The 2026 National Secondary School Ranking, based on the latest publicly verified education data, has been released by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) in cooperation with the Education Office (OH).
The nationwide assessment examined more than 400 Hungarian secondary schools and presents the top 100 institutions, alongside the best-performing schools in Budapest and each county. This year’s publication includes expanded information and new sub-rankings, such as a pedagogical value-added index and, in partnership with the Hungarian School Sport Federation (MDSZ), a school health and student sports ranking.
For the second consecutive year, the Fazekas Mihály Primary and Secondary Grammar School leads the national list. The TOP10 institutions for 2026 are:
- Fazekas Mihály Primary and Secondary Grammar School – Budapest
- ELTE Radnóti Miklós Primary and Secondary Grammar School – Budapest
- Békásmegyeri Veres Péter Grammar School – Budapest
- Lovassy László Grammar School – Veszprém
- Budapest 5th discrict Eötvös József Grammar School – Budapest
- Szent István Grammar School – Budapest
- Budapest 17th district Balassi Bálint Secondary School – Budapest
- ELTE Apáczai Csere János Practice High School and College – Budapest
- Budai Ciszterci Szent Imre Grammar School – Budapest
- Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Bilingual Baptist Secondary Grammar School – Budapest
The ranking excludes technical schools, vocational institutions and schools with incomplete datasets. Using official, publicly verifiable data from the Education Office, the methodology enables objective comparison across several indicators: the ratio of applicants to available places, admission scores, national competence test results, average scores at the school-leaving examination, proportion of advanced-level exams, results from the National Academic Competition (OKTV) and the rate of students progressing to higher education. Each indicator contributes equally to evaluating institutional reputation, teaching quality and talent development.
According to MCC, the combined use of seven analytical dimensions provides the most comprehensive and reliable assessment currently available. The institution plans to expand the ranking in future years with additional analyses focused on student well-being and school communities, developed through continued professional dialogue with education stakeholders.
The full 2026 ranking, which includes a more detailed methodological description than previous editions, was published on 11 December in a special issue of Mandiner. Further data and custom ranking tools are available on gimnaziumirangsor.hu. The awards ceremony honouring the highest-performing schools of the 2025/26 academic year will take place on 15 January 2026 at the Várkert Bazár.
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