What kinds of pupils tend to get into Dulwich College at 11+?

[Meforthree]

Anybody have any thoughts on who does and doesn’t get into Dulwich College at 11+? I know it’s technically 6 applicants for every place but just curious about what grades and personalities are really getting in (and not)…? Thanks!

Fwiw many ex pupils of DC pay into a charitable fund or actively donate sums as an alumnus of DC , so when their children are old enough to sit entrance exams they have a good chance of securing a place - as pre invested in the school it’s legacy etc very very academic, but big on cricket and rugby so all rounders would do well but need to be very clever to survive the expectations placed on you- oxbridge expectations are huge and much of school life geared to this end goal -

I know a few who got places but didn’t get grammar places.

What if the school bankrupted .
what if they die too young to play this long game . what if a new head value brain more than money unlike USA culture .

What if their kids hate sport . So all the money are used by other people kids in A team and actualky get to use the facility paid by their money .

@Ayaboo what is your skin in the game? You are making very sweeping and quite frankly rather odd comments on this thread. If your child isn't sporty, send them to a non sporty school! If they are not academic there are non selective private schools out there. You can't pay to raise IQ - you can pay to support the type of child you have though.

Every school has a few who are cocky or spoilt or think they are something special. From what I've seen the vast majority are nice, normal, good all rounders. Very polite and hard working, especially once they realise that the world is a lot bigger than London private schools & they need to sparkle to get the opportunities which used to be handed to the private schools on a plate. Good offers for international university places.

@Ayaboo What’s your point exactly?

Most private school parents are absolutely fine with the private school system and the fact that it gives an advantage - we don’t need to « make ourselves feel better » about it.

One of my DH ‘s best friends is an ex Dulwich college boy. Lower middle class, clever but not outrageously so, not druggie, not sporty either. You are making things up about the school to fit your chip on the shoulder agenda.

The cockiest gobbiest boys near me are at the Academy School and the Church School that they get into on distance. Lord above, they’re a total drag. I don’t think going to a fee paying school has any relevance whatsoever if we are gaging gobshites. What palpable nonsense.

Which is why I said EVERY school ....

Yes! I was agreeing with you!

LOL my kids went there so I am speaking from a place of more recent inside knowledge :-)

When we were young absolutely normal families could afford to go to schools like DC, now the fees at £30k per year, you need to earn £50k to pay out that amount - no-one who is outside the top 2% of earners (ie: over £100k) is sending their kid to that school unless they get a bursary or have some very wealthy and generous family members.

The only kids that would meet that description are the kids of teachers who get a whacking discount.

From what we've seen, it's generally high 120s+ across the board plus something outside academics that makes them stand out, sport, music, whatever it is. The interview matters a lot too, they're looking at how a child thinks and explains themselves out loud rather than a polished rehearsed answer. Worth remembering results can be a bit of a lottery on the day too, so try not to read too much into any one data point.

What, high 120s really?? I’ve not seen it quoted as that high anywhere…

Both my DS’ have friends who went to Dulwich College. I reckon there is a mix of personalities and extracurricular talent like anywhere. So lots of locals who live in Dulwich who were always going to have it as a top choice given proximity and it is a lovely building/grounds and it is a well known school.

In terms of getting in, I really cannot see any academic difference in the quality of boy getting into let’s say Dulwich/Trinity/Eltham College. They were solid academically, mostly exceeding national curriculum standards but not super super selective or right at the top of the class. Those boys, if private, that we know went to City, Westminster, St Paul’s. Having said that, obviously often a very bright but local boy will choose Dulwich over a massive commute elsewhere. So I reckon the standard is like a grammar school in a grammar school county, but not like a London superselective grammar school. By that I mean top 20-25% cognitive ability.

@Araminta1003I would agree

You’ve had some odd responses here OP!

Dulwich is a large intake school. From what I’ve seen it takes all sorts of kids in terms of interests and personalities. The kids I know who have gone there include traditional sporty, very arty, sciencey awkward, creative drama. All academic enough, in the upper section of the class but not top of the class. Sorry I can’t speak to CAT scores -would say lower than Alleyns maybe similar to Whitgift.

Year 6 teacher here. Of the boys from our Primary who have got into Dulwich over the past few years, they have also got into Emanuel and City of London, but not SPS, WUS or Kings. They also tend to be boys who would do a good interview and have an ‘extra’ to contribute to the school - Drama, sport, music. My 2 ‘very spiky profile’ boys did not make it to interview.

some v strange responses on here!

DC is funded by fees and an enormous foundation which enables it to offer bursaries that are far more generous than at most public schools.

They take a range of boys - I would say 120 feels about right as an average. When ds went it definitely wasn't the place for grammar rejects like some on here are suggesting.

Locally it's similar to Trinity and Eltham.

It's a decent all rounder of a school - strong sports, pastoral, clubs and a really strong academic offering.

Hi, my DS went through the 11+ last year. We were very impressed by the HM and the process at DC was well rounded and professional. The boys and parents we met were very diverse in terms of backgrounds which was great to see. My DS got an Academic Scholarship (141 CAT4), he is fairly sporty but more of a B Team all rounder. A couple of his friends got offers too and one very sporty and one not, (both circa 120-130 CAT). So simply put, the background of a DC boy is very open which was great to see, other schools we felt less so.

We hedged our bets and applied to 7 schools as we were new to the process and there was so much noise around how competitive it was. All of the kids in his class got one of their top choices and they are a mix of academic and sporting abilities. The stats were shared by some of the schools and they all sounded pretty similar - circa 800 invited to first stage, circa 300 at 2nd and 75-150 offers depending on school and if there are kids coming from a connected prep school. We saw the same kids at most of the assessments so those numbers sound scary but they can only pick one. So my advice would be to pick a number of schools to increase the odds.

Happy to provide any more information, I know its a stressful time for both parents and children.

Bursaries are often paid for out of donated funds eg alumni and bequests

“We hedged our bets and applied to 7 schools as we were new to the process and there was so much noise around how competitive it was.”

@ThatNoisyZebra - we did grammar schools, but no way would I have done 7 set of exams, including some with second stages! We did 4 and that was more than enough for DS and 2 had a second stage. I think 4 max and always 1-2 realistic option. It used to always be 1 realistic, 1 backup, 1 stretch. I can see why people do 2 stretch to increase chances, but that is it.
If my child had a CAT141 I would have done 2 max 3 and felt confident he would get in anywhere!

In hindsight I agree, maybe not three but less than 7. We had moved from abroad and the other parents had put the fear of god in us. All of the kids at open days seemed so polished and we had avoided tutoring so we were concerned at the competition for places.

We tried not to pass on any stress to our DS and told him he would no doubt get into a few and that they were all excellent schools and it just meant he had a wider choice, which he liked. He ended up with offers from all seven and four scholarships which meant 18 assessments which sounds crazy but he was happy he always had the morning or afternoon off school on those days.