Townley Grammar School is a large Bexley selective girls' school with boys admitted into the sixth form. It became an academy in 2012, but its distinctive identity predates that: the school was recognised as a Specialist School for the Performing and Visual Arts in 2004 and later as a High Performing Specialist School.
The academic profile is strong, with Townley publishing GCSE and A level outcomes and Ofsted judging the school Outstanding in 2023. The curriculum and sixth-form offer keep the performing arts visible alongside mathematics, computing, sciences, humanities, languages and social sciences, which is important to the school's identity as a former Specialist School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Townley's sixth form is large, co-educational and broad, with around 500 places expected. The school describes it as high-achieving and diverse, with academic study supported by pastoral care, electives, leadership and preparation for post-18 routes. Music, drama, Duke of Edinburgh and performance opportunities are part of the everyday texture of the school.
Year 7 has 224 places and uses the Bexley Selection Test. Applicants must be deemed selective before Townley's criteria are applied; after looked-after children, pupil-premium categories, Bexley's highest 180 scorers, siblings and staff children, distance is the main deciding factor. Meeting the Bexley selective standard does not by itself guarantee a Townley place.
