DC vs CLS boys

[MellowJadeFox]

Hi all. We have been fortunate with our DS securing offers from school’s of his choice and is now down to two

1. DC with academic scholarship
2. CLS boys

if I look at just league tables and academic performance then CLS seems to be the superior choice. However DC has a much bigger intake and so the academic ability will be slightly mixed at DC. DC also look at their top 150 boys and they seem to perform at par with Westminster?
i wanted to get views on this from existing parents or anyone else who has experienced DC.
I appreciate I am only looking at one dimension for now and school is much more than that but wanted to get an idea on academics at DC especially their focus on STEM subjects vs CLS boys.
I appreciate any help.
thank you

I looked at the glass door reviews of my workplace and it had worse ratings and reviews than DC. I love where I work. So like any organization such websites will end up capturing disgruntled employees more than the satisfied ones. But still interesting reviews. Given amount of information we have on our fingertips you need to look through the extreme information out there. It’s not easy making that decision but your child will have a gut feel for the place.
We spoke to variety of parents of kids that had already graduated and tbh everyone was happy with the school (even through some tumultuous years). The school seems to care for the boys!
Shortlist the schools you want to apply for and you will get multiple opportunities to visit the school. For us the final post offer day visits helped immensely in making the final decision .
I wish you and your DS all the best.

Thank you for your perspective. However, there is a fine line between offering helpful advice and adopting a subtly patronising tone. Unsolicited guidance, an implied sense of intellectual superiority and benevolent condescension can make an otherwise polite response feel rather dismissive.
Raising legitimate concerns about an institution is not necessarily a failure to assess information critically. Responding by instructing someone on how to research or make decisions, rather than engaging with the concerns themselves, can come across as institutional defensiveness.
Genuine dialogue requires intellectual humility, not an assumption of superior judgement.

Hi, for all those in this thread who said their children got academic scholarships (amazing!!!!), what were your boys getting in Atom. My son’s prep school have told me he’s very likely for a scholarship at DC and will get into CLS, however I’m not too sure. Maths ranges from 142-149. However English, VR and NVR are at the moment in the mid teens at 115. I know we have 6 weeks until the exam, however how much difference will 6 weeks make? In his school quest assessments he gets 130-142 in all subjects, however doesn’t seem to do as well in the Dulwich mocks on atom.

Why my atom only shows %
e g 80% or 90%
not figure like 144 .

only cat4 shows 141/141 or 122/141

Atom scores can be quite volatile. Sounds like your DC is scoring extremely well in maths . Even 115 scores in others with 6 weeks left means he is doing extremely well. I think my DS was getting scores in 115 region 6 weeks before exam. My DS closer to exam dates was getting between 120-140 region and he got scholarships for CLS, DC and Sevenoaks.

In my personal experience Atom helped to focus on weak areas highlighted during the mocks and that helped a lot in lifting the scores closer to the exam date.

All the best to you and your DS!

Hello, thank you so much for this! That is so reassuring. He’s at a prep school and we have no tutor. Our confidence was knocked slightly as he passed wallington and Sutton grammar however missed Wilson’s with his English mark for stage 2 (however we only started prep for this a month prior).

Prep school have always held him out to be extremely bright so now I’m questioning everything (even the scholarships they are telling me he’s likely to get).

Well done to your son, absolutely amazing, you must be so proud as his mother, I can’t even imagine. Hoping my son does as well. X

We had a similar case with my son. He did extremely well in Kent and bexley grammar tests but didn’t clear the stage 2 at olaves. With these tests a lot also depends on the day as well. You are doing extremely well with your DS! It won’t be long before he will be getting into the school of his choice !

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fbe78bd8fa8f559e5b116b7/Mr_D_Eade__vs__City_of_London_Corporation_-_Judgment.pdf

Case Details

• Case Title: AHJ -v- Dulwich College (with an anonymity order protecting the identity of the claimant, referred to as 'AHJ')
• Court: Civil High Court, King's Bench Division
• Date of Order: December 20, 2024 1]

I came across a publicly available High Court anonymity order dated 20 March 2025, concerning the case KIC v Dulwich College (Claim No. KB-2025-000971)

Yes and the grammar schools are often full of heavily tutored children since year 2! Amazing results from your son!! I’m hoping I’m able to tell you in a few months my son has managed to achieve similarly.

Thank you for all your help!!!

Glad to be of help. Sending you and your DS good vibes and best wishes! Looking forward to good news from you !