Dulwich A level results 2026: what five schools published

Five schools in and around Dulwich published their own 2026 A level figures on results day, 13 August, and between them they cover most of the sixth forms local families actually choose from. Two are state schools, three are independent, and the numbers they put out are far apart.

At The Charter School East Dulwich on Jarvis Road, 90 per cent of Year 13 students got the post-18 destination they had chosen, and 91 per cent of those applying to university were placed at their chosen university. Over a quarter of all A level grades were A or A, almost half were A-B, and 21 students achieved straight As and As. Nearly two thirds of the school’s BTEC students were awarded Distinction or Distinction, rising to 83 per cent in Sport. Three students confirmed places at Oxford, which the school says is its best Oxbridge outcome to date. (The Charter School East Dulwich, Sixth Form students at TCSED celebrate success)

“What stands out to me this year is not just the strength of our top results, but the sheer breadth of success across the whole cohort,” headteacher Alison Harbottle said, pointing to students taking up apprenticeships, art foundation places and first jobs alongside the university offers.

At Harris Boys’ Academy East Dulwich on Homestall Road, the academy reported its highest average points per entry ever, from what it says was its largest ever sixth form cohort. More than 60 per cent of the year group are taking up Russell Group offers, and the academy says every student is continuing into education, employment or training. It singles out A level Maths and History, and its vocational Sport, ICT and Business courses, as having significantly outperformed national comparisons for those subjects. (Harris Boys’ Academy East Dulwich, Students Celebrate Another Year of Excellent A Level Results)

“They have worked so hard, and shown so much dedication in what for many of them has been a seven-year journey,” principal Chris Brett said. For context on the scale of the improvement, the academy’s own published results for 2025 gave an A level average grade of C+ with a value added score of +0.14, and sixth form destinations of 80 per cent university, 14 per cent apprenticeships and 6 per cent employment. (Harris Boys’ Academy East Dulwich, Our Results)

The independent schools published grade percentages

James Allen’s Girls’ School in East Dulwich reported that 38 per cent of all its results were graded A, 75 per cent were A or A, and 93 per cent were A-B, with 15 per cent of students receiving straight As. (JAGS, Exam Results)

Alleyn’s School on Townley Road reported 77 per cent of exams taken at A or A and 95 per cent at A-B, with two thirds of pupils achieving a clean sweep of As and As and one in five getting at least three As. A record 23 pupils are heading to Oxford or Cambridge. The school also says it was placed in the 91st percentile nationally on value added, an independently assessed measure of progress made during a pupil’s time at the school. (Alleyn’s School, 2026 A Level Statement)

Dulwich College on Dulwich Common recorded almost 800 grades this summer, one of the largest all-boy sixth form cohorts in the country. Its exam day figures were 30 per cent at A, 68 per cent at A-A, 89 per cent at A-B and 98 per cent at A-C. The first three of those match 2025 exactly; the A-C figure is up from 96 per cent. In total 104 pupils, 44 per cent of the year group, achieved all A-A grades, and 33 achieved three or more A*s. (Dulwich College, 2026 A-level Results)

Treat that chart as a rough guide rather than a league table. Each school chose what to publish and how to count it, some by exam entry and some by pupil, and none of these figures are the validated performance data the Department for Education releases later in the year. Harris Boys’ Academy East Dulwich did not publish a grade percentage at all, so it does not appear on the chart.

London had the best results of any region in England

The local numbers sit inside a national picture that barely moved. Across England, 835,950 A level results were issued this summer. Of those, 28.3 per cent were at grade A or above and 78.1 per cent at grade C or above. (Ofqual, Qualification results in England: summer 2026)

London did better than anywhere else: 32.7 per cent of the capital’s 168,505 results were at A or above, and 80.5 per cent at C or above, ahead of the South East on 31.5 per cent. Ofqual puts the very small national rise in top grades, from 28.2 per cent last year to 28.3 per cent, mainly down to stronger performance in maths rather than any change in grading standards. (Ofqual blog, A Level and level 3 results 2026 at a glance)

The gap the Dulwich figures illustrate is a national one. Ofqual’s own breakdown by type of school puts independent and private schools on 48.6 per cent of results at A or above, against 25.4 per cent for all state-funded centres and 23.5 per cent for academies. The three fee-charging schools here all beat the independent sector average; the two state schools are working against a national picture in which a quarter of results reach an A.

What it means for you

If you are holding results today or tomorrow and things did not go to plan, clearing is open and university places are still moving. Anyone appealing a grade starts with the school or college, not the exam board: ask the exams officer for a review of marking, and note that centres have deadlines to work to, so raise it now rather than in September.

If you are choosing a sixth form for 2027 entry rather than reading results, use these announcements as a starting point and not a verdict. Open evenings for September 2027 entry run through the autumn, the validated 2026 performance tables follow later in the year, and the destinations figures, where students actually went, often tell you more than the grade percentages do.

And if the results have you thinking about moving into a particular catchment, the price of that decision is worth knowing before you commit: our Dulwich house prices page sets out what homes in SE21, SE22 and the rest of the borough have actually sold for, area by area.