Dulwich Prep & Senior

Since 2019, Louise Davidson, something of an educational powerhouse with a CV taking in the corporate world, academic research, teaching, and state school leadership roles. The daughter of a Lincolnshire game farmer, she has a degree in economics and

Admission to the school is by assessment at 3+ and 4+. A few places are available at 7 and around 10 places are offered at 11+. Staff say the 40-minute assessment for early years entry is not a ‘tick list’ of skills. Rather, the school looks for

The vast majority leave at 13, most to nearby Dulwich College. Others popular schools include Trinity, Whitgift and Royal Russell School. Others to Brighton College, Charterhouse, Christ’s Hospital School, City of London School, Cranleigh, Eton,

An academic school with formal teaching from year 1, teachers ‘really push’ the boys, one parent says, but not without providing the support they need. Those in the lower ability range are ‘encouraged to be the best they can be’ but travel at their

Rather positively, SEN is known in the school as ‘Skills and Strategies for Learning’. There is in-house expertise in dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and organisational difficulties. Children receive support in weekly paired or small group lessons;

Six hundred individual instrumental music lessons take place each week. There are 33 groups and ensembles, from rock band to symphony orchestra. There are also boys’ choirs from pre-prep level and an adult choral society for staff, parents and the

Opportunities are dazzling, with the core sports of rugby, football, cricket, and swimming backed up by 17 sports clubs to cater for other activities such as non-contact rugby, water polo, fencing, handball and parkour, all taught by specialists. The

Flexi boarding is offered Mondays to Thursdays.

Built on a 29-acre site, the school consists of a mix of older and more modern buildings, but all are neat and pristine – not a blade of grass out of place on the AstroTurf play area. Pupils want for nothing, there is a six-lane, 25-metre indoor

The school’s core values of love, courage, gratitude, humility, justice, service, self-discipline, and honesty are displayed at every opportunity around the school. Pupils we spoke to seemed firmly on board with all this, although talk of the house

Families from the local area and across south London. Parents are a diverse bunch – from company owners and public relations professionals to doctors, dentists, and financiers. Those we met said that while some were scrimping and saving to pay fees,

Limited number of means-tested bursaries are available to new applicants to the school, subject to an academic assessment.

The school is slick, perfectly presented and well-resourced but doesn’t feel elitist. Expectations are high and days are very full, but the pace and schedule are adaptable enough to ensure it is a place where most boys would thrive.