Trinity School vs Dulwich College vs Kingston Grammar School

[SharpMintQuoter]

Hi everyone,

I’m in the fortunate position of having offers with academic scholarships from Dulwich College, Trinity School, and Kingston Grammar School. Both Dulwich and Trinity have offered a 100% bursary, which includes free lunches, transportation, a laptop, uniform, and school trips. Kingston Grammar School has also made a similar offer, including an academic scholarship.

I’d love to hear from parents who have experience with these schools. Which one would you say is the best overall in terms of academics, university destinations, and extracurricular opportunities? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Wow, that's incredible, well done to your ds. Which is nearest to you? Are you waiting for a grammar place too?
I would revisit all 3 and see which feels best as your ds is bound to flourish at all 3.
It might be worth noting the sports because KGS doesn't have football,
no swimming pool and the sports grounds are in Thames Ditton. Can you get to Thames Ditton on a Saturday for dropping off for sports fixtures quite easily?

My DS is currently in Year 8 and applied for Year 9 entry in 2025. When we went through the 11+ process, we didn’t know much about grammar schools. We live in Carshalton Beeches, and it was only later that we found out about the entrance exams. In the four months leading up to the 11+, he worked incredibly hard, practicing papers every day. As a result, he was eligible for a place at Wilson’s, Sutton Grammar, and Wallington County Grammar School (WCGS).

However, I made a mistake on his application form and only listed Wilson’s. When results came out on March 1st, we were shocked to realize that he wasn’t allocated a grammar school place. Despite trying to correct the issue, nothing changed, and he had to attend Greenshaw High School.

Determined to succeed, my son worked extremely hard throughout Year 7. He stayed at the top of his class and, by the end of the year, received an award for achieving the highest overall score across all subjects. During the summer holidays before Year 8, he took charge of his own applications, as I am now partially blind and my husband has suffered two heart attacks. He had never received tuition but continued studying independently.

We reached out to grammar schools to be placed on waiting lists, and he eventually received an in-year offer from WCGS. However, my DS felt that private schools might be a better fit. In February, he also sat the in-year exam for St. Olave’s and was offered a place, but we decided against it as the commute was too far.

We then applied to several independent schools, including Whitgift, Trinity, Dulwich College, Kingston Grammar, Royal Russell, Christ’s Hospital, and Reigate Grammar. He was accepted into all of them with a bursary. His top choices are Trinity and Dulwich College, but we’re unsure which would be the better option. The commute is about 45 minutes to the grounds at thames ditton, and we’d love to hear opinions on which school might be the best fit.Trinity is the closest

Trinity is a fantastic school. Both my DS and DD (6th form) went there.
Loads of extracurricular on offer. Opportunities in sport, music, drama, arts and all treated equally.
Great support in 6th form for uni applications or apprenticeships etc.
Personally though it is the atmosphere/ethos that I liked best - supportive and friendly.

What a story of resilience, you must be very proud of your ds.
I would discount KGS due to distance and revisit the top 2 choices and let your ds decide. He is obviously going to do well in life so things like uni destinations and extra curricular have less importance to your situation.

Well done to your DS. I would go for Trinity if it’s the closest. It is a great school. Don’t have DC there but friends do and they all seem happy with it. It is a bit more down to earth than some other private schools, excellent at music, for example (including the choir so no need for prior high grades or anything). The fact they take girls in Sixth Form is another plus and they have a big bursary programme so there will be lots of kids on scholarships and bursaries. So in your exact situation, I would choose that.

If you don’t take distance into account, would Trinity be better than Dulwich? DS chose both and can’t decide. He hasn’t played music before but is interested in learning piano. He is very academic, enjoys competition, and wants to rise to the top. He also plays cricket and football competitively.

100% bursary from Trinity, yet the Whitgift Foundation was unable to keep the equally academically selective girls' school open due to money. Shame on them.

Not on you. Your son sounds very able. I hope he does well where-ever he ends up. I knew staff at all the 3 Whitgift schools. Dedicated and supportive to students from all backgrounds. Yes Trinity is down to earth.

Old Palace was not equally academically selective, not by a long shot

It wasn't when I chose Croydon High over Old Palace almost 40 years ago, and it certainly wasn't years later when they took over Croham Hurst when it closed and accepted all the far less academic girls from there.

Its reputation never really recovered from that, and together with the lack of grounds and the central Croydon location putting off many parents, it had been running at way less than capacity for years. All the trinity and whitfgift parents I know refused to send their daughters to Old Palace, most choosing Croydon High or Caterham instead. I am surprised that parents with daughters there hadn't realised that it might be in trouble, you only had to look at the pupil numbers.

Bursary funds are built up partly via parental contributions. If a charity asks for donations for a specific reason, they are not able to divert funds to another project. So if people have donated to the Trinity bursary fund, then the Whitgift Foundation is not allowed to then use those monies to subsidise Old Palace. So the fact that Trinity is providing 100% bursaries is not remotely relevant to the closure of Old Palace.

There has been a long history of indie girls' schools closing in the Croydon area due to lack of demand: just in my living memory I can think of Croham Hurst, Commonweal Lodge, and now Old Palace, and there are others near(ish)by that have had to go co-ed, such as Dunottar. But sure, it's all down to the Whitgift Foundation.

But anyway. OP, your son has done amazingly well, congratulations to him. I am sure he will thrive at any of the schools!

My DS were/are at Trinity and I would echo PPs in saying that it's a great school - academically, pastorally, musically, sport - and very down to earth. Equally, I have friends with DS who are very happy at Dulwich.

I would definitely consider your journey time though. It's not just about the time for your DS to get to and from school - don't forget about parents' evenings, after-school meetings, and concerts, and it's also good to have school friends nearby rather than 15 miles away!

If you didn’t have to consider that your children went to Trinity, which school would you choose—Dulwich or Trinity—based purely on academics and sports? I’m really unsure and would love to hear your opinion.

I would consider the journey your DS will need to take. I know both my DCs at T had friends from Carshalton/Sutton areas. The journey was relatively straightforward.

I would also look at the journey - they're all good schools, so you may as well go for whichever leads to an easier life.

But if they were all the same, I'd go for DC no question. It's a truly exceptional school for academics, sports and culture. And it's a beautiful place to spend time, which I think is important!

I used to work at Dulwich. Fabulous school. I would choose that one first. Incredible foundation and very well resourced and great down to earth kids and teachers.

Re KGS - there are a lot fewer Saturday fixtures once you reach year 9 (unless in top teams) and the school run a coach from Kingston to Ditton Field and back. So the sports fields being off site isn’t so much of an issue providing you can get to Kingston and back. Admittedly no swimming pool or big sports hall though. Does your son want co-ed or boys only?

He doesn’t mind whether it’s boys-only or co-ed—he likes both for different reasons. We’re still undecided; some days he leans towards Trinity, other days Dulwich. It’s a tough call! I’ve also just found out that the Trinity offer doesn’t cover school meals and trips and transport, but if Trinity is the better option, we can handle it.To get there he would take 154 from near wallington high street to west croydon and take 198 or 194 which makes the journey 1 hr 20 mins.

thats a really, really long commute, OP, especially with buses that could be quite crowded. How long is the Dulwich commute?

Wouldn't the train to West Croydon be better? The bus station is just nextdoor, or the tram to Sandilands as walk from there. Take about 50 minutes.

The coach ride to Dulwich would take 45 minutes.Thank you for telling me about the train. Trinity is easily accessible by train since the station is near our house. Both options seem convenient, so I'm still unsure which one to choose.

Dulwich is more posh? You can see it in the buildings. They have a brand they expand internationally.
Trinity is more down to earth and more like a grammar school.
The educational outcomes and sporting experiences for your DS will be very similar at both.
If you want a co-ed Sixth Form, then Trinity.
Dulwich may be more stereotypically male.
Both schools are excellent and you cannot make the wrong choice. They are just quite different. What does your DS want?

And finally, if he got a place at St Olave’s , he really should have gotten a place at Wilson’s and I am confused why he did not. And I would have kept trying there, closer to home. Wilsons is meant to be as good as top private schools and I have met kids who have done both and report the same.

……

Had an offer at Kingston Grammar, lovely head, then found about the girl problem, then the litigation so opted for Thomas’

What girl problem and litigation at KGS?

It’s on Tiktok.

Can you please clarify what you are referring to here?