Winners’ Edition – DLD awards feature

This special edition booklet showcases all of the winners of the Independent School of the Year Awards 2020. DLD College London is featured for the Special Judges’ Award (page 22) and also the Independent Boarding School of the Year (p43) – see below.

Message from Independent School Parent

At the tail end of the Easter term last year, and just after the first lockdown was announced, we launched our third awards campaign; little did we know what was to come. And yet, even with all the challenges schools and their communities faced – and the rapid turnaround from classroom lessons to home learning in late March – we were simply amazed to receive nominations from hundreds of schools.

These awards were established to celebrate the quality of the student experience in independent schools, and to say we were thrilled with the level of response is an understatement. I’d like to thank them for their support! The panel of judges hugely enjoyed reading and considering all the entries. Judging Chair, Dr Helen Wright, recounts the selection process on page 5, as well as our virtual awards ceremony held in October, where attendees tuned in from all around the country and mainland Europe. Congratulations to all the schools who won an award.

This special awards supplement is dedicated to the winning schools of each of the 20 categories. Schools are communities made up of hundreds of people with a story to tell. Our awards were their chance to do just that, whether it’s a unique and innovative boarding programme (read DLD College London’s story on page 43) or our Rising Star winner, Benjamin Ingram-Moore, a pupil at Bedford School, who masterminded the social media campaign for his late grandfather Captain Sir Tom Moore’s NHS fundraiser. Read all about him on page 59.

Happy reading!