Questions · Winchester
What can I compare across Winchester’s qualification change?
Winchester moved from Pre-U to A levels. The record is clearer when each year’s grades keep their own names.
Covers: Winchester’s 2019 Pre-U table and 2023 A-level table illustrate distinct grade systems. The linked comparison remains A-level-only.
On this page
The answer
Read the Pre-U tables for Pre-U and the A-level tables for A levels. An equivalence label from the time doesn’t make a Pre-U band the same measure as an A-level band, and the switch between them can’t, on its own, show a fall or a rise.
The Schools Record now also publishes a comparable figure that reads Pre-U and A-level grades on one scale (D1 and D2 as A*, D3 as A, M1 and M2 as B), weighted by entries and labelled as our calculation. Winchester’s own figure counts Pre-U M1 in its top band (81.5% in 2019); our scale counts M1 as a B, so our A*–A or equivalent for 2019 is 67.4% (322 of 478 entries). The advice here still holds: read each original table in its own grade names.
The figures
Each figure keeps its own year and group, and doesn’t change with your shortlist.
2019 · Cambridge Pre-U
Winchester · native Pre-U D1–D3
67.4%
The native grade endpoint is D3; historical equivalence wording remains in the evidence.
- Population
- Pre-U principal-grade entries
- Denominator
- 476
2019 · Cambridge Pre-U
Winchester · native Pre-U D1–M1
81.5%
This broader cumulative band includes grades beyond D3.
- Population
- Pre-U principal-grade entries
- Denominator
- 476
2023 · A-level post-2010 A*–E
Winchester · A-level A*–A
79.6%
A separate A-level grade band, not a converted Pre-U percentage.
- Population
- A-level subject entries
- Denominator
- Unknown / not recorded
Read the end of the band
D1–D3 and D1–M1 include different Pre-U grades. Changing the endpoint changes the question even when the source presents both as cumulative percentages. The worked figures retain the native grade labels so the broader band cannot masquerade as the narrower one.
The original evidence record preserves published equivalence wording and source variants. Here the interpretation concerns the native bands themselves. No A-level grade share is calculated by folding Pre-U grades into a new scale.
A transition contains more than one possible explanation
Changes in qualifications can coincide with changes in subject choices, entry policy, assessment conditions or the pupils taking the examinations. A before-and-after headline does not isolate those effects. Nor can an unbroken line make two different definitions comparable.
The A-level example uses the recorded post-remark result. That is a publication distinction within a qualification; it should not be confused with the larger distinction between A level and Pre-U. Source chronology and qualification scope need separate attention.
Keep the history and narrow the calculation
The complete school record remains useful even when parts cannot enter a single calculation. Inspect the older Pre-U evidence, then choose an A-level period for an A-level comparison. The comparison tool shows which years actually match and why others do not.
This supports a more specific question than whether the school “improved”: which published grade band changed, on which qualification and entry basis, during which assessment regime? That question can be answered without inventing a conversion.
Try the comparison
Winchester and KCS Wimbledon: A-level grades at A or above, 2022–2025
Share of published A-level entries awarded grade A or above. Reported as A*–A from 2010; earlier rows use the pre-A* grade-A threshold.
Winchester’s recorded result was typically 17.7 percentage points lower than KCS Wimbledon’s across 3 shared years (2022, 2023, 2024). “Typically” means the median of the annual differences.
- Winchester
- KCS Wimbledon
Each school against the same scale and years.
A break in a line means a year has no comparable figure; nothing is estimated. The figures behind the chart are listed below.
Exact values, and years left out
| School and year | Figure | What it counts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winchester College 2022 | 76.3%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | A-level subject entries | Source and full figures: Winchester College, 2022 |
| Winchester College 2023 | 79.6%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | A-level subject entries | Source and full figures: Winchester College, 2023 |
| Winchester College 2024 | 68.9%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | A-level subject entries | Source and full figures: Winchester College, 2024 |
| Winchester College 2025 | 75%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | A-level subject entries | Source and full figures: Winchester College, 2025 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2022 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 697 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2023 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 735 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2024 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 755 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2024 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2025 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 825 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2025 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2022 | 94.2%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | A-level subject entriesOut of 496 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2023 | 82.8%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | A-level subject entriesOut of 575 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2024 | 86.6%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | A-level subject entriesOut of 590 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2024 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2025 | 86.04%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | A-level subject entriesOut of 666 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2025 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2022 | 94%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this counts | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2022 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this counts | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2022 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 460 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2023 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 548 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2024 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 559 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2024 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2025 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 649 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2025 |
| Winchester College 2022 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 476 | Source and full figures: Winchester College, 2022 |
| Winchester College 2023 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 477 | Source and full figures: Winchester College, 2023 |
| Winchester College 2024 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 542 | Source and full figures: Winchester College, 2024 |
| Winchester College 2025 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 545 | Source and full figures: Winchester College, 2025 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2023 | Unknown / not recordedA-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 575 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2022 | 94.2%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 496 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2023 | 82.6%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 575 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2024 | 86.6%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 591 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2024 |
| King’s College School, Wimbledon 2025 | 86.0%A-level post-2010 A*–E · Grade awards | The publication doesn’t say who this countsOut of 666 | Source and full figures: King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2025 |
Record details
Each figure’s status as recorded, the precision it was printed to, and its record code.
- Winchester College, 2022: Primary · 1 decimal place ·
fig:winchester_alevel:7 - Winchester College, 2023: Primary · 1 decimal place ·
fig:winchester_alevel:8 - Winchester College, 2024: Primary · 1 decimal place ·
fig:winchester_alevel:9 - Winchester College, 2025: Primary / CONFLICT · 0 decimal places ·
fig:winchester_alevel:10 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
fig:kcs_combined_alevel_ib:14 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
fig:kcs_combined_alevel_ib:15 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2024: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
fig:kcs_combined_alevel_ib:16 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2025: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
fig:kcs_combined_alevel_ib:17 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022: Primary · 1 decimal place ·
fig:kcs_alevel_only:13 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023: Primary · 1 decimal place ·
fig:kcs_alevel_only:14 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2024: Primary · 1 decimal place ·
fig:kcs_alevel_only:15 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2025: Primary · 2 decimal places ·
fig:kcs_alevel_only:16 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022: School-filed report; stated qualification and assessment basis retained · 0 decimal places ·
research:kcs:2022:filed-report:a-level - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022: School-filed report; stated qualification and assessment basis retained · As published; not an exact number ·
research:kcs:2022:filed-report:a-level---ib-combined - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
research:kcs:2022:dfe-ks5-institution-aggregated-results-5551 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
research:kcs:2023:dfe-ks5-institution-aggregated-results-5714 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2024: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
research:kcs:2024:dfe-ks5-institution-aggregated-results-5114 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2025: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
research:kcs:2025:dfe-ks5-institution-aggregated-results-4838 - Winchester College, 2022: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
new:winchester:2022:dfe-ks5-institution-aggregated-results-20157 - Winchester College, 2023: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
new:winchester:2023:dfe-ks5-institution-aggregated-results-19445 - Winchester College, 2024: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
new:winchester:2024:dfe-ks5-institution-aggregated-results-18056 - Winchester College, 2025: Primary · As published; not an exact number ·
new:winchester:2025:dfe-ks5-institution-aggregated-results-17250 - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023: Source disagreement · versions retained · As published; not an exact number ·
research:kcs:2023:a-level:original-2023-version - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2022: archived source; source population and version retained · 0 decimal places ·
research:kcs:2022:gap-audit:isc-later-a-level - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2023: archived source; source population and version retained · 0 decimal places ·
research:kcs:2023:gap-audit:isc-later-a-level - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2024: archived source; source population and version retained · 0 decimal places ·
research:kcs:2024:gap-audit:isc-later-a-level - King’s College School, Wimbledon, 2025: archived source; source population and version retained · 0 decimal places ·
research:kcs:2025:gap-audit:isc-later-a-level
- Winchester · 2022: research observation outside matched schoolwide scope; incompatible definitions; unknown population basis; missing value
- Winchester · 2023: research observation outside matched schoolwide scope; incompatible definitions; unknown population basis; missing value
- Winchester · 2024: research observation outside matched schoolwide scope; incompatible definitions; unknown population basis; missing value
- Winchester · 2025: source disagreement; research observation outside matched schoolwide scope; incompatible definitions; unknown population basis; missing value
- KCS Wimbledon · 2022: incompatible definitions; unknown population basis; missing value; research observation outside matched schoolwide scope
- KCS Wimbledon · 2023: incompatible definitions; unknown population basis; missing value; research observation outside matched schoolwide scope
- KCS Wimbledon · 2024: incompatible definitions; unknown population basis; missing value; research observation outside matched schoolwide scope
- KCS Wimbledon · 2025: incompatible definitions; unknown population basis; missing value; research observation outside matched schoolwide scope
Where these figures come from
Each record gives the full definition, the documents it came from and what we checked.
Winchester College · 2019 · Cambridge Pre-U results · 2019
The native grade endpoint is D3; historical equivalence wording remains in the evidence. This broader cumulative band includes grades beyond D3.
Publications differ on at least one figure here. Checked against the original: 7 figures, including D1, D1–D2 and D1–D3.
Winchester College · 2023 · A-level results · 2023
A separate A-level grade band, not a converted Pre-U percentage.
This figure hasn’t been fully checked against the original yet.
- These examples do not quantify the effect of changing qualifications.
- Competing historical publications remain in the evidence. The current record controls each displayed value and its qualification.
About this answer
Editorial interpretation by The Schools Record. The research material below informed the questions; source passages consulted for this explanation are identified above. Displayed numerical examples come from this publication’s current evidence records; earlier research editions do not override them.
- Figures Bible v14.8a · Winchester Pre-U correction · pages 11–13
- Figures Bible v14.10 · publication archive patch · pages 19–22
Reviewed for this edition on . This is an interpretation of the cited evidence, not a new check of every original historical publication.
Read corrections and unresolved publication differencesWhere next
What would you like to understand next?
Read Winchester’s complete examination record
What should happen when publications disagree?
How do Eton’s qualification populations differ?
Your shortlist and years stay with you. “Ask this next” changes your current question, not anything you’ve saved.