WHAT? WHERE?

DLD College is central London’s only purpose-built on-campus day and boarding school and – I’m warning you now – you’ll be slack-jawed at the location; bang opposite Westminster with views over the House of Parliament. Literally, wow. So when DLD says London is its classroom (and of course like many London schools it does), in this case it’s hard not to agree.

Offering independent co-educational teaching from 13-19 years, the school was built from the ground up in 2015 across 15 floors, a mix of academic and pastoral facilities on the first three floors, with lodging for boarders taking up floors 3-17. Its cohort of 400 pupils (13-19 years) study for a mix of GSCES (mostly across two years though a single year option remains available), A Levels, BTECs and International Diplomas, with roughly two thirds boarding and 40% domestic pupils.

Despite its modern exterior, DLD College was actually founded in 1931, offering tutoring for Oxbridge and Colonial Service entrance exams, slowly gaining a reputation in the Nineties as a ‘crammer’ before slowly shaking that off as part of the Abbey DLD Colleges Group Ltd. These days DLD is characterised by a forward-thinking programme (first names, no uniform). In Sept 2023, Year 9 was introduced into the mix, and this is going from strength to strength (trips last year ranged from sustainable fashion exhibitions, virtual reality workshops and a day discovering the Tower of London). There is a clear eventual aim to make DLD into a full Senior school.

Class sizes of 12-15 guarantee attention, and accolades are flowing – DLD won Boarding School of the Year in 2021 and a Special Judges’ Award for Independent School of the Year.

FACILITIES

/SPORT

Sports facilities are not in abundance – no surprise given the location. On site there’s a multisport court outside the school café, an indoor gym and dance studio for yoga, boxing and fitness, and also a basement swimming pool and sauna. All other facilities are accessed away from the school – the 10 acre Archbishop’s Park for football and netball in Waterloo (random fact – it’s the current holder of Park of the Year’ award from London in Bloom), is a 5 min walk away. For boxing and strength & conditioning, the Mindset Gym is a 4 min walk, and The Castle Centre, 15 mins away on foot, is used for basketball and badminton.

All Upper School pupils have one timetabled weekly sports lesson and can join teams in football, netball and basketball. Though there are clear limits to what the school offers in terms of competitive sport, with rugby, cricket and hockey are swerved, there’s nonetheless a highly popular BTEC in Sport at DLD, so don’t overlook its sports credentials too quickly.

/CREATIVE ARTS

Art is up on the pedestal here, with three large light art studios (being a new build helps), plus a graphics suite, photography studio and a dark room. The music provision tends towards the technical rather than classical, with a music tech lab (plus Logic and Sibelius software), three practise rooms with piano and drum kit, and a basement recording studio. You’ll also find the drama facilities – green room, classroom and performance space also in the basement.

/SCHOOL

Plenty of school-wide facilities including separate science labs for chemistry, biology and physics, 55 individual classrooms with touch-screen facilities, a theatre with cinema screen and surround sound, private tuition rooms for one-to-one learning plus a separate under 16s study area. There’s a relatively small library (books are largely digital however, the British Library is practically on the doorstep for any additional books students may need), a large dining area known as the Global Kitchen, which is used by all students in the day and for boarding meals for mornings and evenings, and an onsite café. Most impressive is the Wellbeing Centre, visible from the main Atrium and dominating the first floor at the heart of the school.

ACADEMIC RESULTS

Strong, particularly as DLD is non-selective, with a value-added score between 1.1-1.2 grades. In 2023 32% of A Level students went on to study at a Russell Group universities, with 19% attending a top 20 ranked university in the UK. 2024’s A level results delivered 75% of A*-C grades, and GSCE results had 78% of pupils reaching grades at 9-4, reflecting the wide range of abilities at DLD.

The GSCE syllabus largely traditional bar Film Studies. However, a huge plus is the ability at DLD to mix GSCEs with BTECS, offering the likes of Sport, Business (Enterprise), Performing Arts and, most unusually, Esports – a qualification designed in partnership with the British Esports Association to encourage careers in esports and tech in general.

A level options are wide ranging, with the more unusual ones including Graphic Communication, Government & Politics, Photography and Sociology, with all pupils able to learn their top 3 choices. It’s worth noting that there are no languages taught at DLD, either at GSCE or A level.

BTEC Diplomas shine bright here, with 92% Distinction level grades in 2022 – the equivalent to three A* to A grades at A Level) and 100% of results were at Distinction or Merit (the equivalent to three C grades or above at A Level). The BTEC Business Diploma had a 100% Distinction rate, so if your child is thinking about at vocational path, this is a strong suit.

LAUNCH OF YEAR 9

DLD has established its pioneering Y9 offer over the past academic year – a hybrid of the ‘traditional meets modern learning’ so that, whilst students still study the traditional core subjects, their learning extends to innovative subjects in the digital space and weekly trips for experiential learning across London including a sustainable fashion workshop, virtual reality, media training at Chelsea Football Club and a trip back in time to the Tower of London.

When lessons end at 4pm, every Year 9 pupil will have to sign up to at least two after-school co-curricular activities every week – with over 50 clubs and societies, the kids have plenty of options, but deliberately these are not academic; instead they are there to stretch and interest beyond the curriculum including debating, DJing, yoga, photography, Model United Nations etc. It’s an intriguing shake up of traditional Year 9 teaching.

PASTORAL CARE

‘Wellbeing’ was meaningfully at this school well before the Covid put it at the top of the national agenda. DLD’s Wellbeing Centre, opened in 2018, includes a Head of Wellbeing, a nurse, and a trained therapist available Monday to Friday, SEND provision, performance coaching and anything else that touches on mental health and care. All staff here are trained in Mental Health First Aid, and the DLD has been the first UK school to receive The Boarding School Mental Health Award for its outstanding mental health and wellbeing provision by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools. It also won Excellence and Innovation in Mental Health and Wellbeing 2021 at the ISA Awards. Outside of this wellbeing hub, the school has the usual scaffold of personal tutors, house masters/mistresses, teachers and, for boarders, house parents to support pupils and flag any issues.

BOARDING

There’s a collegiate feel to the bedrooms here, rather than the more homely surrounds you might imagine in more traditional boarding settings. All bedrooms face out towards the city, they are mostly singles with en suites – think a small, neat, practical hotel room and you’ll get the idea. There are common rooms on every floor, fairly standard, with enough room for a sofa or two, fridge, tea and coffee etc.

They’re not actually used that much it by the sound of it, eschewed in favour of the enormous Atrium which becomes the main meet up point for all students at the end of the school day and a place where they can invite visitors, with a house parent corner, beanbags, music, table football, movies on a giant projector and gaming.

There are a maximum of 15 boarders per floor, each floor being age specific, with eight girls’ floors to seven for boys, and with a resident houseparent. The much fought-over top floor 15, has the best views and alternates each year between boys and girls.

Unusually in this age of health & safety regs and helicopter parents, here the kids are encouraged to go out and experience London (safely!) – they’re asked to get the Tube to various events so they get used to travel; and pupils are allowed out in threes after school until 9.30pm up to the age of 16, after which they’re able to go solo with a curfew of 10pm with the usual safety checks in place in and out.

ISI REPORTS

The latest ISI report for DLD College London came out in March 2023 and made happy reading, with all standards met across the board, from teaching and pastoral care through to safeguarding and leadership. You can read it here.

SEND

DLD College London has roughly 14% SEND pupils. There’s a proactive approach to the needs of all pupils, with a neurodiversity department within the
college to support those with challenges.

THE HEAD TEACHER

Sept 2024 saw James Kidd taking over as Principal at DLD College London but he’s already a familiar face to the kids, having been at the school since September 2020 as the Senior Vice Principal. Kidd packs two post-graduate Masters degrees, an MA in Educational Leadership and Management and an MA in Business Management from Kingston University into his back pocket and he seems calm, confident and in control. As someone who has been part of the senior leadership team for some time there’s no intension to reinvent the wheel, but he did make it clear to me that his intention is to focus on further ramping up the academic attainment and tertiary choices available to his pupils.

QUIRKS

How about this – DLD College holds its graduation in Central Hall Westminster – will that do you?! Speakers at Central Hall have included Mahatma Gandhi, Winnie Mandela and Winston Churchill, so not too shabby. Also, its promixity to London’s state buildings and the South Bank means you can see the school building in the 2015 James Bond movie, Spectre. Idle celeb fact – Phoebe Waller Bridge attended DLD College London before heading off on RADA and Fleabag duties.

TRANSPORT

The tube, obvs. Plenty of E-bikes to hire to get around London too.

FEES

DLD, white, swirly, right opposite the Houses of Parliament

Hefty. It’s a straight £28,700 per annum tuition fee for all year groups rather than the graduating fees as children rise through the school. Add the boarding provision from £22,800 for a twin room through to a ‘platinum single en suite’ (nope, not kidding) for £35,700 and you’d better get saving.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Pupils talk keenly about the extraordinary location, the freedom to explore the city and respect from teachers as a huge plus. The food is apparently amazing – it’s £3 for a three- course dinner in the Global Kitchen. If you’re looking to board, floor 11 has the best common area, and apparently any bedroom ending in 09 is your golden boarding ticket.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Motivated, independent kids who want to embrace London and everything it represents – the college is proudly diverse in nationality and outlook. Those looking to equip their kids with 21st century-ready practical skills. Oh, and esports fans are going to love it.

Not for: Pupils with a keen desire to play competitive sport or play in magnificent orchestras may find their need better fulfilled elsewhere. The lack of uniform, first name terms and exploratory approach to London may not suit searching for traditional school boundaries.

Want to visit? Be my guest! The school accepts visits from individual parents as and when you wish. There are also Open Evenings if that suits you better – for more info, click here.

DLD College, 199 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7FX. Tel: 02079358411.

DLD College London, Westminster

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