St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School

St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School is a selective boys' grammar school in Orpington, with girls admitted to the sixth form. It is also a Church of England school, but its own values pages stress that pupils of all faiths and none are welcomed. History is central here: the school traces its foundation to the sixteenth century and repeatedly connects more than 450 years of tradition with dignity, respect, responsibility and service.

Academically, St Olave's is one of the strongest academic performers among England's grammar schools. The school describes itself as a designated state grammar selecting by high academic performance in entrance tests, and its headteacher's welcome calls it one of the country's most successful voluntary-aided selective schools. The curriculum is supported by strong sixth-form provision, and published measures show +1.27 Progress 8, 100% grade 5+ in English and maths and 78.5% AAB or better at A level.

The school life offer is substantial and specific. St Olave's highlights sport, music, drama, Duke of Edinburgh, clubs and societies, and the site record includes a library, swimming pool and music rooms. The homepage also points to a purpose-built sixth-form block and music centre, and to the conversion of the former Olympic-sized swimming pool into a multi-purpose sports and drama hall. The tone is academically serious but explicitly pastoral: staff knowing pupils well is one of the school's repeated claims.

Year 7 admission has 124 published places and is highly selective. Boys first sit the Selective Eligibility Test in logic, mathematics and English; the top 450 are invited to second-stage English and mathematics tests, with creative writing used in the tie-break sequence. The policy gives priority within the eligible group to EHCP naming, looked-after and previously looked-after boys, and up to 10 pupil-premium places before remaining places are allocated by rank order. Recent demand figures show 475 applications and 126 offers.