Miss Lotte was a lovely calming presence and approached the sessions with our girls in a really thoughtful manner. As well as improving knowledge and understanding, Miss Lotte helped the girls with their confidence and self-belief.
Situated in Dulwich in South-East London, Alleyn’s School educates around 1300 pupils between the ages of 4 and 18. It is co-educational, and day only, and is a very popular choice for local families and those living in nearby areas of London, meaning entry is highly competitive. Founded by Edward Alleyn over 400 years ago, the school became co-educational in 1976, and the Junior School opened in 1992. Standard entry points to the Junior School are 4+, 7+ and 9+, with entry to the Senior School available at 11+ and 16+ only. Occasional vacancies in other year groups are rare, and often only notified at the last minute. Current Junior School pupils must sit the 11+ entrance exam with external pupils, although they can automatically move up to the Senior School. On this page you will find information about each entry point to Alleyn’s School, alongside details of our tutors who are available to support the entry process.
Entry to Alleyn’s School is highly competitive, with scores typically in the top 5% nationally.
While the school does not publish official CEM thresholds, aggregated outcomes and educator insight suggest that successful applicants typically achieve:
Indicative competitive range: 125–130.
Owl Tutors Competitiveness Index: 9.5 / 10 (our CEM age-standardised score).
Selectivity Tier: Tier 2
This classification places Alleyn’s School among the most academically competitive independent schools.
Schools do not publish official cut-off scores. The range and tier above are based on aggregated outcome patterns and educator insight, and are intended as indicative guidance rather than formal rankings.
CEM scores are age-standardised, with:
If competitive applicants are typically scoring in the 125–130 range, this suggests entry requires performance among the highest nationally.
Understanding CEM Scores & PercentilesWithin our School Competitiveness framework, schools are grouped into tiers based on typical competitive score bands.
You can see how Alleyn’s School compares to other independent schools nationally here:
View the School Competitiveness IndexFamilies outside the private or prep school system often do not have access to benchmarking data of this kind.
To understand how your child currently compares to competitive applicants, you can:
If your child is already scoring within or close to this band, preparation typically shifts from improvement to consistency and exam-day margin.
Detailed performance reports can help identify:
Alleyn’s School has one main Open Day in the Autumn Term for Junior School entry, which is bookable on the school website. Places are limited and must be booked in advance. For specific year entry in Junior School (4+, 7+ and 9+) , there are also some tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays; these also fill up quickly and the school usually operates a waiting list. For Senior School entry there is an Open Afternoon in the Summer Term, also bookable on the school website. There are specific tours available for both 11+ and 16+ entry on this day, with subject-specific information also available to parents and prospective pupils. As with Junior School, there are Senior School small group tours available which are bookable on the website and take place in the Summer Term.
Following an application to Alleyn’s School a year in advance of the proposed entry date, children looking for 4+ entry will be invited to an assessment day in either the late Autumn or early Spring term. The dates are based on the child’s age, so that children of the same age are assessed at the same time. A report will be sought from the child’s nursery, if applicable. There will be a mix of activities, including reasoning, group activities and language. Following this assessment, offers are sent out by the end of January and must be accepted within a week.
7+ entry to Alleyn’s School is a popular entry point, but with only around 10 new children being accepted each year, it is also highly competitive. This is a two-stage process, with both stages being completed by the end of January. The first stage is an assessment day, with English (both comprehension and creative writing), Maths and Non-Verbal Reasoning exams. The second stage involves further tests in Reading and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Additionally, there are group activities and an interview. Offers are sent out in early February and must be accepted within a week.
9+ entry to Alleyn’s School is the final entry point to the Junior School. Pupils will sit a two-stage assessment in January preceding the proposed date of entry in September. The first stage involves examinations in English, Maths and Spatial (similar to non-verbal) Reasoning. Sample papers for English and Maths are available on the school website. The second stage (to which successful candidates are invited back) involves an interview with the Headteacher and is likely to include Maths and English questions as well as the usual questions about hobbies and current affairs. Following the completion of this two-stage process, offers are sent out by the end of January and must be accepted within a week.
11+ entry to Alleyn’s Senior School is the only standard entry point before 16+ entry in the Sixth Form, so is very popular and highly competitive. There are around 100 places available for new pupils, and 50 for pupils joining from the Junior School. This is a two-stage process, and applications must be made at least a year before the proposed entry date. All applicants are invited to attend a taster afternoon in the Autumn Term of Year 6. Pupils will then attend the school in January and sit assessments in English, Maths and Reasoning. A report will also be requested from their current school. Sample papers for English and Maths are available on the Alleyn’s School website, and Reasoning papers are standardized by age. The English exam (40 minutes) is a creative writing test and the Maths exam (30 minutes) is based on the National Curriculum syllabus, with detailed topic information available on the website. Reasoning (45 minutes) includes verbal, non-verbal and spatial reasoning and is completed on paper. The second stage of 11+ entry to Alleyn’s Senior School is a further assessment day. This will involve an interview and a group assessment test. Following success at this second stage, offers will be sent out and must be accepted promptly.
The 11 Plus entrance examination at Alleyn's School is an important step for those families looking at move school at this stage: over 150 places are available in Year 7, with around two thirds of these going to new students. Recently, the school has decided not to use the ISEB common pre-test, and instead focus on their own examinations in Reasoning, English and Maths. This also pushes back the process from the Autumn Term of Year 6 to the Spring Term of Year 6.
The format of the 11 Plus at Alleyn's is now purely based on three papers: Reasoning, English and Maths. Whilst the ISEB tested Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning alongside English and Maths, the Alleyn's 11 plus is now focused on the two core subjects plus reasoning and does not test verbal and non verbal separately. The format of the English and Maths has also moved from solely multiple choice to a mix of short and longer answers. This means that parents who wish to apply to Alleyn's will need to ensure the January date is in their diary, and make sure that their child can attend the entrance examinations in person.
The assessment criteria for Maths and English will now be set by teaching staff at Alleyn's rather than by ISEB. There are sample papers available which help to make it clear when and how marks are awarded. The reasoning paper is set by GL Assessment, who provide familiarisation papers on their website and are a key provider of 11 plus tests across the country.
Alleyn's attracts a wide range of students from both prep and primary schools. Those pupils who apply from primary schools do not have the facility to sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test at their current school, making it more difficult to manage their applications. By testing all prospective pupils at the school itself, Alleyn's can standardise the assessments and ensure they attract the best candidates for their places.
With these changes, preparation strategies will need to also change. Sample papers are available and can be used to check the format of the exams. There should be more focus on comprehension and understanding, and then continuing the story. The English paper is effectively a piece of directed writing, but there is an element of comprehension involved as the text needs to be understood before the writing can commence. The Maths paper consists of questions based on the National Curriculum but is more challenging and extension questions are very likely towards the end of the paper.
Future applicants ensure the new dates are in their diary, particularly if they are applying to more than one school. A well-qualified tutor will help to bridge any gaps, and can work specifically on directed writing and on extension tasks in Maths. Finally, preparation will need to take place for the reasoning paper, as this is unlikely to have been taught in schools.
16+ entry to Alleyn’s School Sixth Form (Upper School) is a popular entry point. Applications are made a year in advance; this is a two-stage process. The first stage involves assessment in critical thinking, qualitative and quantitative reasoning. The reasoning papers are non-calculator and multiple choice and based on GCSE Maths and other subjects at the same level. Critical thinking is an English-skills based paper which involves writing a short essay response to a topical question. Examples of these questions are available on the school website. The second stage consists of four interviews, one general and three subject-specific. Following success at this second stage, offers will be sent out and must be accepted promptly.
Scholarships are available at Alleyn’s School for 11+ and 16+ entry only. Scholarships have a value of up to £5000 a year. At 11+, scholarships are available in music, drama, design and technology, art and sport, alongside academic scholarships. Potential academic scholarship candidates are identified using the entrance assessment process, and following the second stage, are invited back for a third stage for a workshop day. For music, drama, design and
technology, art and sport scholarships, separate applications must be made and candidates are invited to attend specific assessment days. At 16+, scholarships are available in performing arts and music alongside academic scholarships.
Bursaries are available at Alleyn’s School for those pupils whose families would not normally be able to afford the educational opportunities offered by the school. These awards are means-tested and more information is available from the school.
We currently have 36 tutors with specific experience of preparing students for Alleyn’s School entrance exams. Here are some of our top matches:
11 Plus • 13 Plus • Other School Entrance • University Admissions • English
Nicola is a qualified and experienced practising English teacher, with extensive experience teaching English at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 in leading independent and grammar…
English
Holly specialises in GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level and IB English Language and English Literature tuition. She studied at Durham University where she gained a degree in English…
Below you will find free general entrance papers appropriate for Alleyn’s School school preparation across a range of subjects.
We have 22 free 7 Plus past papers available that are relevant for students applying to Alleyn’s School. Here are some of them:
We have 23 free 11 Plus past papers available that are relevant for students applying to Alleyn’s School. Here are some of them:
We have 18 free 13 Plus past papers available that are relevant for students applying to Alleyn’s School. Here are some of them:
We have 8 free 16 Plus past papers available that are relevant for students applying to Alleyn’s School. Here are some of them:
We have over 100 papers across a wide range of entry points. You can review them all for free here:
View all papersRated 4.9 / 5 from 43 verified reviews for Alleyn’s School tutoring.
Lisa has been such a great teacher for our daughter. She identified quickly the areas that needed improvement for her 7+ entry assessments. Not only were the lessons good and joyful, but Lisa also taught our daughter important strategies how to solve questions efficiently. We were very happy with Lisa and most importantly her tutoring was successful for our daughters 7+ entry exams into very selective schools. She managed to do her exams calmly and was very confident and never stressed. We were very lucky to have Lisa and couldn't recommend her more.
Alleyn’s School is an independent school.
Alleyn’s School is in the local authority of Southwark.
The URN (Unique Reference Number) for Alleyn’s School is 100864.
Alleyn’s School is located in London. The full address is Townley Road, Dulwich, London, SE22 8SU.
You can call Alleyn’s School on 02085571500.
You can visit Alleyn’s School’s website at https://www.alleyns.org.uk.
Alleyn’s School caters to students aged 4 to 18.
No, Alleyn’s School is a day school and does not offer boarding options for students.
Yes, Alleyn’s School has a sixth form for students in years 12 and 13.
Alleyn’s School accepts both male and female students.
Alleyn’s School has 1427 students, with 680 boys and 747 girls.
The following schools are located within approximately 5 miles of Alleyn’s School:
There were 182 pupils with an A-Level or IB entry at Alleyn’s School in 2025.
The average result as a grade at Alleyn’s School in 2025 was A.
The average result as a point score at Alleyn’s School in 2025 was 51.47.
There were 64.10% students who achieved AAB or higher (including at least 2 facilitating subjects) at Alleyn’s School in 2025.
The grade for each student’s best 3 A levels at Alleyn’s School in 2025 was A+.
The average point score for each student’s best 3 A levels at Alleyn’s School in 2025 was 51.69.
There were 155 pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 at Alleyn’s School in 2025.
There were NA pupils in the Progress 8 measure at Alleyn’s School in 2025.
The Progress 8 score (adjusted) for Alleyn’s School in 2025 was NA.
The % of pupils with entries in all EBacc subjects at Alleyn’s School in 2025 was 0.00%. Please note that many private schools do not submit entries for the EBacc, so this figure may not be relevant.
The percentage of students achieving strong 9-5 passes in English & Maths at Alleyn’s School in 2025 was 0.00%. Please note that many private schools do not submit all data at KS4, so this figure may not be relevant.
The Average Attainment 8 score at Alleyn’s School in 2025 was 48.7.
The EBacc APS score per pupil at Alleyn’s School in 2025 was 4.68.
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