Queen Elizabeth’s School (QE Boys)

If your son is the kind who likes a challenge and wants to be among others who feel the same, Queen Elizabeth's is the boys' grammar in Barnet that many bright children across north London hope to win a place at. It is a state school, so there are no fees, and it is openly meritocratic, a place where clever, hard-working boys who relish difficult work tend to settle and thrive. The school has a long memory. It was founded in 1573, when Elizabeth I granted a charter for a free grammar school in Barnet, and that heritage still shapes the tone of the place today.

What parents tend to notice is how much there is to get stuck into beyond lessons. Boys are sorted into six houses that compete across the year, and daily life runs thick with clubs and trips, from chess and engineering to drama, with a busy run of concerts for the school's many musicians and rugby tours abroad. The Good Schools Guide describes a school where very capable boys flourish, and the steady rhythm of competitions, performances and house points gives even quieter boys somewhere to find their footing and their friends.

It suits an able, curious boy who wants to be stretched hard and is happy working alongside others who are just as keen. The school has been led since 2011 by Headmaster Neil Enright, who grew up locally, and its aim is plainly stated, to bring up boys who leave confident, capable and ready for what comes next.