Research edition · Comparison · St Paul’s · Downe House
How do St Paul’s and Downe House compare on A*–A or equivalent, all sixth-form exams?
Comparison · A*–A or equivalent, all sixth-form exams · 2024–2026. Edition of 28 Sep 2026.
The answer · Holds up
Over the 3 years we can compare (2024–2026), St Paul’s is ahead by a typical 31.5 points; the one year range we can test agrees.
The figures
- St Paul’s
- Downe House
Each school against the same scale and years.
Exam eras: 2024–25; 2026. The rule beneath the axis marks exam conditions, not schools.
A break in a line means a year has no comparable figure; nothing is estimated. The figures behind the chart are listed below.
| Year | St Paul’s (%) | Downe House (%) | Gap (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 89.5 | 59 | 30.5 |
| 2025 | 92.5a | 54 | 38.5a |
| 2026 | 91.5 | 60 | 31.5 |
- a St Paul’s 2025: a dated review on 28 September 2026 found the printed 59.3% A* and 92.5% A*–A headlines on the school’s results page, but the subject table on the same page adds up to 701 of 759 grades at A*–A, which is 92.36%. What explains the difference, a different group of entries or another version of the page, is unresolved. The 759 is only the sum of the table’s rows: the school doesn’t give it as the base of its 92.5% headline, and we don’t treat it as one.
Figures to two decimal places at most. A figure known only within the school’s rounding is shown as a range, never as its lower end.
Read this with the answer
- Comparable figure: TSR’s calculation across every A-level, Pre-U principal-subject and IB Higher Level entry, weighted by entries. Cambridge aligns Pre-U D3 with A and UCAS scores IB 6 like an A.
- Published results describe different groups of pupils, chosen in different ways. They can’t show the effect of attending a school, or what one pupil would achieve.
- Only the years both schools can be compared on are used: 2024, 2025 and 2026. A missing or excluded year is not a zero result.
- Fewer than five shared years, which is too few for the period check: it needs five.
- These figures carry the record’s existing source checks, which are kept apart from background links. This edition didn’t reopen every original publication.
- Counting A-level A*–A, Pre-U D1–D3 and IB Higher Level 7–6 together is our stated convention, weighted by entries. They are not the same examinations, and entries are not pupils.
- Historical results: the latest shared year is 2026. 2026 counts only where a figure passes this measure’s usual rules.
0 of the 6 recorded figures behind this comparison have an exact source check for that field and year; 6 are recorded or calculated figures with their support set out in Record details. This is not a fresh check of every source.
With research access
What the study means, and what to ask next
Research access adds what the comparison shows once it is read year by year, whether the answer holds when the period changes, and the questions to take to each school. It is added to your briefing with its sources, dates and qualifications.
Research access isn’t on sale yet. The prices are proposed, nothing can be bought or paid on this site, and no opening date is set.
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Where the figures come from
Each record gives the full definition, the documents it came from and what we checked.
St Paul’s · 2024 · Comparable sixth-form figures · 2024
Our comparable figure, calculated from the school’s published grades; its page lists each qualification it combines and the records behind them.
Downe House · 2024 · Comparable sixth-form figures · 2024
Our comparable figure, calculated from the school’s published grades; its page lists each qualification it combines and the records behind them.
St Paul’s · 2025 · Comparable sixth-form figures · 2025
Our comparable figure, calculated from the school’s published grades; its page lists each qualification it combines and the records behind them.
Downe House · 2025 · Comparable sixth-form figures · 2025
Our comparable figure, calculated from the school’s published grades; its page lists each qualification it combines and the records behind them.
St Paul’s · 2026 · Comparable sixth-form figures · 2026
Our comparable figure, calculated from the school’s published grades; its page lists each qualification it combines and the records behind them.
Downe House · 2026 · Comparable sixth-form figures · 2026
Our comparable figure, calculated from the school’s published grades; its page lists each qualification it combines and the records behind them.