KCS Wimbledon / St Paul’s · A complete free briefing
What should a family make of the A* gap?
St Paul’s reports a higher A* share in each of the seven years compared here. Read the pattern alongside the subjects your child wants to pursue and the sixth-form route they would actually take.
Research edition of 12 Nov 2026 · 7 shared years: 2016–2019, 2022, 2024–2025 · Free to read in full
The finding
How the gap changes between years
St Paul’s reports a higher A* share in each of the seven years compared here.
Look at the education behind the result
St Paul’s reports a higher A* share in each of the seven years compared here. The gap is 0.9 percentage points in 2017 and 12.8 percentage points in 2016. Across those seven years, the middle yearly gap (the median) is 5.4 percentage points. The direction is consistent across those years; the size of the gap varies.
The next step is to picture the course the pupil would actually take. KCS Wimbledon publishes A-level and IB Diploma routes; St Paul’s describes an A-level programme with separate project work. A family considering the IB needs to look at its subject breadth, Higher and Standard Levels, and compulsory wider work. These A-level results cannot answer that enquiry.
Once the route is clear, picture the pupil studying those subjects through an ordinary week. What work will they do on their own? Who helps when it gets difficult, and what must they achieve to continue? The schools’ published arrangements help you begin that conversation. To judge the teaching and whether your child would feel at home, you will need to learn more about daily life.
KCS Wimbledon’s curriculum guide · St Paul’s account of sixth-form life · St Paul’s Engineering qualification. We checked these programme descriptions on 30 September 2026. The curriculum and daily-life pages have no date, so families should confirm the subjects and timetable for their own year of entry.
The figures behind the reading
What is counted: Share of published A-level entries awarded A* in the named examination year.
| Year | KCS Wimbledon (%) | St Paul’s (%) | Gap (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 32.3 | 45.1 | −12.8 |
| 2017 | 46 | 46.9 | −0.9 |
| 2018 | 45.6 | 51 | −5.4 |
| 2019 | 46.5 | 50.4 | −3.9 |
| 2022 | 68.1 | 70.9 | −2.8 |
| 2024 | 50.7 | 60.2 | −9.5 |
| 2025 | 50.75 | 59.3a | −8.55a |
The gap is KCS Wimbledon minus St Paul’s, in percentage points. It is a gap between entry percentages, not a difference in the number of pupils achieving A*.
Which years and definitions qualify?
- These figures cover A levels alone. IB, Pre-U and combined-qualification results are kept separately. Teacher-assessed results from 2020–21 are left out unless you choose to include them. Where publications disagree and the difference remains unresolved, both figures stay in the source record and neither enters this comparison.
- 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: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025. A missing or excluded year is not a zero result.
- Historical results: the latest shared year is 2025. They can’t show 2026 results.
The check behind the answer
Does it hold up if you change the years?
That direction also holds in the study’s shorter-period checks and when each year is left out in turn.
The period check compares all shared years, the latest three, the latest five and each year left out in turn, not every possible period. The same school is ahead in every one of these choices of years.
Leaving out one shared year at a time gives typical gaps from −6.98 to −4.65 points. The direction holds whichever year is left out. Other choices of years may give a different answer, and the pupils taking the examinations differ from year to year.
All shared years
−5.4 points
2016–2019, 2022, 2024–2025 · KCS Wimbledon minus St Paul’s
Latest three shared years
−8.55 points
2022, 2024–2025 · KCS Wimbledon minus St Paul’s
Read the early and recent year check
Across all shared years the typical gap (the median of the annual differences) is −5.4 points (KCS Wimbledon minus St Paul’s). The earliest 3 shared years (2016, 2017, 2018) give −5.4; the latest 3 (2022, 2024, 2025) give −8.55, so the gap keeps its direction. The middle year sits out of this even split. This shows how the choice of period affects the comparison. It cannot tell us whether education improved or declined, or what effect attending either school had.
The shared years are not an unbroken run. Missing or excluded years are gaps, never zero results. These checks do not test every possible period or explain the effect of attending a school.
Checking the sources
What was actually checked?
8 of the 14 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.
We checked the relevant figures and years in 2 school publications: KCS Wimbledon: published results table and St Paul’s: results page. Each evidence record below shows which figure its source supports.
What could change the conclusion?
A resolved disagreement, a new source that qualifies, or a different measure can change which years enter the study. A newer headline only belongs in this comparison after its definition and support have been checked. A source correction creates a new research version; your retained copy keeps this edition’s finding.
Trace all 14 figures to their evidence
- King’s College School, Wimbledon · 2016 · A-level results · 2016
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: A*–A and A*–B.
- St Paul’s School · 2016 · A-level results · 2016
This figure hasn’t been fully checked against the original yet.
- King’s College School, Wimbledon · 2017 · A-level results · 2017
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: A*–A and A*–B.
- St Paul’s School · 2017 · A-level results · 2017
This figure hasn’t been fully checked against the original yet.
- King’s College School, Wimbledon · 2018 · A-level results · 2018
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: A*–A, A*–B, candidates and entries.
- St Paul’s School · 2018 · A-level results · 2018
This figure hasn’t been fully checked against the original yet.
- King’s College School, Wimbledon · 2019 · A-level results · 2019
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: A*–A, A*–B, candidates and entries.
- St Paul’s School · 2019 · A-level results · 2019
This figure hasn’t been fully checked against the original yet.
- King’s College School, Wimbledon · 2022 · A-level results · 2022
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: A*–A, A*–B, candidates and entries.
- St Paul’s School · 2022 · A-level results · 2022
Publications differ on A* and A*–A.
- King’s College School, Wimbledon · 2024 · A-level results · 2024
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: 5 figures, including A*–A, A*–B and A-level pathway pupils.
- St Paul’s School · 2024 · A-level results · 2024
Publications differ on A*.
- King’s College School, Wimbledon · 2025 · A-level results · 2025
Checked against the original: A*, candidates and entries. Not yet checked: A*–A, A*–B and A-level pathway pupils.
- St Paul’s School · 2025 · A-level results · 2025
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: A*–A and A*–B.
The choice beyond the figures
The subject you do not want to lose
Keeping your options open can mean preserving subjects you enjoy, finding room for more concentrated work, or making an ordinary week workable. Read the same KCS Wimbledon and St Paul’s arrangements through each concern, consider the strongest competing argument, and find the answer that could change your view.
Read through breadth, depth or an ordinary week →Use the finding to ask better questions
Take these questions to each school
- In 2025, which sixth-form pupils and subjects took A levels rather than another qualification at KCS Wimbledon and St Paul’s?
- How might entry selection, the subjects taken or changes in the year group help explain the results? What separate evidence would help us understand the teaching?
- For the missing years (2020, 2021, 2023), can the school point us to a dated publication using the same definition?
For a practical shortlist, also establish which subjects and combinations are offered for the year of entry, the entry conditions, day or boarding arrangements, and the published costs. The results above cannot establish those facts.
Read each school’s published information with its year, entry point and source dates. A checked publication does not confirm a place, an available subject combination or costs for a later year. Use the practical questions checklist.
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