University College School was founded in Gower Street in 1830 as part of University College, London and moved to its current location in Hampstead in 1907. UCS foundation was founded to promote the benthamite principles of liberal scholarship and education offering education to children at each stage of their development from the ages of 4-18. Intellectual curiosity, breadth of study and independence of mind combine to achieve academic excellence; they are not subordinate to it.

Selecting children with no regard to race or creed, UCS fosters in them a sense of community alongside a tolerance of and a respect for the individual. By offering the fullest range of opportunities for personal and for group endeavour, it teaches the value of commitment and the joy of achievement. It is a place of study, but also of self-discovery and self-expression; a school that places equal value on learning with others as on learning from others.
University College School seeks to impart or provide:
- An academic education that stimulates, enriches and informs.
- A distinctive, safe and supportive environment that promotes an understanding of others and respects each member of the community.
- A foundation of knowledge, skills and attributes that prepares pupils for the world beyond UCS.
- A diversity of opportunity and of experience beyond the classroom that will develop the individual talents of every child.
- Activity within the broader community of which it is a part – local, national and global – to educate pupils to recognise and to respond to their own responsibilities within these communities.
- Via a Bursary Fund, an education for a diverse pupil population that will not be restricted by factors such as family income and wealth.