Lagos State

Best secondary schools in Lagos: the shortlist, mainland and island, with fees where they are published

Lagos has more than 300 secondary schools on the state register and the ones families argue over fall into five groups: the federal unity colleges (King's, Queen's, FGC Ijanikin); the old mission schools returned to the churches (CMS Grammar, Igbobi, St Gregory's, Holy Child, Baptist Academy); the Lekki and Ikoyi international schools; the established private schools on the mainland (Grange, Vivian Fowler, Greensprings Anthony); and the boarding campuses outside the city (Atlantic Hall, Corona Agbara, Day Waterman).

This page puts them in one table with the fee figure and where it came from. We do not rank by exam results, because no Lagos school publishes them in a comparable form, and we will not print a pass rate we cannot source. What you get is a method you can read, a fee column that says whether the number came from the school or a third party, and the questions to ask on the visit.

28 schools listed, 19 with a fee figure and its source. Updated 21 September 2026.

How this list is ordered

The federal and state colleges come first because their fees are set by government and admission is by examination, not by fee. Then the mission schools and the private schools in order of how long they have been running, oldest first, with fee transparency breaking ties. Years in operation is a fact we can check; teaching quality is not something this page claims to measure.

•Ownership: federal unity college, Lagos State model college, mission, or private
•Years in operation, from the school's own founding date
•Fee transparency: a figure on the school's own site beats a third-party estimate, which beats nothing
•Day or boarding, and the curriculum the school states it teaches
•A live profile on SchoolRegistry that the school can claim and correct

Fees. A figure marked 'school schedule' was read on the school's own website or fee document. 'Estimate' comes from the named third-party page linked beside it, and some are two or three years old, so treat them as the order of magnitude. 'Not published' means neither the school nor a source we would cite prints a figure; most of the mission schools are in that group. All figures exclude uniforms, books, PTA levies, transport and boarding extras unless the note says otherwise.

The list

#	School	Area	Type	Fees	Why it is here
1	King's College, Lagos Nigerian · Boys · Day and boarding	Lagos Island (senior) and Victoria Island (junior)	Federal unity college, day and boarding	₦100,000 per termestimate Source: FIJ breakdown of the unity colleges' ₦100,000 fee (2023) Tuition at federal unity colleges is free; the ₦100,000 a term set in 2023 covers boarding, feeding, insurance and levies, per the FIJ breakdown. Confirm the current figure with the college.	Nigeria's oldest federal secondary school, opened in 1909, with an alumni list that runs through every profession in the country. Entry is by the National Common Entrance Examination.
2	Queen's College, Lagos Nigerian · Girls · Day and boarding	Yaba	Federal unity college, day and boarding	₦100,000 per termestimate Source: FIJ breakdown of the unity colleges' ₦100,000 fee (2023) Tuition at federal unity colleges is free; the ₦100,000 a term set in 2023 covers boarding, feeding, insurance and levies, per the FIJ breakdown. Confirm the current figure with the college.	The girls' counterpart to King's College, on Yaba's Onike side since 1927. Same national admission route and fee scale.
3	Federal Government College, Ijanikin Nigerian · Co-educational · Boarding	Ijanikin, Badagry road	Federal unity college, boarding	₦100,000 per termestimate Source: FIJ breakdown of the unity colleges' ₦100,000 fee (2023) Tuition at federal unity colleges is free; the ₦100,000 a term set in 2023 covers boarding, feeding, insurance and levies, per the FIJ breakdown. Confirm the current figure with the college.	The co-educational unity college for Lagos, on the Badagry road west of the city. Places by merit and state quota through the National Common Entrance Examination.
4	Lagos State Model College, Meiran Nigerian · Co-educational · Boarding	Meiran, Agbado	Lagos State boarding college	₦35,000 to ₦100,000 per termestimate Source: LASU Info (2025) Lagos State's model colleges charge a subsidised boarding fee set by the state; the figure quoted is the published range for 2025.	One of the Lagos State model colleges, the state government's own boarding schools, with entry by the state placement examination. The cheapest boarding route in Lagos after the unity colleges.
5	CMS Grammar School Nigerian · Boys · Day and boarding	Bariga	Anglican mission, day and boarding	Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the school or a source we would cite.	The oldest secondary school in Nigeria, founded in 1859 by the Church Missionary Society, still run under the Anglican Diocese of Lagos.
6	Baptist Academy Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Obanikoro	Baptist mission, day and boarding	Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the school or a source we would cite.	A Baptist mission school since 1885, returned to the church under the Lagos State schools hand-back, with a large day intake from the Obanikoro and Ilupeju side.
7	St Gregory's College Nigerian · Boys · Day and boarding	Obalende, Ikoyi	Catholic mission, day and boarding	Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the school or a source we would cite.	The Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos's boys' college since 1928, on the Ikoyi side of Obalende, with boarding houses on the campus.
8	Igbobi College Nigerian · Boys · Day and boarding School website	Yaba	Anglican and Methodist mission, day and boarding	Not published, ask the school The school's own site lists a ₦20,000 application form but not tuition.	Founded jointly by the Anglican and Methodist churches in 1932 and returned to them in 2001; one of the few Lagos mission schools that still boards on its original site.
9	Holy Child College Nigerian · Girls · Boarding	Ikoyi	Catholic mission, boarding	Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the school or a source we would cite.	The Society of the Holy Child Jesus's girls' boarding college in Ikoyi since 1945; the Catholic girls' equivalent of St Gregory's.
10	Grange School British (IGCSE) · Co-educational · Day School website	Ikeja GRA	Private, British curriculum, day	₦3,600,000 to ₦5,500,000 per yearestimate Source: Lagos.cool (2026) The school's own FAQ lists a ₦20,000 application fee; tuition is given at admission.	The British-curriculum day school on the Ikeja GRA side since 1958, and the usual mainland alternative to the Lekki international schools.
11	Greensprings School Nigerian and British, IB Diploma at Lekki · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Lekki and Anthony Village	Private, day and boarding	₦2,000,000 to ₦3,200,000 per yearestimate Source: Lagos.cool (Anthony campus) (2026) Figure quoted for the Anthony campus; the Lekki campus with boarding and the IB Diploma is higher.	Two campuses, mainland and Lekki, nursery to IB Diploma, with boarding at Lekki. One of the largest private school groups in Lagos.
12	Atlantic Hall Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Boarding	Poka, Epe	Private, full boarding	₦6,000,000 to ₦6,700,000 per yearestimate Source: Nigeria Private Schools (2025), doris.school (2025) Per session, boarding included; doris.school adds a ₦15,000 application fee and a ₦200,000 acceptance fee.	The full boarding school Lagos families name first, on a large campus at Poka outside Epe since 1989. Admission is by entrance examination.
13	Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls Nigerian and British · Girls · Day and boarding	Oregun, Ikeja	Private, girls, day and boarding	₦500,000 to ₦950,000 per termestimate Source: LagosMums interview with the school, Lagos.cool (2026) The school told LagosMums about ₦950,000 in the admission term (including books, uniform and tablet) and about ₦500,000 a term after; boarders about ₦1.4m then ₦900,000. The interview is not dated, so treat it as the shape of the invoice rather than this year's figure.	The best-known girls' school on the mainland, with boarding, since 1991.
14	Dowen College Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Lekki Phase 1	Private, day and boarding	₦2,500,000 per yearestimate Source: UniReady fee guide (2025) UniReady's worked example puts a first-year entrant at about ₦2.5m tuition plus ₦300,000 of extras; the secondary schedule differs by class.	A Lekki Phase 1 school since 1997 with both day and boarding streams, nursery to secondary.
15	Lekki British International High School British (IGCSE, A Level) · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Lekki	Private, British curriculum, day and boarding	₦4,600,000 to ₦6,800,000 per yearestimate Source: Nairametrics (2022) ₦4.6m day and ₦6.8m boarding per annum in 2022; fees have risen since. Confirm with the school.	British curriculum through IGCSE and A Level with boarding on the Lekki campus.
16	British International School, Lagos British (IGCSE, A Level) · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Lekki	International, British curriculum, day and boarding	₦6,000,000 to ₦8,000,000 per yearestimate Source: Nigeria Private Schools (2025) Day tuition; boarding and extras push the total above ₦10m a year on the same source.	The secondary-only British international school in Lekki, with a large boarding house; one of the highest fees in the city.
17	Meadow Hall Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Day and boarding School website	Lekki	Private, day and boarding	₦3,000,000 to ₦3,300,000 per yearestimate Source: InfoExpand (2026) Day students; boarding about ₦5.0m to ₦5.5m a session on the same source. The school's own admission page lists a ₦50,000 application fee.	Nursery to secondary on one Lekki campus since 2002, with boarding for the secondary years.
18	Whitesands School Nigerian and British · Boys · Day	Lekki	Private, boys, day	₦1,200,000 to ₦1,800,000 per yearestimate Source: Lagos.cool (2026) Lagos.cool's band; the school gives its schedule at admission.	A boys' day school in Lekki since 2005, run on the Opus Dei educational model with a strong parent-involvement programme.
19	Day Waterman College British (IGCSE, A Level) · Co-educational · Boarding	Asu, near Abeokuta (Ogun State)	Private, boarding	₦6,100,000 to ₦8,100,000 per yearestimate Source: Nairametrics (2022), Lagos.cool (2026) ₦6.1m day and ₦8.1m boarding in 2022; Lagos.cool puts 2026 at ₦5m to ₦7.5m. Confirm with the school.	Outside Lagos, on the Abeokuta side of Ogun State, but on most Lagos boarding shortlists: a purpose-built British-curriculum boarding campus opened in 2008.
20	Corona Secondary School Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Boarding	Agbara (Ogun State border)	Private, boarding	₦2,500,000 to ₦4,000,000 per yearestimate Source: News Express (2025) Per session on the source; confirm with the Corona Schools Trust Council.	The Corona Schools Trust Council's boarding secondary school at Agbara, fed by the Corona primary schools across Lagos.
21	Children's International School British · Co-educational · Day	Lekki Phase 1	Private, British curriculum, day	₦3,800,000 to ₦5,200,000 per yearestimate Source: Lagos.cool (2026) Lagos.cool's band; the school gives its schedule at admission.	A Lekki Phase 1 British-curriculum day school, nursery through secondary.
22	Caleb International College Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Magodo	Private, day and boarding	₦200,000 to ₦700,000 per termestimate Source: Nigeria Private Schools (2025) The listed range spans day and boarding.	The Magodo boarding and day college of the Caleb group, which also runs a university in Imota.
23	Supreme Education Foundation Schools Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Magodo	Private, day and boarding	₦200,000 to ₦500,000 per termestimate Source: Nigeria Private Schools (2025) The listed range spans nursery to secondary.	A Magodo day and boarding school at a fee well under the Lekki and Ikeja GRA schools.
24	Doregos Private Academy Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Ipaja	Private, day and boarding	₦100,000 to ₦400,000 per termestimate Source: Nigeria Private Schools (2025) The listed range spans day and boarding.	The main boarding option on the Ipaja and Alimosho side, where most of Lagos's population lives and few of the well-known schools are.
25	Chrisland High School Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Day	Ikeja, Lekki and VGC	Private, day	Not published, ask the school Published figures cover the Chrisland nursery and primary campuses; the high school gives its schedule at admission.	The Chrisland group's secondary schools, with campuses on both the mainland and the island, fed by its own primary schools.
26	Avi-Cenna International School Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Day	Ikeja	Private, day	Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the school or a source we would cite.	An Ikeja day school that appears on most mainland shortlists alongside Grange and Vivian Fowler.
27	Loral International Schools Nigerian and British · Co-educational · Day and boarding	Festac and Sangotedo	Private, day and boarding	Not published, ask the school Only tier-band estimates exist online; we print none.	Campuses at Festac on the mainland and Sangotedo on the Lekki-Epe expressway, with boarding.
28	Grace High School Nigerian · Co-educational · Day	Gbagada	Private, day	Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the school or a source we would cite.	The Gbagada secondary school of the Grace Schools group, a common mainland day choice.

Run a school on this list, or know a figure is out of date? Claim the profile and correct it; corrections with a fee schedule attached go live the same week.

By area

Lekki, Ajah and the Lekki-Epe corridor

The international schools (BISL, Lekki British, Children's International), Meadow Hall, Dowen, Whitesands and Greensprings Lekki. The highest fees in Lagos sit here, and so does most of the boarding on the island side.

Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lagos Island

King's College, St Gregory's and Holy Child. Old campuses, small grounds, and the shortest commute for island families.

Yaba, Bariga and Surulere

Queen's College, Igbobi College and CMS Grammar School: the historic mainland belt. Fees are low or unpublished; admission to the federal colleges is by examination.

Ikeja, Oregun, Magodo and Gbagada

Grange, Vivian Fowler, Avi-Cenna, Chrisland Ikeja, Caleb, Supreme Education Foundation and Grace High School. The widest fee spread in the city, from under ₦300,000 a term to over ₦1.5m.

Outside the city

Atlantic Hall at Epe, Corona at Agbara, Day Waterman near Abeokuta, FGC Ijanikin on the Badagry road and the Lagos State model colleges. Boarding only, and a day's round trip for a visit.

What 'best' can and cannot mean in Lagos

No Lagos school publishes WAEC or NECO results in a form that lets you compare one against another, and the pass rates printed on other lists are not sourced. So this page does not rank by results. What you can compare is what a school is, what it costs and whether it will tell you, whether it boards, and how long it has been doing this. Those facts get most families from twenty-eight schools to three.

The fee column is the honest part. Where the only figure is a third-party estimate we link the page and the year it was written; where two sources disagree we print both. The mission schools and several of the best-known private schools quote only at the admissions office.

Federal and state colleges

King's College, Queen's College and FGC Ijanikin admit through the National Common Entrance Examination in Primary 6, with places by merit and state quota. Tuition is free; the ₦100,000 a term set in 2023 covers boarding, feeding, insurance and levies. The Lagos State model colleges (Meiran, Kankon, Badore, Igbonla and others) are the state's own boarding schools, with entry by the state placement examination and a subsidised fee. For a family that wants a recognised boarding place at the lowest fee in Lagos, these are the first to test.

Mainland or island

Lagos traffic decides more school choices than any prospectus. A Lekki school for a family in Ikeja means two hours a day in a car, which is why the mainland schools (Grange, Vivian Fowler, Greensprings Anthony, Igbobi, Queen's) hold their intake, and why boarding at a Lekki or Epe school is often the honest answer for a mainland family that wants an island school.

What to ask on the visit

Ask for the full fee schedule in writing, including PTA levy, books, uniform, transport and any development or capital fee charged in the first year. Ask which examination board the school registers students for in SS3 (WAEC, NECO, IGCSE) and how many candidates it entered last year. Ask to see the timetable for a normal week, and where the school publishes its results. A school that answers all four in one visit is usually a school that runs well.

Questions parents ask about schools in Lagos

How much do secondary schools in Lagos charge per term?

From about ₦35,000 a term at the Lagos State model colleges and ₦100,000 at the federal unity colleges, through ₦200,000 to ₦900,000 at most mainland private schools, to ₦1.5m to ₦3m a term at the Lekki international schools. The table gives the figure and its source for each school.

Which Lagos secondary schools have boarding?

Atlantic Hall, Corona Agbara, Day Waterman, Holy Child, FGC Ijanikin and the state model colleges are boarding only. King's, Queen's, CMS Grammar, Igbobi, St Gregory's, Baptist Academy, Greensprings Lekki, Vivian Fowler, Dowen, Meadow Hall, Lekki British, BISL, Caleb, Supreme, Doregos and Loral offer both.

How do I get a place at King's College or Queen's College?

Register your child for the National Common Entrance Examination in Primary 6 and choose the college among the options. Places are by merit and state quota; the fee does not affect admission.

Which schools on this list publish their fees?

Very few in full. Most figures here are third-party estimates and are marked as such with the page linked. The mission schools, Chrisland High School, Avi-Cenna, Loral and Grace High School give tuition only at admission.

Are the international schools worth the fee?

They buy a British or IB pathway, small classes and examinations that transfer abroad. Whether that is worth ₦6m to ₦8m a year depends on whether the plan is a Nigerian university or a foreign one; a family aiming at JAMB does not need IGCSE.

Why does this list not show WAEC pass rates?

Because no Lagos school publishes results in a comparable form and we will not print a number we cannot source. If a school shares its results with us, we will add them with the document attached.

Lagos on the register

SchoolRegistry data, 2026-10-02

We hold 3,920 schools in Lagos, out of 38,124 nationally. These are counts from our own register rather than estimates, which is why they will not match a published national total: they count what is recorded, not what exists.

Inside Lagos

Largest areas by schools on the register

Ikorodu305

Agege285

Ajeromi-Ifelodun282

Eti-Osa220

Ikeja209

Alimosho202

Ojo194

Ifako-Ijaiye172

Areas are recorded as the source gives them, so a city and a local government area can both appear. Counted on 2026-10-02.

What kind of schools

Education level mix in Lagos

secondary: 42%
nursery: 32%
primary: 24%
professional: 2%
university: 1%

Share of the 3,920 schools we hold for Lagos, by the level each one is recorded at.

Private or government

Ownership mix in Lagos

private: 92%
government: 8%
specialized: 1%

The private share is high because private schools are more consistently listed in the public records we ingest, not because government schools are rarer on the ground. Treat this as a measure of our coverage.

Fees: we hold a figure for 9,137 schools, of which 8,947 are an estimated band rather than a fee quoted by the school. We show fees as ranges for that reason, and confirming with the school is still the only way to know what you will pay. Counts generated from the register on 2026-10-02.