North Yorkshire’s vibrant private school scene has well and truly demonstrated what an educational powerhouse the county is.
When it came to A Level results in the most recent summer exam season, the impressive array of independent schools which call York, Harrogate, and the rest of North Yorkshire home did especially well - making up 5 of the top 10 for Yorkshire overall.
At the same time, attainment for private schools in general was higher than for state-funded schools, with education publication Tes reporting that independent schools saw nearly half of all A Level entries achieve an A or an A* grade (49.4%), compared to 26.5% from state-funded academies. This means that even with fees at many schools going up due to a recent government move to start charging private schools VAT, independent schools may still be an option worth considering for families of high-achieving youngsters.
We’ve created a list of the top performing private secondary schools in North Yorkshire, based on data from the Sunday Times’ prestigious Parent Power Guide for 2025, including just how much they cost per term. We filtered these exclusively by the percentage of total A Level entries in the summer 2024 exam season to get one of the three top grades - an A*, and A or a B.
A Levels can play a big part in opportunities for students after they finish secondary school, including which universities they can get into. It is worth noting that some private schools may not be included in the list if their students primarily sit an alternative qualification - or if they did not supply their results to The Times.
Here were the 9 North Yorkshire private schools that came out on top:
.jpeg?crop=4:3&trim=&width=800)
1. Queen Ethelburga's College
Queen Ethelburga's is a secondary school - part of a family of related schools covering all age groups - in the Thorpe Underwood area, north of York. In the 2023/24 school year, 96.7% of all of the A Level grades achieved by its students were an A*, an A or a B. Tuition fees are about £7,375 per term for a sixth form student. | National World
2. The Faculty of Queen Ethelburga's
Related to its predecessor and sharing the same North Yorkshire campus, Faculty is a secondary school which offers “slightly different subjects and qualifications”. In the 2023/24 school year, 84.8% of all of the A Level grades achieved by its students were an A*, an A or a B. Tuition fees are also about £7,375 per term for a senior student. | Google
3. St Peter’s School
St Peter’s is in Clifton, York, and educates children from the age of 2 right through to the sixth form. It is thought to be one of the oldest schools in the world. In the 2023/24 school year, 81.7% of all of the A Level grades achieved by its students were an A*, an A or a B. Tuition fees are about £8,665 per term for a senior student. | Google
.jpeg?crop=4:3&trim=&width=800)
4. The Mount School York
The Mount is a Quaker-affiliated all-through school for girls in central York. In the 2023/24 school year, 80.8% of all of the A Level grades achieved by its students were an A*, an A or a B. Tuition fees are about £7,416 per term for a senior student. | National World