Alleyn's School

Founded in 1619 by the Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, a contemporary of Shakespeare, Alleyn's is a co-educational independent day school for around 1,450 pupils aged 4 to 18 in Dulwich, south London. Results sit at the very top of the country: its senior school ranks among the highest-performing in England at both GCSE and A-level. Under Jane Lunnon, appointed Head in January 2021 and a former Tatler Schools award winner, the school pairs that academic edge with an unusually rich programme of sport, music and drama. Entry is selective and competitive, with the largest intake at 11+. This is a demanding, creative, city school for able children who want breadth as well as grades.

Alleyn's wears its theatrical origins openly. Edward Alleyn, the actor-manager who founded it in 1619, gave the school a lasting connection to the stage, and in 2022 its junior buildings were named the Rose and the Fortune, references to Alleyn's theatrical heritage. The senior school later relocated to its present Townley Road site in Dulwich and became fully co-educational in 1976, well ahead of many of its neighbours. More recently it extended its early-years reach by adding Alleyn's Oakfield.

Day-to-day life runs on a set of values the school calls ROCCK: Respect, Opportunity, Curiosity, Courage and Kindness. Those are not decorative. At its October 2024 ISI inspection, the school met all five required Independent School Standards, with inspectors describing a stimulating, secure and happy environment in which pupils thrive. That combination of academic pressure and genuine warmth is the defining note here. Children are pushed hard, but the tone is collaborative rather than cut-throat.

Jane Lunnon sets much of that tone. Widely regarded across the independent sector and recognised with a Tatler Schools award for headship, she has kept Alleyn's outward-looking, with a strong emphasis on wellbeing, partnerships and creativity alongside results. That outward focus extends to a large and active old-scholars network: the school counts a global alumni community more than ten thousand strong, connected through the Edward Alleyn Club, which sustains mentoring, careers and social links long after pupils leave. For families weighing up Dulwich's cluster of high-performing schools, Alleyn's positions itself as the co-educational option that takes the arts as seriously as the sciences.

Alleyn's is a genuine academic heavyweight, and the numbers bear that out across both exam phases. With around 1,450 pupils across the whole school and selective entry at every stage, this is a cohort chosen for academic promise, and the school converts that promise into some of the best public examination results in the country.

At GCSE, the senior school ranks 20th of 3,895 schools in England for results, placing it in the top 0.5% and among the highest-performing in England (ranked against all schools in England with published GCSE results, state and independent). This is a proprietary FindMySchool ranking built from official data. On the FindMySchool overall measure, which blends results with an inspection score, the school ranks 74th of 3,887 in England and 3rd of all secondary providers in its Southwark local area. The underlying grades are exceptional: in the most recent examinations, 72.6% of GCSE entries were graded 9 or 8, and 88.4% reached grade 7 or above. Put plainly, the typical Alleyn's pupil leaves Year 11 with a transcript dominated by the top grades.

The sixth form is stronger still in relative terms. For A-level results, Alleyn's ranks 21st of 2,562 schools and colleges in England, again in the top 0.8% and among the highest-performing in England (ranked against all providers in England with published A-level results, state and independent). Its overall FindMySchool position is 46th of 2,561, and 2nd in the Southwark area. At A-level, 41.9% of entries were awarded A* and 81.7% reached A* or A, against England averages of roughly 23.6% at A*-A. Including grade B, 94.7% of entries landed in the A*-to-B range. To put that in context, more than four in five A-level entries here are A or A*, where across England fewer than one in four reach that level. These are results that hold their own against the most selective schools in the country.

The primary phase is not externally ranked, since independent junior schools sit outside the Key Stage 2 performance tables. Even so, the evidence points to strong foundations: the Junior School provides effective, well-supported teaching, and the curriculum moves beyond age-typical expectations from the early years upward, with subject content that stretches ahead of national curriculum norms.

Teaching at Alleyn's is fast-paced and intellectually ambitious. It is consistently ambitious and sets appropriate challenge for all pupils, including those with the highest prior attainment, and that ambition is reflected in the outcomes. The curriculum deliberately combines traditional academic rigour with more modern disciplines, so alongside the classical spine of languages, sciences and humanities, pupils can take subjects such as Computer Science, Film Studies and Dance to examination level.

Subject knowledge among staff is a clear strength, and feedback is used to move pupils on rather than simply to record a mark. The one identified area for development is the consistency of feedback to the youngest Junior School pupils, so that they understand more precisely how to improve their work. It is a narrow, developmental point set against otherwise strong provision, and worth noting mainly for parents of the youngest children.

Support for pupils who learn differently is handled through the Access, Inclusion and Mentoring (AIM) Department, staffed by Specialist Teacher Assessors who hold current practising certificates. Support for pupils with special educational needs is highly effective, and the Junior School's work in this area is especially strong. English as an additional language is catered for too, so the classroom stretches the ablest while genuinely including those who need more scaffolding.

Alleyn's sends a large share of its leavers into the most competitive universities. In the most recent admissions cycle for which figures are available, 60 Oxbridge applications produced 21 offers and 20 confirmed places, split evenly at 10 to Cambridge and 10 to Oxford. That is a conversion rate most schools cannot match, and it places Alleyn's among the stronger Oxbridge feeders in England. Cambridge applicants in particular saw every offer taken up in that cycle.

Beyond Oxbridge, the sixth form points the great majority of students toward higher education, with Russell Group universities and specialist creative and medical courses among the common destinations. Department for Education leaver data for the 2023-24 cohort of 157 students recorded 66% continuing to university with a further group moving into employment; as at many academic schools, a proportion defer entry for a gap year, which the sustained-destination measure counts separately. A well-planned careers programme, praised at inspection and running from the lower school upward, supports this: students are guided through subject choices, university applications and competitive routes rather than left to navigate them alone. The practical takeaway for families is consistent: the sixth form is built to open doors to selective, research-intensive universities and to the demanding degree courses that follow.

The sixth form is where the school's academic reputation and its breadth meet most visibly. Students choose from a wide A-level list that spans the sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), mathematics and Further Mathematics, and an unusually deep humanities and arts offering including Classical Civilisation, Greek and Latin, History of Art, Politics, Philosophy, Film Studies, Music, Drama and Theatre Studies, and Dance. Modern languages run to French, German and Spanish. Alongside their A-levels, students can undertake the Extended Project Qualification, an independent research project that carries half an A-level's UCAS weight and is valuable preparation for university-style study.

Entry into Year 12 is competitive and by assessment. The school's own Year 11 students progress on the strength of their GCSE performance, and the sixth form also recruits externally at 16+, bringing in new students from other schools each year. Prospective sixth-formers should treat strong GCSE grades in their chosen subjects as the working expectation and confirm the precise requirements with the school, as these can vary by subject. The breadth of the list, from Greek to Computer Science, means students can build genuinely individual combinations rather than being funnelled into a handful of well-worn A-level packages.

Alleyn's is academically selective, and competition for places is the defining feature of getting in. There are three main entry points. The largest is 11+ into Year 7, where around 150 places are offered each year. There is also 4+ entry into the Junior School, and 16+ entry into the sixth form. Pupils already in the Junior School typically progress into the senior school, so the majority of Year 7 places go to external candidates.

At 11+, candidates sit written assessments in Reasoning, English and Maths at the school in early January. Successful candidates are then invited back for a group activity and a one-to-one interview before offers are made. For 2027 entry, registration opens on 1 September 2026 and closes at noon on 13 November 2026, with assessments on 8 January 2027 and interviews on 23 January 2027. The registration fee is £225 for UK applicants and is waived for families in receipt of Pupil Premium or Universal Credit, a small but meaningful signal of the school's access intentions.

Because Alleyn's admits on assessment rather than proximity, there is no catchment distance to plan around: children travel in from across south London and beyond. Families comparing options can use the FindMySchool map to gauge realistic travel times from home, and the saved-schools shortlist to line Alleyn's up against nearby alternatives while decisions are being made.

Pastoral care is a strength that the school has invested in visibly. At the centre of it is The Well, a dedicated mental health and wellbeing centre for pupils and staff, complemented by a wellbeing hub that provides support when pupils feel under pressure. The point of both is practical access: children who are struggling have a clear, staffed place to go.

Behaviour is calm and purposeful. Good behaviour is actively promoted and bullying effectively deterred, with anti-bullying measures well understood by pupils and clear routes to report concerns, including anonymously. Inspectors judged safeguarding to be effective, with a well-embedded culture of safeguarding, trained governors, and a designated safeguarding lead supported by several deputies. The PSHE and relationships education programmes are clear, well-structured and well-resourced, and pupils' own views feed directly into decisions about school life through mechanisms such as an equality and diversity panel that meets to discuss inclusivity.

The result is a school that manages high expectations without letting the pressure tip over. For anxious or highly driven children alike, the pastoral scaffolding is real rather than nominal, and the emphasis on respect for the worth of every individual runs from Reception through to the sixth form.

Co-curricular life at Alleyn's is exceptional in scale and, unusually, matched by facilities to support it. The school runs more than 60 weekly sports clubs, over 40 musical ensembles and around 220 co-curricular activities in total, so the challenge for most children is choosing rather than finding something to do.

Sport is serious and well-resourced. Fixtures involve more than 150 teams playing over 1,200 competitive games across the year, supported by a 25-metre six-lane pool with a hundred-seat spectator gallery and water-polo adaptations, a 31 by 21 metre sports hall, a 360-metre cinder athletics track, and a floodlit astroturf pitch used for hockey and tennis and lit into the evening from Monday to Saturday. A separate Edward Alleyn Clubhouse adds football pitches, tennis courts and cricket nets off site. For the most committed, the Athlete Performance Pathway supports scholarship athletes in Years 7 to 13 with tailored training and competition planning, so a talented young hockey player or swimmer can pursue performance sport without leaving the classroom behind.

Music is a genuine specialism, not a token offering. The school fields three orchestras, five choirs and two jazz bands among its ensembles, including a Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Soul Choir, Chamber Choir, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble and a Pop Choir, rehearsing in dedicated Music School Studios. Large-scale seasonal concerts, including an annual Christmas Concert, give players and singers a regular public platform, and the sheer number of ensembles means most keen musicians find a group at their level rather than competing for a handful of coveted seats. Drama is central to the school's identity for obvious historical reasons, and it has the venues to prove it: the MCT, a RIBA-award-winning 344-seat theatre with a semi-sprung oak stage, plus the atmospheric Great Hall, which seats up to 350 across two floors, and a purpose-built 350-seat theatre in the junior school's Edward Alleyn Building. A dance studio with professional flooring and the Old Gym rehearsal space, fitted with a Harlequin dance floor and mirrors, round out the performance estate.

Science and enrichment are equally well provided for. The R.V. Jones Science Building houses modern laboratories together with a rooftop observatory and a cloud chamber, resources that turn abstract physics into something pupils can watch happen. Beyond the timetable, the Combined Cadet Force runs Royal Air Force and Army sections, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme takes pupils into the outdoors and into structured volunteering. Community partnership work, encouraged from an early age, threads through all of this, so pupils are expected to contribute beyond their own year group. Taken together, this is a school where a mathematically gifted child can also sing in a choir, complete a Duke of Edinburgh expedition and perform on a professional-standard stage in the same term.

Alleyn's is a fee-paying independent school. For 2026-27, senior school fees are £32,490 a year including VAT (£27,075 before VAT), billed at £9,025 per term before VAT. Junior School fees are £28,998 a year including VAT (£24,165 before VAT). A registration fee of £225 applies to UK applicants and is waived for families receiving Pupil Premium or Universal Credit.

Financial support is a real part of the offer. The school runs means-tested Academic Bursaries that, for qualifying families, can cover the full cost of fees, alongside merit-based scholarships awarded at 11+ and 16+ entry. Bursaries respond to household income; scholarships recognise ability in areas such as academics, music, sport and the arts. Families for whom the headline fee looks out of reach should still explore the bursary route, since the highest awards remove the fee entirely. Exact thresholds and award levels are confirmed by the school on application.

Alleyn's operates a full independent-school day with an extensive after-school programme built into the co-curricular timetable, so the effective day runs well beyond the academic lessons for most pupils. As a day school with no boarding, it relies on strong transport links, and Dulwich provides them. The site is served by bus routes 12, 37, 42, 176, 185, P4 and P13, and sits close to four stations: North Dulwich (about 0.4 miles), East Dulwich (about 0.5 miles), Denmark Hill (about 1.1 miles) and Peckham Rye (about 1.4 miles). The school also arranges coach provision for pupils travelling from further afield. For families outside walking distance, checking the specific bus and rail options against a normal morning commute is worth doing before applying.

Getting in is the hard part. Entry is academically selective at every stage, and 11+ competition for roughly 150 Year 7 places is intense. The education is outstanding; securing a place is the obstacle, so families should prepare children realistically and have alternatives in mind.

Cost is significant, even with VAT-inclusive pricing now standard. Senior fees exceed £32,000 a year including VAT, and there is no boarding option to weigh against day rates. The means-tested bursary scheme is genuinely generous and can cover full fees, but it is competitive and income-assessed, so it will not be an option for every family.

The pace suits driven children. This is a demanding, high-achieving environment. The pastoral support, including The Well and the wellbeing hub, is strong precisely because expectations are high. A child who thrives on breadth and challenge will flourish; one who needs a gentler tempo may find it intense.

Junior feedback is a live improvement point. The 2024 inspection asked the school to make feedback to the youngest pupils more consistently precise. It is a minor developmental note, not a systemic weakness, but parents of Reception-to-Year-6 children may wish to ask how it is being addressed.

Alleyn's is one of the strongest all-through schools in the country, and the ranking data leaves little doubt: top 0.5% in England at GCSE and top 0.8% at A-level, with Oxbridge outcomes to match. What lifts it above a pure results factory is the seriousness of its creative and sporting life, from a RIBA-award-winning theatre and three orchestras to a competition-grade pool and a dedicated athlete pathway, all supported by pastoral care that inspectors and parents rate highly. It is best suited to able, curious children who want academic stretch and real breadth, whose families can meet the fees or compete for a means-tested bursary, and who are comfortable with a fast, ambitious pace. The main caveat is simply access: the teaching is exceptional, but winning one of the selective places is the genuine challenge.