Alleyn's School

Alleyn's School is a co-educational independent day school for ages 4-18 in Dulwich, south-east London. It traces its foundation to 1619 and Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift — the same Elizabethan-actor endowment that created Dulwich College — but separated from Dulwich College in 1882 as its own boys' school. It became co-educational in 1976 and today educates around 1,252 pupils on a 25-acre campus in Townley Road in the heart of Dulwich Village, directly south of Dulwich Park and a short walk from the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Alleyn's is a member of the HMC, the GSA, IAPS and the Alleyn / Dulwich Foundation (a charitable foundation that also operates Dulwich College and James Allen's Girls' School). It is one of the few schools in the UK independent system that holds membership of both the boys' (HMC) and girls' (GSA) heads' associations. The Head since 2020 is Jane Lunnon, previously of Wellington College.

The school's modern reputation rests on a strong academic record paired with what is now widely considered the strongest pipeline to the major UK drama schools (RADA, LAMDA, Central) of any London independent. Alumni include Sir Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of American Beauty, 1917, Skyfall and the Bond film Spectre; the actor Jude Law (The Talented Mr Ripley, Cold Mountain, The Holiday, Sherlock Holmes); Dame Felicity Kendal (The Good Life and a defining BBC television-comedy presence of the 1970s and 80s); Julian Glover, the actor whose career spans Game of Thrones, Indiana Jones and Star Wars; and the actresses Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter) and Hannah Tointon (The Inbetweeners).

In music, the school's alumni include Florence Welch, the lead singer of Florence + the Machine — whose Dog Days Are Over and Shake It Out launched the band internationally — and Jess Glynne, the Brit Award-winning singer. The actor Tom Conti, who was nominated for the 1983 Academy Award for Reuben, Reuben, also attended. Academic and cultural breadth, combined with proximity to the Picture Gallery and the National Theatre's south-London pipeline, mark Alleyn's as one of London's most artistically influential schools.