Tiffin Girls’ School and Tiffin School are two of the most academically successful state schools in south-west London. Both are selective grammar schools located in Kingston upon Thames and share a common history, but they differ in their student body, admissions profile and aspects of school culture.

Official school websites
https://www.tiffingirls.org/
https://www.tiffinschool.co.uk/

Admissions and entry

Both schools are selective grammar schools and admit pupils based on academic performance in the 11+ entrance examination.

Tiffin School is a boys’ grammar school for pupils aged 11–18. Around 180 boys are admitted each year into Year 7 through competitive tests in English and mathematics. The school remains boys-only in Years 7–11 but its sixth form is now co-educational and admits girls as well.

Tiffin Girls’ School is the girls’ equivalent grammar school. It also admits pupils at age 11 through selective entrance examinations. The school typically offers around 180 places each year and is heavily oversubscribed, with large numbers of applicants competing for places.

Academic results

Both schools are widely known for extremely strong academic results.

Tiffin Girls’ School regularly achieves very high GCSE outcomes. In recent results around 94% of GCSE grades were in the 9–7 range, reflecting the school’s very strong academic intake. (The Tiffin Girls’ School)

Tiffin School also produces excellent GCSE results, with around 79% of grades awarded at the highest levels of 7–9 in recent years. (Tiffin School)

Pupils from both schools frequently progress to Russell Group universities, with many students going on to study at highly competitive institutions including Oxford and Cambridge.

School environment

Although the schools share a similar academic focus, their environments are slightly different.

Tiffin School has a long tradition as a boys’ grammar school and emphasises academic achievement alongside strong extracurricular opportunities such as music, sport, debating and drama.

Tiffin Girls’ School is known for its academically ambitious environment and focus on intellectual development. The school encourages pupils to pursue a wide range of academic and creative interests within a structured and supportive setting.

Facilities and extracurricular life

Both schools provide a wide range of activities outside the classroom.

Tiffin School offers clubs and societies covering areas such as performing arts, sport and languages. The school also has specialist status in performing arts and languages.

Tiffin Girls’ School also offers a broad curriculum including languages, sciences, arts and extracurricular opportunities such as music, drama and academic societies.

Because both are state grammar schools, their facilities are generally more modest than those of nearby independent schools, though both have invested in specialist teaching spaces and enrichment programmes.

Size and structure

The schools are similar in overall size.

Tiffin School has around 1,400 pupils aged 11–18.

Tiffin Girls’ School has roughly 1,200 pupils including a sixth form of around 300 students. (Wikipedia)

Both schools admit pupils at Year 7 and also allow some entry into sixth form based on GCSE results.

Location

The schools are located very close to each other in Kingston upon Thames.

Tiffin School sits on Queen Elizabeth Road, while Tiffin Girls’ School is located nearby on Richmond Road. Both draw pupils from across Kingston, Surrey and parts of south-west London.

Overall

Tiffin Girls’ School and Tiffin School are among the highest performing state schools in the region and share a similar academic ethos.

Tiffin School offers a traditional boys’ grammar school experience through Years 7–11 with a co-educational sixth form.

Tiffin Girls’ School offers an academically selective environment for girls throughout secondary school and sixth form.

For many families the choice between the two is straightforward because of the single-sex structure, but both schools provide highly academic education and strong preparation for university.