Dolphin is not a feeder for any particular senior school and we believe that our children are well prepared to meet the challenges of any subsequent school be it state, grammar or independent.

Over the past eight years 83% of our Year Eight leavers have opted for an independent senior school, 9% for state schools and 8% for grammar schools. For Year Six leavers; 65% have opted for an independent senior school, 9% for state schools and 17% have secured places at grammar schools. A further 9% have moved abroad.

The most popular destinations have been, The Abbey, Bearwood College, Bradfield College, Eton College, Gillotts, The Holt, Kendrick, Leighton Park, Luckley Oakfield, Marlborough College, The Piggott, Queen Anne's, Reading Blue Coat, Reading School, Rugby, Shiplake College, St Joseph's Convent, St Paul's Boys, Waingel's, William Borlase, Winchester and Wycombe Abbey.

Common Entrance and Scholarship results over the past eight years have seen 100% of Year Eight leavers who have opted for an independent senior education securing a place at their first choice school and of those 37% have done so with some level of scholarship.

The academic benefits of a Dolphin education are not fully realised until the end of Year Eight where the Common Entrance syllabuses followed provide not only the basis of entry to an independent senior school, but also a strong foundation for all GCSE courses taken at any subsequent senior school. Dolphins regularly win major scholarships to academically outstanding independent senior schools such as Eton, Harrow, Marlborough, St Paul’s, Winchester and Wycombe Abbey as well as places at grammar schools. At this stage Dolphins have also developed the social and leadership skills which make them highly sought after by senior schools and which make them leaders in later life.

For ten years we opted to participate in the national SATS Key Stage 2 testing in Year Six. Our results were excellent, the vast majority of children achieving the highest possible level in English, Maths and Science. However, at Dolphin we do not train for exams, a process which can result in shallow learning. We educate for life and so no longer undertake SATS testing. Those children who choose to leave us at the end of Year Six do so having had opportunities and experiences which will influence the quality of their learning for the rest of their lives.