London, with real school photographs, entry considerations and linked evidence to help you plan a worthwhile visit.
Five fee-paying London schools to compare for academic stretch, school culture and the everyday experience.
Five London grammar schools for an academically focused shortlist, with selection and location made clear.
Five fee-paying London options for the primary years, from Reception entry to junior schools starting at seven.
Five London state primaries worth investigating, with their academic evidence, character and admissions considerations in one place.
Five academically ambitious London schools to compare, with the state/private distinction made clear from the start.
Prisms, experiments and live demonstrations: make a Science Museum visit about doing, not just looking.
Explore space travel through the museum’s Space gallery and a separately booked live family show.
The London parent checklist, council route and 31 October deadline.
Fifteen institutions to compare—and why subject fit beats one league table.
Ten London institutions compared by academic profile and city experience.
Qualifications, English, documents, money and the 2027 UCAS calendar.
The early deadline, course choice, tests, written work and interviews.
A transparent 2026 shortlist of state-selective and independent schools.
State, independent, in-year and overseas applications explained.
The current routes for university and independent-school study.
Build a funding search around eligibility, deadlines and the true remaining cost.
Model tuition, housing, visa and arrival costs before accepting an offer.
Compare school type, guardianship, boarding life, admissions and visa sponsorship.
Understand the qualifications, subject choices and routes into university.
THE LONNOW GUIDE
A school place, an undergraduate application and permission to study are separate processes. Use the child’s stage or the exact course as your starting point, then work through admissions, practical travel and the financial plan in that order.
An editorial decision guide, not a ranking. Choose the option that fits your circumstances, then check the relevant official information before committing.
| Plan | Start with | Prepare alongside it |
|---|---|---|
| State school in England | Local council and the school’s published criteria | Child’s stage, current circumstances and realistic school journey |
| Independent school | The school’s own admissions team | Its assessments, terms, support and full cost information |
| Full-time undergraduate course | Exact course listing and the applicable UCAS cycle | Qualifications, reference and any separate course requirements |
| Study requiring immigration permission | Licensed sponsor and the relevant official study route | Admission conditions, financial evidence and provider support |
Source notes: GOV.UK: choosing schools in England · UCAS: application dates and deadlines · GOV.UK: Student visa overview
For state-school places in England, begin with the local council and the school’s published admission arrangements. An attractive postcode or a place on a shortlist does not settle the application. Read the criteria that apply to the school and ask how the normal entry round differs from moving part-way through schooling. Independent schools handle their own applications, so a council application should not be assumed to cover that route.
Visit with questions that a league table cannot answer: the actual daily journey, how a new pupil joins lessons, the curriculum offered, and the support relevant to your child. GOV.UK points families to school visits, inspection reports, performance information and published special-educational-needs information. Use those materials together rather than treating one headline result as a complete description of the school.
Continue with School admissions for international families · Explore schools by area.
Source notes: GOV.UK: choosing schools in England
Put the course title beside its compulsory modules, optional choices, assessment and teaching locations. A London institution may teach at several sites, so ask where your own sessions and placements would be. On a course visit, request a concrete example of a typical week, a recent project and the support available when a student struggles. That tells you more about fit than an unsupported claim that one university is “best” for everybody.
Build the budget around the whole study period: tuition, housing, transport, equipment and any application-related costs. Record which figures are confirmed by the provider and which are still estimates. A scholarship being advertised is not proof that you will receive it, and a possible part-time job should not be the only way the plan balances. Our university shortlists help compare institutions without creating a universal ranking.
Continue with Compare London universities · Compare UK university options.
The UCAS timetable for 2027 entry gives 13 January 2027 at 18:00 UK time as the equal-consideration date for most undergraduate courses. The earlier 15 October 2026 deadline for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses has already passed at this check. Those dates are not interchangeable, and a school or college may require your material earlier so that it can complete its part.
Prepare qualifications, the reference and any course-specific evidence as one application file. If a deadline has been missed, ask the provider whether a late application is possible rather than assuming that the main January date reopens an earlier-deadline course. UCAS also treats part-time and apprenticeship applications differently from the standard undergraduate timetable.
Continue with Understand the international application process · Read the Oxbridge admissions guide.
Source notes: UCAS: application dates and deadlines
A university offer does not itself settle permission to study in the UK. The Student visa overview describes requirements including an offer from a licensed student sponsor, English and sufficient funds for the relevant circumstances. Work with the institution’s admissions and immigration-support teams on their respective parts of the process. Do not transfer university-route assumptions to a younger child’s school application.
Before arrival, map the realistic journey from housing to the teaching site and identify the support contact you would use if the plan changes. For a family, give the school commute and the adult’s work journey equal attention. Education is an everyday routine as well as an application outcome.
Continue with Student and Child Student visa overview · Plan student life in London.
Source notes: GOV.UK: Student visa overview
No. The 2027 timetable has an earlier October deadline for specified courses and institutions, and other application formats differ. Use the exact course listing and cycle, not a date copied from an old guide.
Source notes: UCAS: application dates and deadlines
Use a shortlist as a research aid. Compare the admission arrangements, published school information, support and daily journey, then ask the school questions about the needs that matter to your family.
Source notes: GOV.UK: choosing schools in England
Choose what you need. Every recommendation comes from a current LONNOW guide in this section.
The clearest short route · reading time shown on every result
Routes, timings and practical stops · reading time shown on every result
Rankings, costs and trade-offs · reading time shown on every result
The most detailed explainers · reading time shown on every result
A strong education decision connects academic fit, entry requirements, total cost, support and future options. Rankings can start a shortlist but cannot complete it. Verify each course or school through its current admissions material and record deadlines independently.
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