James Allen's Girls' School

James Allen's Girls' School — universally known as JAGS — was founded in 1741 by James Allen, the Master of the College of God's Gift (the Dulwich foundation that also produced Dulwich College and Alleyn's School). JAGS opened originally as a free school for poor girls of Dulwich; it was one of the earliest formal foundations of any English independent school exclusively for girls, predating most of the major Victorian girls' schools by more than a century. The school is part of the Alleyn / Dulwich Foundation, which also operates Dulwich College and Alleyn's School.

JAGS today is a girls-only day school of around 1,000 pupils aged 4-18, organised across the Pre-Prep, Junior School and Senior School on a campus in Dulwich Village, south-east London. The Headmistress is Alex Hutchinson, in post since 2020. The Chair of the Governing Board is David Miller. The school is a member of the GSA.

Academic performance places JAGS consistently in the top quintile of London girls' schools by A-Level grades and Oxbridge offers. The school's particular cultural strength is its drama-school pipeline. Old Atalantans (the alumnae's name) include Sally Hawkins, the Oscar-nominated star of The Shape of Water and Golden Globe winner for Happy-Go-Lucky; Lucy Boynton, who played Mary Austin in Bohemian Rhapsody and Lady Wendover in Murder on the Orient Express; Charlotte Ritchie, of Ghosts, Call the Midwife, Fresh Meat and the Netflix series You; Ella Balinska, the star of the 2019 Charlie's Angels reboot and the Resident Evil television series; and the actress and writer Daisy Haggard (Episodes; Back to Life).

In literature, JAGS's most distinguished alumna is Anita Brookner CBE, who won the 1984 Booker Prize for Hotel du Lac. In public life: Claire Coutinho MP, the current shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. In broadcasting: Dharshini David, the BBC's economics correspondent, and Beth Willis, the BBC drama producer (Doctor Who, Sherlock). The school operates a substantial bursary programme via the Alleyn / Dulwich Foundation.