WHAT? WHERE?

If ever there was a school that could claim the capital as its campus, this is it. Set in a striking Grade I-listed building overlooking Green Park, with The Ritz, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Academy of Arts all just a few minutes’ walk away, LPS Mayfair enjoys a postcode most schools could only dream of.

Part of the London Park Schools group and the Dukes Education family, this co-ed independent school for ages 11 to 18 is intentionally small, with around 200 pupils and average class sizes of 14. The result is an environment where pupils are genuinely known as individuals, but one that still feels outward-looking, with London woven naturally into everyday learning.

The school attracts families from across the capital and well beyond. Alongside pupils from Westminster, Chelsea and Battersea are others travelling in from Hampstead, Hackney and south London, while a growing number join from overseas, creating a community that feels diverse, cosmopolitan and surprisingly close-knit.

FACILITIES

The Grade I-listed building is every bit as impressive as its Mayfair postcode suggests. Think sweeping staircases, lofty, light-filled rooms and enough period detail to make you wonder if you’ve stumbled into a private members’ club. Then you notice the teenagers heading off to maths.

At the foot of the main staircase sits a beautiful grand piano, donated by nearby The Connaught, where pupils often stop to play between lessons. It’s a lovely detail that somehow sums the school up. Alongside all the heritage you’ll find well-equipped science labs, an art room and dedicated learning support spaces, so despite its grandeur, it feels every inch a busy, working school.

Of course, one of the school’s greatest assets lies just beyond the front door. Green Park becomes an outdoor classroom of sorts, while the Royal Academy, Parliament and some of London’s world-class museums become part of everyday learning. It’s an approach that makes the most of an extraordinary location without ever feeling like a gimmick.

SPORT

Football is undoubtedly the headline act here. Teams compete across every age group for both boys and girls, with pupils joining forces with sister school LPS Clapham for Games afternoons and fixtures. It’s a smart arrangement that creates larger, more competitive squads while still keeping the close-knit feel of a smaller school. A recent football tour to Porto even saw the U15s hold one of FC Porto’s development teams to an impressive draw.

Rugby is another area of strength, with one pupil currently representing Trinidad & Tobago at U18 level and several others involved in development academies across London.

That said, there’s no pressure to be the next Lionel Messi. Pupils who prefer to sample a bit of everything can choose a multi-sport programme featuring everything from dodgeball and Gaelic football to handball, table tennis and capture the flag. It feels entirely in keeping with the school’s philosophy: participation comes first, and helping pupils discover activities they’ll enjoy long after school matters just as much as winning matches.

CREATIVE ARTS

The arts feel right at home here. More than half of pupils learn an instrument, taught by professional musicians whose day jobs include performing in the West End, touring with well-known artists and playing in leading orchestras. It’s not every school where your music teacher heads off to a performance after the final bell.

Pupils can choose from everything from piano and vocals to drums, trumpet and saxophone, while bands, choirs and regular concerts ensure there are plenty of opportunities to perform. The school’s young composers have also won the Independent Schools Association’s national composition competition for the past two years.

The location comes into its own here too. Art lessons regularly head to nearby galleries including the Royal Academy, Wallace Collection and V&A, while practising artists are invited in to run workshops and share their expertise. Drama is equally hands-on, with a whole-school production each year, seasonal showcases and GCSE and A-level performances. It all reinforces the sense that creativity here isn’t something that’s confined to the timetable.

ACADEMICS

LPS Mayfair’s ‘Learn Like a Londoner’ philosophy is far more than a catchy strapline. Learning regularly extends beyond the classroom, whether that’s maths pupils exploring geometry through Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, politics students listening to debates in Parliament or art classes studying works first hand at the Royal Academy. It’s an approach that makes lessons feel rooted in the real world rather than confined to a textbook.

Back at school, pupils are encouraged to think across subjects rather than in neat academic compartments. Links between disciplines are made deliberately, helping pupils develop a deeper understanding of the ideas they’re exploring instead of treating each lesson as a completely separate experience. It’s thoughtful, intellectually curious and entirely in keeping with the school’s wider ethos.

The academic results suggest the approach is paying off. LPS Mayfair’s first GCSE cohort achieved 40% of grades at 9–7 and 94% at 9–4, showing that a curriculum built on curiosity and real-world experiences sits comfortably alongside strong academic outcomes.

SIXTH FORM

One of the biggest changes this autumn is the return of LPS Sixth from its Victoria site to the main Mayfair campus. Bringing sixth formers back into the heart of the school feels like a natural move, strengthening the sense of community while giving younger pupils older role models to look up to and creating more opportunities for leadership across the school.

The move is also accompanied by a refresh of the Grade I-listed building, including dedicated breakout spaces exclusively for sixth form students. Add the absence of school uniform, and the final two years have a noticeably more grown-up feel without losing the close-knit atmosphere that defines the school.

Academically, the sixth form is equally flexible. Alongside a broad range of A Levels, students can choose to study one subject online if it better suits their interests, while being part of the Dukes Education family opens up specialist support for Oxbridge, medicine and US university applications, as well as careers advice and mentoring. It’s a thoughtful balance of independence and support that prepares students well for life beyond school.

HYBRID @ LPS

One of the more unusual strings to LPS Mayfair’s bow is Hybrid @ LPS – and it’s probably not what you’re imagining. Pupils spend four days a week learning through live online lessons before coming together at the Mayfair campus every Friday for science, practical subjects, sport, trips and, of course, time with friends.

The programme attracts a diverse mix of students. For some, it offers the flexibility to balance school with elite sport, performing arts or other commitments that don’t fit neatly around a conventional timetable. For others – particularly pupils with SEND, anxiety or school avoidance – it provides a supportive route back into education without cutting them off from school life altogether.

Forget five days on Zoom in pyjamas. Lessons are taught live by LPS teachers, pupils follow the same timetable as their peers and remain very much part of the wider school community. Perhaps most tellingly, some enjoy the experience so much that they choose to return to full-time school – something staff say happens more often than you might expect.

PASTORAL CARE

For all its grand surroundings, LPS Mayfair is a remarkably down-to-earth place. With around 200 pupils, there’s little chance of anyone slipping under the radar. Teachers know their pupils well, relationships feel genuine and there’s a quiet confidence that if someone needs extra support – academically, socially or emotionally – it’ll be spotted early.

That sense of openness is reflected in Deputy Head (Pastoral) Hannah Sheehy’s office, where pupils regularly pop in for a chat, some advice or simply a breather before heading back to lessons. It’s the sort of space that’s clearly there to be used, not just admired from afar.

Perhaps the strongest endorsement came from one parent, who told me they used to have “a holiday child and a term-time child”. Since joining LPS Mayfair, they said, they have “their holiday child all the time”. That’s quite a recommendation.

HEAD

There’s a changing of the guard at LPS Mayfair this September, as Heidi Armstrong takes over from the much-loved Dr Martin Rainbow. They’re big shoes to fill, but Heidi arrives with an impressive pedigree, having spent the past decade at Putney High School in a variety of senior leadership roles, including Deputy Head (Pastoral), Head of Senior School and Acting Head.

What struck me most was how warmly Heidi spoke about Martin and the school he leaves behind. There was no sense of arriving with a blueprint to reinvent everything. Instead, she talked about building on strong foundations, bringing fresh ideas while preserving the culture that has made the school what it is.

Ask Heidi what she hopes pupils leave with and she doesn’t start with grades or university places. She talks about magnanimity. It’s not a word you hear many heads use, but for Heidi it means being curious, celebrating other people’s success, thinking generously and leaving school as a good human being as well as a well-educated one. It feels like an unusually thoughtful ambition – and one that’s entirely in keeping with the school.

QUIRKS

Only in Mayfair could a lunchtime involve either battling dragons or throwing a football around in Green Park with Buckingham Palace looking on. Student-led Dungeons & Dragons and flag football are among the school’s quirkiest clubs – the latter introduced by Dr Martin Rainbow, a former competitive American football player.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Breakfast Club runs from 8am, while after-school clubs and supervised prep keep the school day going until 5.30pm, offering plenty of flexibility for busy London families.

For a relatively small school, there’s an impressive choice of clubs, many of which make the most of the school’s central London location. Padel has quickly become one of the most popular activities, with pupils heading to Padel Yard in Vauxhall, alongside a wide range of music, creative, sporting and academic clubs.

Boxing is one of the newer additions, and came about after staff spotted pupils practising in Green Park after school. Rather than leaving them to it, they teamed up with a coach at nearby BuddhaBox to turn it into a proper after-school club.

SEND

Support at LPS Mayfair is thoughtfully tailored to the individual. The school works with pupils with a wide range of needs, including dyslexia, ADHD, autism, anxiety, speech and language needs and EHCPs, with the emphasis firmly on understanding what each young person needs to flourish.

Much of that support centres around The Loft, a dedicated learning space where pupils can access mentoring, counselling, literacy and numeracy support or simply take a breather if the school day becomes a little overwhelming. Specialist speech and language and occupational therapists are also brought in where appropriate.

The aim isn’t to remove pupils from school life, but to give them the right support to participate fully in it. Whether that’s through personalised timetables, pupil passports or simply somewhere quiet to regroup before heading back into lessons, the emphasis is always on helping pupils build confidence and independence.

ISI REPORT

You can read the 2025 report here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Screen addicts, look away. LPS Mayfair has been proudly smartphone-free from day one. Pupils hand their phones in at reception every morning and don’t see them again until home time.

TRANSPORT

It would be hard to find a more central location. Green Park Underground station is just a couple of minutes’ walk away, with Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly Circus and Victoria all within easy reach, making the school surprisingly accessible from across London and beyond.

Many pupils travel independently, something that feels very much part of the school’s culture. Better still, once they’re there, there’s very little time spent on coaches travelling between venues. Galleries, parks, theatres and sports facilities are all within walking distance, leaving more time for the experiences themselves.

FEES

Refreshingly straightforward:

Secondary: £10,953 per term (including VAT)
LPS Sixth: £9,949 per term (including VAT)
Hybrid @ LPS: £5,850 per term

WORD ON THE GROUND

The parents I met all seemed to tell a remarkably similar story. They spoke about feeling as though they’d parented alongside the school, rather than simply waving their children off at the gates each morning.

One mum put it particularly well. She laughed that if there were an LPS university, she’d sign her son up tomorrow. There isn’t, of course – but it’s a pretty good indication of how highly families rate the school.

MUDDY VERDICT

For a school with one of the smartest addresses in the country, LPS Mayfair wears its postcode remarkably lightly. Yes, the opportunities are exceptional and the capital genuinely becomes an extension of the classroom, but it’s the warmth of the community, the quality of the conversations and the sense that pupils are encouraged to become thoughtful, open-minded young people that leave the strongest impression.

Progressive without being preachy, ambitious without piling on pressure and refreshingly unpretentious, LPS Mayfair feels quietly confident in what it does. And in a city full of excellent schools, that’s no small achievement.

GOOD FOR: Families looking for a genuinely modern education where curiosity, independence and strong pastoral care sit comfortably alongside academic ambition.

NOT FOR: Those seeking a highly traditional, academically selective independent school where convention takes precedence over innovation.

Dare to disagree? If you want to take a look for yourself register your interest here.

LPS Mayfair

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