Founded 2024200studentsStudent–teacher ratio 8:1Payment terms Termly (3 terms per year)
Charterhouse Lagos is the Nigerian branch of the 400-year-old English public school of the same name in Surrey. It opened in 2021 on a 12-acre purpose-built campus in Lekki Phase 1 and is the only school in the country offering UK-style full residential boarding at the senior secondary level. The curriculum follows the Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level pathway exclusively — no WAEC, no NECO. Fees range from ₦16.5M for primary day pupils to ₦31.5M for senior boarders, making it the most expensive school in Nigeria.
Fee breakdown
Tuition range
₦16.5M–31.5M
/yr · 2025/2026
Application fee
₦2,000,000
non-refundable
Estimated first-year total
₦33.5M
tuition + extras
Sibling discount: 10% off second child; 15% off third and subsequent.
Fees by year group
2025/2026 session — quoted per pupil per year.
Year group
Tuition
Weekly boarding
Full boarding
Year 10-11 (IGCSE)
₦24,500,000
+₦5,000,000
+₦7,000,000
Primary
₦17,500,000
Day only
Day only
JSS
₦21,000,000
Day only
Day only
SSS
₦27,500,000
—
+₦31,500,000
L
Lagos.Cool Editorial
2 May 2026 · 2 min read
About this school — Charterhouse Lagos
The arrival of Charterhouse in Lagos in 2021 reset the ceiling of Nigerian private education. Where the established premium tier — British International, Greensprings, Grange — peaked around ₦5–10M annually, Charterhouse opened at three times that. The bet was that enough Lagos families would pay UK fees for UK schooling without the visa, weather, and homesickness. Three intake years in, the bet has paid: every Sixth Form cohort has been oversubscribed. The school is the visible head of a structural shift — wealthy Nigerians who would once have sent children to Eton at 13 are now keeping them at home until 18.
Strengths & trade-offs
✓ Strengths
✓World-class facilities unmatched in West Africa
✓400-year Charterhouse heritage and UK partnership
✓8:1 student-teacher ratio
✓British curriculum (IGCSE + A-Levels)
✓70-hectare campus with space for every activity
✓Sibling discount available
✗ Trade-offs
✗Nigeria's most expensive school by far
✗₦2M non-refundable application fee
✗Very new — no exam track record yet
✗Shared boarding rooms (4 students) at premium price
✗Remote Lekki location — long commute from mainland
Charterhouse operates a rolling admissions process with assessment days held quarterly. Entry points are Reception (age 4), Year 7 (age 11), and Year 12 (age 16). Reception receives 300+ applications for 40 places annually — registration 12–18 months ahead is essential. Assessment includes cognitive ability testing, an interview with the Head of Admissions, and for older applicants subject papers in English and Mathematics. Sibling priority shortens the queue but does not guarantee a place. A non-refundable ₦100,000 application fee covers the assessment day. The waiting list rolls over annually; re-registration in writing is required each March to maintain position.
Tuition is only part of the bill. Here's what families actually pay:
School bus (Lagos zones)₦500,000–₦1,200,000/yr
Full uniform set₦150,000–₦250,000
Textbooks + Cambridge entry₦200,000–₦400,000/yr
Lunch (boarding excluded)₦350,000–₦500,000/yr
Co-curricular activities₦100,000–₦300,000/yr
Annual international trip₦1,500,000–₦3,000,000
Campus & facilities
The 12-acre Lekki Phase 1 campus opened in 2021 and remains the newest large school estate in Lagos. Facilities include a 25-metre swimming pool, a floodlit FIFA-standard football pitch, an indoor sports hall doubling as a basketball court, six science laboratories (three each for the lower and upper schools), a 400-seat performing-arts auditorium, dedicated music practice rooms and an art studio with kilns, and a library of 15,000+ volumes managed by a chartered librarian. The Sixth Form Centre is a separate three-storey building with university-style common rooms, dedicated tutorial spaces, and a quiet study floor.
The non-refundable application fee is ₦100,000. It covers the assessment day, cognitive testing, and interview with the Head of Admissions. The fee does not roll over if you re-register the following year.
Yes — it is currently the only school in Lagos offering UK-style full residential boarding at senior secondary level. Boarders live in houses on the Lekki Phase 1 campus and are supervised by resident housemasters. Boarding adds ₦16.5M–₦18M annually on top of tuition.
Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level exclusively. Students sit Cambridge IGCSE exams at the end of Year 11 and Cambridge A-Levels at the end of Year 13. The school does not enter pupils for WAEC or NECO. Sixth Form choices include the full range of A-Level subjects plus an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification).
1:8 across the school, among the lowest in Nigeria. Class sizes are capped at 20 in lower years and 16 in upper years. Sixth Form classes range from 6 to 14 depending on subject popularity.
School bus transport ranges from ₦500,000–₦1,200,000 per year depending on distance. Routes cover Lekki Phase 1 (cheapest), Victoria Island and Ikoyi, Ikeja, and the Mainland (most expensive). All buses are GPS-tracked with a parental SMS notification at pickup and drop-off.