Dulwich College: a separate base for Years 7–8 and boarding from Year 9

What does academic breadth look like in the timetable?

The Lower School covers Years 7–8 and has its own building and playground. That gives younger pupils a smaller base within a large school. Middle School covers Years 9–11; Upper School is the sixth form.

The currently linked 2025–26 Lower curriculum includes French or Spanish, Chinese and Classics/Latin in Year 7. Its homework guidance allows up to three 20-minute tasks on a weekday in Year 7, rising to 30 minutes each in Year 8. These are published allocations, not measured averages or a confirmed 2027 timetable.

The GCSE booklet for September 2025 starters describes English Language and Literature, maths, French or Spanish and sciences, plus three options. One option must be History, Geography or Religious Studies; pupils normally take nine or ten I/GCSE qualifications.

Separate sciences are taught, but the double- or separate-award examination route is normally decided after Year 11 mocks. Either can permit A-level science, subject to grades.

At sixth form, the 2026–27 curriculum guide normally expects three A levels. Further Maths is a fourth subject and requires grade 9 maths; maths, chemistry and physics require grade 8. Other fourth-subject arrangements need permission. A subject appearing in a prospectus does not guarantee that every combination will run.

Existing pupils should not assume automatic sixth-form progression. The same guide considers GCSE results and Middle School effort and performance.

The Dulwich Diploma adds an EPQ, by application, or an internal essay, wider participation and preparation for life after school. It is not the International Baccalaureate. The enrichment programme includes Year 12 Advanced Electives and Year 13 Liberal Studies, with courses shared with nearby girls’ schools. The College remains a boys’ senior school. For a pupil wanting breadth alongside A levels, this may appeal. For one wanting the IB itself, compare Sevenoaks or Wellington.

Sport is visible; it is not the only way to belong

Sport includes timetabled Games and PE as well as extra sessions. The May 2026 behaviour policy expects pupils selected for fixtures to attend, with notice when medical or other reasons prevent it. That is not the same as every boy having a compulsory match every Saturday.

If he dislikes contact sport, ask what he would actually do in his first term. A reassuring answer should describe the available provision for his age, not simply point to the range of sports played somewhere in the school.

The music ensemble list gives more concrete entry points: Concert Band is described for grades 2–5, Symphonic Wind for grade 6 upwards, and there is a Year 7 Concert Choir. A developing musician therefore has things to investigate alongside the advanced groups. Check auditions, spaces and rehearsals; the list does not promise a place.

Pupil-run societies and the autumn Union Fair offer another way in. The school’s March 2026 drama report also describes pupil-directed Middle School productions and activity beyond acting alone.

Imagine a boy who wants orchestra, football and a science society. Before calling that a perfect fit, put the actual meeting times together. Which activities overlap? Which require a late journey? The best opportunity is one he can attend regularly without spending the rest of the week exhausted.

Check the journey after rehearsals, not just after lessons

The current Upper School timetable starts registration at 8:35am, with lessons from 8:50am and the school day ending at 3:45pm. Your family’s day starts earlier and may finish much later. Try the journey at the relevant time, including the walk to the stop, waiting and the final stretch home.

The 2026–27 Foundation Schools transport guide, updated in August 2026, lists six late College routes leaving at 5:50pm, Monday–Thursday. Not every morning route has an equivalent late service. Some Foundation routes serve other schools, so filter for Dulwich College in the booking planner. Check availability and Friday arrangements separately.

Late transport can make a music rehearsal possible, but it is not the same thing as unlimited supervised childcare. Check whether the route still works when traffic is bad or a fixture finishes late.

The phone rules keep Lower and Middle School phones, headphones and smartwatches in lockers during the school day, except for authorised use. They do not make the coach journey phone-free. Discuss the journey home as part of your child’s growing independence, including how he contacts you when plans change.

Boarding in London still needs a plan for time away

Boarding begins in Year 9, with weekly and full options. Weekly boarding is Monday–Friday. Do not assume a flexible occasional-night arrangement is available. For a family with a difficult commute, compare the full weekly routine—not just the removal of a morning journey.

The boarding FAQ specifies four compulsory weekends away for Years 9–11 in Orchard, from Friday at 5pm to Sunday at 5pm. These are often called exeats. Sixth formers do not have those compulsory exeats. Houses close over October and February half-terms; Upper School boarding remains open over the summer half-term. Main holidays require arrangements elsewhere.

If parents live overseas, the school requires a nearby UK guardian aged at least 25, even when the pupil is over 18. Its FAQ also says it does not sponsor visas for day or weekly boarders. Confirm the current requirements directly before planning travel or paying a deposit.

These details matter even to a family based in Britain. Who collects your son on an exeat Friday? Where can he stay if you are away? How would you handle an unexpected illness? Ask to talk through an ordinary weekend, including how many boys in his year tend to remain, how activities are chosen and how a newcomer makes friends.

Our boarding guide helps compare those arrangements with other schools. A London location may be useful for family access, but it does not make the boarding experience interchangeable with a predominantly boarding school elsewhere.

Support should be a conversation about your child

The learning-support department describes classroom strategies and individual help. Its currently linked May 2024 policy says individual lessons, where offered, carry no extra charge; external assessments are parent-funded. That does not establish capacity to support every child with the same diagnosis.

Bring concrete examples: your son understands maths but loses instructions, writes slowly despite strong ideas, or becomes overwhelmed in noisy changing rooms. A helpful meeting should leave you with a clearer picture of his day, not just a list of staff qualifications.

The 2024–27 accessibility plan acknowledges limitations in historic buildings, including narrow entrances, steep ramps and some stairs. Do not assume the entire campus is accessible because a tour route works. For a child with mobility needs, walk through proposed classrooms, dining, sport and any boarding accommodation, and discuss the actual transport arrangements.

Pastoral care starts with the tutor and year team. The mental-health policy allows pupils to approach counselling themselves, with confidentiality subject to safeguarding. Published policies do not establish current waiting times.

The school provides an independent person outside its staff and governors whom boarders can approach. Make sure your son understands the routes to help, including what to do if the first adult he asks does not resolve the problem.

The Medical Centre describes 24-hour arrangements for boarders, including overnight nursing when needed. Ask how an unwell boy gets help, who contacts parents and where he stays if he cannot attend lessons. That is more useful than assuming every illness means either an immediate trip home or a continuously staffed bedside.

What the inspection adds to an open-day impression

The 18–20 March 2025 ISI report found all standards met. It described effective learning support and rigorous safeguarding arrangements. Its next steps included more consistent purpose and challenge in teaching below examination years, and better curriculum and assessment liaison between infant and junior provision.

There is also relevant history. The November 2021 inspection included a Department for Education request to examine safeguarding, relationships and sex education, and respect following concerns raised in the media. Inspectors judged safeguarding effective and responses to recorded incidents appropriate, while noting occasional disrespect and that newer initiatives needed time to become embedded.

That was not a finding that individual allegations had been disproved. Read it alongside the more recent report: the useful evidence is how pupils report worries, how affected children are supported and how staff check that everyday relationships are improving.

The fee depends on age—and lunch changes at Year 9

The 2026–27 fee schedule includes VAT where applicable. The annual figures below multiply the termly fee by three; they are not all-in budgets or quotes for September 2027.

Budget separately for relevant transport, music, trips, equipment and examinations. The published day deposit is £2,500. Boarding requires £5,000 plus a term’s fees in advance. The advance is credited against the first bill; the deposit is held until departure, less outstanding sums. The advance affects when you need the money, rather than adding an extra term’s cost.

Before accepting, request the contract that applies to your offer. The currently linked terms for existing pupils in January 2026 show why this matters: changing from boarding to day can leave boarding charges payable beyond ordinary notice, potentially to the academic year’s end unless the vacancy is filled sooner. Do not assume that older version is your new-entry contract.

A useful budget has three columns: the ordinary year, the joining costs and the cost of changing plans. Our fees and bursaries guide walks through that exercise. If a place only works with an award, wait for the written award and its conditions before treating it as affordable.

Income guide, travel limit and relocation rule

The current bursary guidance uses household gross income below £110,000 as a guide, alongside assets, parental employment, property and spending. It also specifies roughly 50 minutes’ travel and says assistance is not available to families relocating from outside that area. Income alone does not determine eligibility or the award.

Indicate that you need support when registering. The published process sends forms in November, for return by the end of that month; awards accompany offers. Full awards include help beyond tuition, such as lunch, applicable transport and uniform. Deposits can be reduced, and awards are reviewed annually. Ask for your route’s exact deadline and a written breakdown of your contribution.

11+ entry: make room for the whole application

For September 2027, the Year 7 page describes about 90 external places, joining Junior School pupils. That is a useful indication of the new intake, not an acceptance rate.

The page retains an older year in one heading; the dates above follow its 2027 application timetable. Recheck the school’s page before booking travel, especially the provisional acceptance date. UK registration costs £200. Families eligible for a Pupil Premium fee waiver should contact admissions with the required school letter before paying.

Plan January as well as December. If your son is invited back, you want enough space to prepare calmly and revisit any doubts about the school. Keep other realistic choices open. Our private-school 11+ guide helps you coordinate different test formats, school references and financial-aid applications.

Prepare for Dulwich’s test, not just “the 11+”

Dulwich uses its own assessment, not the ISEB Common Pre-Tests. The published format combines online maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, puzzles and creative comprehension, followed by handwritten creative writing. Maths and English draw on Key Stage 2. Maths and both reasoning sections are adaptive, with no return to earlier answers. English, puzzles and creative comprehension permit returning.

Use the school-linked familiarisation activity to understand the interface. Then separate three needs: knowledge your son has not yet learned, questions he understands but rushes, and unfamiliar formats. They call for different help. Repeating timed papers is a poor substitute for explaining fractions or reading a difficult paragraph together.

The official writing specimen allows five minutes to plan and fifteen to write. It asks for descriptive writing from a picture, with attention to imagination, expression and accuracy. A memorised adventure story is not a reliable answer to that task.

Here is an original practice opening, not a school question or an accepted applicant’s answer: “Rain dripped from the café awning. Inside, the chairs stood upside down on the tables, but one small lamp still glowed beside the till. Leo pressed his sleeve against the window and looked for movement.”

Notice how little happens. The details establish a place and give the reader a reason to keep looking. Your son could practise describing a different setting in six sentences: choose two things to notice, suggest a mood, then check punctuation. He should make his own choices, not learn these sentences. Clear, controlled writing usually gives a child more to build on than a paragraph crowded with ambitious vocabulary.

For an interview, try an ordinary conversation about a book, a hobby or a question he has enjoyed thinking about. If he says he likes science, ask what he found surprising recently. These are our preparation suggestions, not a leaked interview script. The aim is to help him explain his interests without sounding rehearsed.