Alleyn’s

Townley Road, SE22 8SU

The alma mater of Jack Peñate, the Chemical Brothers’ Ed Simons and Florence and the Machine’s Florence Welch, this Dulwich stalwart has long been a powerful force in all things musical. The music school hums with the near-harmony of a hundred different instruments playing. All that practice certainly pays off – the annual concerts in St John’s, Smith Square are glorious. But if your 11-year-old is tone deaf, fret not. Artists and academics, cricketers and chess players will all flourish. Alleyn’s prides itself on being inclusive; an ex-direct grant grammar and the first major independent school in London to become fully co-ed, it flings its doors wide open to pupils of all backgrounds, and a terrific number of scholarships and bursaries are offered. Inclusivity extends to the Edward Alleyn Building and its West End-worthy theatre. At the grand opening, guest of honour Sir Trevor Nunn pointed out that ‘any repertory company in the country would kill for this theatre’. It’s used by Alleyn’s pupils, the National Youth Theatre, youth groups and state schools (free of charge). This is the school that just keeps giving.