Oxford or Cambridge private schools? A parent-first 2027 shortlist

Seven schools, several fundamentally different choices

Begin by crossing out models that cannot fit. A child cannot board at MCS, Oxford High or The Perse. Stephen Perse boarding begins only in sixth form. The Leys has a compulsory Saturday programme; the ordinary Perse week is Monday–Friday. MCS and Headington are also moving through significant institutional change.

The comparison is anchored to each school’s current admissions material: MCS, Oxford High, Headington, The Perse, Stephen Perse, The Leys and St Mary’s. Recheck the live route before acting on any date.

None of these rows ranks academic quality. They remove the schools that would make everyday family life unworkable before an entrance score creates emotional momentum.

How each school assesses at 11+

The deadline table further down gives the dates. This one sets out what a child actually does, as described in each of our school guides.

Handwritten or extended writing appears at MCS, Headington, The Perse and St Mary’s, so practice limited to on-screen multiple choice would miss part of the task. The Leys and Headington add observed group work; Oxford High frames its process as an Experience Day.

Use the school name links for the full process, including what each school does not yet publish for 2027.

The formats come from our school guides, which cite each school’s published material; recheck the live admissions page before you book preparation around them.

Curriculum differences are smaller than the old labels suggest

All seven now use A levels in sixth form. Stephen Perse is no longer an IB school. Headington also publishes a BTEC Enterprise and Entrepreneurship route alongside an A level. St Mary’s keeps Religious Studies compulsory to GCSE as part of its Catholic heritage.

Language, science and humanity option rules differ, as do subject thresholds at 16+. Ask for the current option blocks, courses that actually ran last year and how an uneven learner is placed. A long subject list is not a timetable guarantee.

We do not rank the schools by published results here. The figures are shares of examination grades with inconsistent or missing denominators and no like-for-like value-added measure. Each profile explains its school’s current result evidence and limitations.

Map Monday to Sunday before debating academic culture

MCS, Oxford High and The Perse are day schools. Their late activities and transport still matter: a return bus can leave before the club a child wants, and MCS publishes an expectation of some Saturday sport or activities. Stephen Perse is also day for younger pupils and adds one full boarding house only at 16+.

Headington offers half-weekly, weekly and full boarding. Its short-stay route is published for Years 7–9 and normally lasts at least one term, so it is not the same as St Mary's nightly flexi boarding. St Mary's also offers weekly and full boarding from Year 5. In both, “full” means term-time; pupils leave for school holidays.

The Leys is the outlier in weekly rhythm. Saturday is school for everyone, with four lessons and sport from Year 9. Home Boarding means a long boarding-shaped day followed by sleep at home; it is not weekly boarding. For some children that is immersive. It also changes the practical weekend for families with other Saturday commitments.

Relocating and international families should test eligibility before comparing fees. The Perse requires parental residence and does not sponsor Child Student visas; MCS's sponsorship sources conflict; Headington sponsors only full-board girls; The Leys limits sponsorship to international full boarders; and St Mary's publishes a guardian-distance rule. Any one of those boundaries can remove a school before assessment begins.

Compare the family’s annual baseline, not one term’s headline

Every figure below is a 2026–27 VAT-inclusive planning baseline, calculated as three terms. No school has published a complete 2027–28 fee schedule. Lunch, devices, travel, activities and the amount of residential provision differ.

Direct Headington Sixth entrants have a higher fee: £30,783 day and £62,064 full boarding, versus the continuing-pupil rate. MCS Sixth is £30,603 including its compulsory levy; Oxford High Sixth is £24,444 without compulsory lunch. Those differences show why “school fee” needs a phase and inclusion list.

Four schools need a transition question in every visit

MCS starts girls in Years 3–4 in 2027 and rolls coeducation upward; a new Head succeeds Helen Pike after August 2027. Headington emerged from the 2024 Headington–Rye St Antony merger, returned to the Headington School Oxford name in 2026 and also starts with a new Head in September 2027.

The Leys and St Faith’s become one all-through school in 2028. The school says the final 2027 Year 7 cohort stays on the existing Leys site; younger pupils starting from 2028 move to the St Faith’s site and Year 7 boarding ends.

Stephen Perse is already through its coeducation and curriculum changes: the diamond model ended in 2022 and IB in 2023. Its current issue is clarity across several sites and unevenly updated public policies, not a future merger.

Build one application clock, but keep every route separate

“Unpublished” is useful information. It tells you which school to contact now and prevents a scholarship deadline, old policy or previous year’s Saturday from becoming a false family date.