HSBC Hurun Education Global Highschools 2025

CHINA RANKED 3RD WITH 16, ACOUNTING FOR 9%. US LED WITH 45% OF GLOBAL HIGHSCHOOLS, FOLLOWED BY UK 40%, DOWN 4%. SCHOOLS FROM 11 COUNTRIES MADE LIST

 

LONDON AND NEW YORK LED WITH 35 AND 27 SCHOOLS, FOLLOWED BY BOSTON, WASHINGTON D.C., LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO. SHANGHAI OVERTOOK OXFORD FOR 7TH PLACE.  BY REGION, US EAST COAST HAD HIGHEST NUMBER OF SCHOOLS

 

WESTMINSTER SCHOOL TOPPED LIST FOR THIRD YEAR RUNNING. OVER 40% OF ITS 200 GRADUATES OVER LAST THREE YEARS WENT TO OXBRIDGE OR IVY LEAGUE

 

LONDON-BASED ST PAUL'S SCHOOL OVERTOOK NEW-YORK BASED DALTON SCHOOL FOR 2ND PLACE.

 

WINCHESTER COLLEGE  RETURNED TO THE HURUN TOP 10. OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, MORE THAN 20% OF GRADUATES WENT TO OXBRIDGE OR THE IVY LEAGUE

 

70% CO-ED, WITH 18% GIRLS ONLY, AND 12% BOYS ONLY

 

1,050 STUDENTS ON AVERAGE OF WHICH 140 IN GRADUATING COHORT

 

204 YEARS HISTORY ON AVERAGE, WITH 2 SCHOOLS OVER 1000YRS, 22 SCHOOLS LESS THAN 50YRS

 

51% OF THE SCHOOLS OFFER BOARDING, WITH 49% DAY SCHOOL ONLY

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(23 June 2025, Shanghai) HSBC China in association with Hurun Education today released the HSBC Hurun Education Global Highschools 2025, a list of the world’s top highschools, ranked according to leavers’ university destinations, co-curricular and reputation. The ranking only includes independent schools, i.e. non-state schools, with physical campuses. This is the third year of the list.

 

HSBC Hurun Education Global Highschools 2025 includes 180 schools from 11 countries. Between them, they have 190,000 students, of which 25,000 graduate every year. On average, they have 1,050 students, of which 140 are in the final year. 51% offer boarding. They have a history of 204 years on average.

 

Kai Zhang, Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking, HSBC Asia, said: " We are delighted to join hands with Hurun Education to release the 'HSBC Hurun Education Global Highschools Ranking' at the HSBC International Education Forum for the third consecutive year, providing forward-looking insights for families to plan their children's international education and growth paths.

 

"How to choose destinations, schools and subjects is key to the planning of international education. HSBC's global survey shows that younger parents are more likely to send their children to study in the destinations near home. In addition to the traditional overseas study destinations, Hong Kong SAR and Singapore have become increasingly favored by Asian families. With the advantages of geographical proximity, quality of education and more adaptable culture, the enthusiasm for studying in these markets continues to increase, driving more active flows of international students within and into Asia.

 

"As an international financial institution marking its 160th anniversary this year, HSBC serves around 41 million customers. With HSBC global network covering major international study destinations, we provide diversified global banking services throughout the three key stages from study planning, pre-departure preparation, to traveling abroad to support the entire journey of children’s international study. In addition, we continue to work with education experts at home and overseas on multiple platforms, such as the HSBC International Education Forum, to unlock information about latest trends and market intelligence in the fast-changing international education area, helping Chinese and Asian families well plan international education and connect to high-quality resources."

 

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Education Chairman and Chief Researcher, said,

 

“I am delighted to partner with leading international bank HSBC, to put out the HSBC Hurun Education Global Highschools for the third year running. This list is designed to help parents find the most suitable school for their children, help teachers looking to work in the best schools, and university admission officers looking to understand more about where their applications are coming from.”

 

“Hurun Education has scoured the world for the best highschools of each region, taking into consideration only independent schools with physical campuses, and then ranking them based on leavers’ university destinations, co-curriculum activities and reputation. Hurun Education did not consider exam results. Whilst the HSBC Hurun Education Global Highschools is a ranking of the world’s most successful independent highschools, it is the right school for your child that is most important.”

 

“‘Leavers’ University Destinations’ reflects the school’s teaching, educational resources and level of attention to student’s future development. We provided a bonus to schools with lower admission requirements to recognize their added value. ‘Co-Curriculum Activities’ help students improve social skills, leadership skills, teamwork and social responsibility, allowing them to encounter new interests and friends. ‘Reputation’ is mainly about the impact of living alumni in society.”

 

“The number of Chinese students studying abroad fell last year, but there are still close to one million, with 280,000 in the US, 160,000 in each of the UK and Australia, 100,000 in Canada and 50,000 in Singapore. Nearly two-thirds of them are pursuing graduate or doctoral studies, 30% are pursuing undergraduate studies, and 5% are at highschool or earlier.”

 

“Perhaps one of the most surprising findings of this Hurun list is that China is third in the world with 9% or 16 of the 180 schools. This means there is a really viable alternative to sending their children to study far away and across the time zones, and instead keep them close to home.  This is having mental health benefits as well as keeping them anchored in Chinese culture for longer.”

 

“For parents in China, sending their children abroad has become more complicated in recent years. It has now become harder to get a US student visa. The likely winner should have been the UK, but since January, independent schools fees in the UK have gone up an average of 14%, after the UK government added VAT to independent schools, at the same time as making these schools pay business rates. Winchester College, for example, now costs over US$80,000 for a year’s education and boarding fees. Another factor in play is the flat China economy, meaning more families are looking to keep their children in the state system for longer.”

 

“The impact of AI is the subject on everybody’s lips. How to use AI properly, rather than let AI weaken the ablity of students to think for themselves? One impact has been an acceleration towards STEAM, adding ‘Arts’ into STEM, with an emphasis on creative thinking and the ability to think from first principles. At the end of the day, schools are having to future-proof education, prepare children to flourish and be fulfilled in the 2050s. It is a big ask.”

 

“Some of the world’s top highschools have large foundations, which goes a long way to helping them provide stability and independence. Phillips Andover Academy has a foundation worth over US$1bn. Other schools with large foundations include Eton College with US$700mn, St Paul’s School with US$550mn and Deerfield Academy with US$530mn.”

 

“Among the schools on the list, the average tenure of heads is 10 years. Heads play a vital role in shaping school culture and learning philosophy.”

 

“Building a world-class school often takes hundreds of years. The schools on the Hurun list were founded in 1821 on average, giving them an average history of 204 years. 13 schools have a history of more than 500 years and 10 schools were established in the 2000s, most of which are located in China. Over the years, although these schools have had many opportunities to expand their student numbers, they have still kept the student number at 1050. This year, the average number of graduates from these schools is 140.”

 

“Students applying to day schools in the heart of world-class cities such as New York, London, Shanghai and Hong Kong face the most intense competition for places, led by the likes of The Dalton School in New York, Westminster School in London, Pinghe School in Shanghai, and Chinese International School in Hong Kong.”

 

“The trend of co-ed is on the rise, partly because it brings convenience to families with both boys and girls. Surprisingly, perhaps, only one third of the schools on our list are single sex schools with girls’ schools 50% more popular than boys' schools. There is a trend of well-known UK-based boys' schools going co-ed with Abingdon School recently announcing it admitted girls for the first time last year in its almost 800 year history, whilst Winchester College has just started admitting girls for the first time in its almost 650 year history.”

 

“Day schools are on the up. Half of the schools on the list are day schools only, with the other half providing some form of boarding. Only one-third of the schools on our list are full boarding schools.”

 

“In the UK, the main starting points are aged 11 for the last seven years before university, aged 13 for the last five years or aged 16 for the last two years. In the US, the main starting point is aged 14 for the last four years.”

 

“On average, 13% of the students on the list are provided with financial aid, with an average annual subsidy of 27% of the tuition fees. It is worth noting that many schools still confuse financial aid and scholarships. Scholarships are designed to attract the best students, while financial aid is designed to support families who cannot afford the school fees.”

 

“Schools in China made up three of the four new entrants to the Hurun Global Highschools List this year with Hong Kong International School, Suzhou Foreign Language School and Shanghai American School.”

 

“There is a significant discrepency in transparency regarding the university destinations of school graduates. Nearly 90% of highschools disclose the number of students going on to each university. However, schools predominantly in Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland, prefer only to list out the university their graduates went to, or the offers they received.”

 

“Surprisingly, perhaps, there were very few schools from Canada, Australia and Europe that made the Hurun list.  Why? One of the reasons is that the majority of these students go on to local universities, and the universities in these countries are not ranked particularily high on the best-known rankings, such as QS, US News or Times Higher Education.  In addition, Europe's education system is dominated by public schools and has very few independent schools, which is significantly different from the education systems of the USA and the UK.”

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World’s Top 10 Overall

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London-based Westminster School was top, followed by The Dalton School and St Paul’s School. The Top 10 schools are from either the UK or US. They have 271 years of history on average. Six are single sex schools: three boys’ schools and three girls’ schools, and four are co-ed schools. Two schools made the Top 10 for the first time: King's College School, Wimbledon and  Saint Ann's School, at the expense of Phillips Andover Academy and Winchester College.​​