DLD College was founded in 1931 and is the oldest tutorial college in London.  Today, DLD College has over 330 students studying for GCSE and A level.

DLD is a member of the Independent Schools Association and was inspected in 2005. DLD is also listed in the Good Schools Guide 2005 www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk. The college has won national Good Schools Guide awards in 2004 and 2005 for the best AS Photography(girls) and A Level English Literature results (boys in an independent school).

There are over 300 students at DLD studying A levels from a choice of 43 subjects.  Two thirds of the student body are taking their A Levels in the usual way (over two years), however we have a large number who join the college at the start of Upper Sixth.  No subject restrictions apply at A Level.  There are over 40 GCSE students at DLD. All GCSE syllabuses are fully covered so students don’t need to worry about changing exam boards or subjects.  The College also offers supplementary lessons in English as a foreign language which are taken by 6% of the student body.

For all our programmes, classes are small: on average 6 students in each group.  This means that students quickly develop the confidence to seek guidance and help. 

The teaching staff are highly qualified and chosen not just for their expertise but also for their ability to relate positively to young people.  The college aims to make learning interesting, active and rigorous.   One third of the teaching staff were educated at Oxford or Cambridge, two thirds have either Master’s degree and /or a Ph D qualification.   Most are full time and salaried. 

Each student is assigned a personal tutor to supervise pastoral care, liaise with parents or guardians and assist students with their university (UCAS) applications.  The Head of Sixth Form oversees all UCAS applications and arranges visits from university admissions officers to talk to DLD students about developing attractive applications.  For those who wish to apply to medical school and Oxford or Cambridge, we have tutors who specialise in such applications.   DLD also arrange Oxbridge preparation and practise interviews ‘The level of pastoral care’ is described in the most recent British Accreditation Council inspection report as ‘exceptionally high’.

The facilities are excellent and include:

• 42 classrooms - 15 of which have interactive whiteboards
• 80 seat theatre with cinema screen 
• A music recording studio with sound booth, 8 Apple Macs and Cubase and Sibelius software 
• 3 art studios - fine art, sculpture & ceramics, textiles 
• 2 photography studios and a dark room with 9 enlargers 
• 3 large well equipped and modern science laboratories 
• 2 Computer Science rooms with 24 PCs 
• A media editing suite with 5 Apple Macs equipped with Quark, 
• Final Cut and Photoshop 
• A well-stocked library including 16 PCs for student use 
• A student canteen