With over 1,400 fee-paying schools across Britain, finding the best choice for your children is far from straightforward.

While extracurricular activities and top-class facilities are a big part of why parents opt for public schools, for many it is academic prowess that is the most important factor.  

Telegraph Money's new league table helps you find the independent schools in your area and – crucially – assesses whether the most expensive schools lead to the top grades.

Independent schools come in all shapes and sizes, with fees ranging from less than £10,000-a-year to in excess of £50,000 for some boarders at the most expensive schools.

Last year, St Paul's School in West London saw the best results amongst fee-paying schools with over 95pc of both their girl and boy schools being graded the top grades of A* or A at A-Level.

However, at £29,685 a year for day pupils, these fees will be out of reach for many, equating to almost half of the disposable income of even the top 10pc highest-earning households. 

Telegraph Money analysis shows that, once you compare the top results relative to fees, lesser-known schools produce similarly impressive results – but at a fraction of the cost.

At the top of the fee-grade ratio is Withington Girls’ School, where fees are half that of St Pauls’ but around 90pc of pupils are given the top grades at A-Levels and GCSEs. 

St Michaels’ in Carmarthenshire, Wales see 88pc of grades marked A*-A, according to the latest available data, but with fees amongst the lowest in the country at £14,490 a year.

However, for many parents the value of independent schools goes beyond academic achievements. 

While stalwarts of the public school system, such as Eton, Winchester, Tonbridge and Radley, produce excellent results albeit at a steep price, they argue their higher fees contribute to multi-million pound capital projects and extracurricular activities.

“Independent schools take a much wider view of education than just exam results. Boarding schools in particular offer a wide range of activities outside the classroom and subjects inside the classroom,” a spokesman from the Independent Schools Council said. 

Eton for example, with fees of £46,296 a year, recently opened a £20 million sports facility complete with an indoor pool, climbing wall, squash courts and fencing salle.  

Our league table also allows parents to find the fees most relevant to their child’s current age – a first for a private school league table. 

This feature allows parents to explore the reality of sending their child to private schools from pre-prep to sixth form, with fees costing as much as £24,000 more a year for the oldest pupils compared to the youngest.

Did you attend public school, or send your children to one? Did you think the investment was worth it, or not? We want to hear from you. Email: money@telegraph.co.uk

 

Design: Jordan Jaiyeola

Development: Florin Bratescu