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Research edition · Comparison · KCS Wimbledon · St Paul’s

How do KCS Wimbledon and St Paul’s compare on A-level grades at A*?

Comparison · A-level grades at A* · 2016–2019, 2022, 2024–2025. Edition of 12 Nov 2026.

The answer

St Paul’s comes out higher than KCS Wimbledon on the share of A-level entries awarded A* when the available years are compared. The same school comes out higher in every period we checked.

Measure: Share of published A-level entries awarded A* in the named examination year. Years: 2016–2019, 2022, 2024–2025.

Your briefing (0)

The figures

2016–2019, 2022, 2024–2025

A-level grades at A* · 2016–2025

KCS Wimbledon
St Paul’s

Each school against the same scale and years.

KCS Wimbledon

St Paul’s

Exam eras: 2016; 2017–19; 2020–21 (grades set by schools); 2022 (return to exams); 2023–25. 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.

A-level grades at A*: KCS Wimbledon and St Paul’s, each year both can be compared. The gap is KCS Wimbledon minus St Paul’s, in percentage points.
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	59.3^a	−8.55^a

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

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.
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.
These figures carry the record’s existing source checks, which are kept apart from background links. This edition didn’t reopen every original publication.
Historical results: the latest shared year is 2025. They can’t show 2026 results.

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.

What research access adds · open in this sample

What the study means

An A-level headline becomes more useful when you look at the subjects behind it. Start with the pattern in these results, then consider the programme your child would take: the subject choices, the work expected and the support available.

The comparison uses 7 shared years: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025. There are gaps in 2020, 2021, 2023, where comparable figures are missing or excluded. Read the pattern with those interruptions in mind.

Year by year, KCS Wimbledon is higher in 0 years and St Paul’s in 7; 0 years are exactly level, and 0 are too close to order within the schools’ rounding. Each year counts once. This describes the annual pattern; it does not combine all exam entries into one rate or give either school an overall score.

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.

The A* figure counts A-level entries only. At a school offering Pre-U or IB as well, it may describe a particular group within the sixth form. The separately defined A*–A or equivalent comparison includes the other routes; the two gaps should not be averaged together.

Does the answer hold if the years change?

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.

Questions for the 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?

This is the text research access adds to every study in the edition. Here it is open to everyone.

Where the figures come from

14 records

Each record gives the full definition, the documents it came from and what we checked.

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.

Historical Review sample · retired product

Does St Paul’s A-level A* share consistently run about ten points above KCS Wimbledon’s?

The question sounds straightforward. Answering it meant comparing the schools’ own publications for 2022 to 2025, including versions that disagreed. This is a historical draft of the earlier commissioned Review, which is no longer offered. It remains here in its original form so you can examine the work.

The question as agreed: “Does the recent published A-level A* difference support a claim that St Paul's consistently outperforms King's by about ten percentage points?”

St Paul’s School and King’s College School, Wimbledon · A-level entries graded A* · 2022–2025; 2026 checked separately · report dated 6 Sep 2026 · a draft: the founder’s final sign-off is outstanding

The answer

St Paul’s A* share was higher in all four years checked, but the gap ran from 0.7 to 10.3 points, not a steady ten

St Paul’s was ahead by 1.9 points in 2022, 0.7 in 2023, 10.3 in 2024 and 8.6 in 2025. The schools’ publications disagree in places, so the exact series is provisional; the investigation names the version it used for each year.

The report’s conclusion, in its own words

No. The checked publication versions show a positive St Paul's-minus-King's difference in all four years, but its size varies substantially. The current-page comparison gives 1.9 and 0.7 percentage points in 2022–23, then 10.30 and 8.55 in 2024–25. Publication disagreements mean the exact series is provisional. Four years are insufficient for the engine's five-year robustness assessment.

Insufficient evidence for a robustness verdict. Four paired years, from the publication versions we chose, fall short of the five years the period check needs, and the calculation below doesn’t settle where publications disagree. The free comparison leaves out years where publications disagree, so it can match fewer years than this investigation; the next section shows the difference.

What the investigation added, on this question

What the free tools give you, and what the investigation added

Free · Test a claim, same question

Holds up

Over the 3 years we can compare (2022, 2024, 2025), St Paul’s is ahead by a typical (median) gap of 8.6 points; the one year range we can test agrees. Each year has equal weight. We do not pool all the pupils or exam entries into one rate.

Years compared, 2022–2025: 3
Years it can’t use: 1

Left out: 2023 (publications disagree). The free tools never choose between competing published figures.

Test this question yourself

The investigation · the same question, taken to the documents

Four years compared on named publication versions; typical gap 5.2 percentage points

The investigation retrieved 7 original publications, took each year’s A* share from a named version, recorded the 4 places where publications disagree rather than choosing between them, and drafted the wording, limits and questions for the schools below. A reviewer’s approval is still outstanding, and the page says so.

Years compared, 2022–2025: 4
Publication conflicts recorded: 4

Robustness: Insufficient evidence. Four years are still fewer than the five the period check needs, so the investigation says so rather than strengthening the verdict.

The free tool leaves out disputed years. The investigation can examine the competing publications in more detail, while keeping unresolved differences visible.

From the report

How the report puts the answer

The recent published A-level A* figures are higher at St Paul's in the four years examined, with a much larger reported difference in 2024–25. Differences in publication versions remain unresolved. These school-level grade shares do not establish individual prospects or how much a school adds to attainment.

The report’s proposed wording, including the uncertainty that affects the answer.

The checked publication versions

4 years

A-level A* percentage of subject entries; St Paul’s minus KCS Wimbledon, to one decimal place (the calculation CSV keeps each exact difference)
Year	St Paul’s	KCS Wimbledon	Difference	Publication sources
2022	70%	68.1%	1.9 pp	St Paul’s source KCS Wimbledon sourceOur records: St Paul’s · KCS Wimbledon
2023	51%	50.3%	0.7 pp	St Paul’s source KCS Wimbledon sourceOur records: St Paul’s · KCS Wimbledon
2024	61%	50.70%	10.3 pp	St Paul’s source KCS Wimbledon sourceOur records: St Paul’s · KCS Wimbledon
2025	59.3%	50.75%	8.6 pp	St Paul’s source KCS Wimbledon sourceOur records: St Paul’s · KCS Wimbledon

Typical gap (the median of these four yearly gaps): 5.2 percentage points. The unrounded arithmetic gives 5.225, but the published figures don’t support that many digits.

Each gap is St Paul’s percentage minus KCS Wimbledon’s percentage in the same year, on one definition throughout (the A-level A* share of subject entries). With four gaps, the median is the average of the middle two. It is not a combined rate across entries or pupils.

Why this differs from our records

Our records keep the figures as first compiled. For 2022, 2023 and 2024, St Paul’s current summary prints 2022: 70%; 2023: 51%; 2024: 61%, while our records hold 2022: 70.9%; 2023: 50.6%; 2024: 60.2%. KCS Wimbledon’s 2025 retrospective also differs from its earlier versions for 2023. The reasons are unresolved: this report names the versions it used and doesn’t pick a definitive corrected history. With our recorded St Paul’s figures instead, the typical gap is 5.7 percentage points (5.675 before rounding).

Where the publications disagree, and what the investigation did

4 conflicts

Here are the competing figures and their sources. The report explains what still needs to be checked before each disagreement can be resolved.

Conflicts investigated
School · year	Competing published values	Cause	Status and next action
St Paul’s · 2022	70.9% (our record); 70% (original checked)	Unresolved; no dated amendment or matching original precision recovered in this bounded check.	Unresolved. Locate original detailed 2022 table; do not assume ordinary rounding or overwrite the frozen value.
St Paul’s · 2024	60.2% (our record); 61% (original checked)	Unresolved; current summary differs from frozen precise figure.	Unresolved. Locate dated detailed 2024 table and any revision statement.
KCS Wimbledon · 2023	50.1% (original checked); 50.1% (original checked); 50.3% (original checked)	Unresolved. 2023 detailed table gives 288 A* of 575 entries; 2025 retrospective gives 50.3 without amended counts.	Unresolved. Retain both; ask school about revised counts only after owner approval if required.
St Paul’s · 2025	57% (original checked, 14 Aug 2025); 59.3% (original checked)	Results-day news and current detailed result page differ; a revision explanation was not established.	Unresolved. Use the explicitly named current 2025 results-page version for this descriptive example; do not assert a proven re-mark cause.

From the report

What about 2026?

St Paul's 13 August 2026 publication reports 60% A*. King's 13 August 2026 publication says only that more than half of A-level grades are A*. Its 56% figure includes IB equivalents. The current King's results hub links detailed tables only through 2025. Therefore no exact 2026 difference is calculated; this is a dated retrieval limit, not a claim of non-publication.

What the report can’t tell you

The named publication versions are analysed descriptively; none is declared the definitive revised series.
King's has a separate IB population. Its 2025 A-level PDF identifies 182 A-level-route candidates plus one IB pupil taking an A level. The 666 A-level entries are not 666 pupils, and the whole sixth-form cohort is not described.
Whole-percent St Paul's summary values and more precise King's percentages have different reporting precision. 5.225 is arithmetic on printed values, not that level of measurement accuracy.
No pupil intake, subject mix, individual grades, teaching effect or probability of admission is estimated. 2020–21 assessed results are excluded; 2022 is a transitional award year and is compared within the same calendar year.
No earlier historical conclusion is offered: older St Paul's observations were not originally verified in this bounded sample pass. This avoids presenting internally reproducible historical rows as source-checked research.

From the report

Questions to put to the schools

Which detailed final A-level table and issue date should control 2022 and 2024 at St Paul's? Were entry populations or reviewed grades different?
Why does King's 2025 retrospective give 50.3% A* for 2023, while the 2023 and 2024 PDFs give 50.1%? Are amended counts available?
Can both schools supply the final 2026 A-level-only grade distributions and subject-entry counts?
For the client's intended subjects, what are the actual entry counts and grade distributions, and which sixth-form route do they concern?

Keep the report and its calculations

Download the report, examine the calculation in a spreadsheet, or keep the exact data used to prepare it. These files preserve the original work even if a school later changes its website.

Download the report (PDF)Calculation (CSV)Original calculation data (JSON)

A draft worked example: the sources are checked, and the founder’s final sign-off is still outstanding. It is not a signed client report.

Report dated 6 Sep 2026. Later changes to a source don’t alter this issued version; a correction would be issued as a new version, with its reason and effect.