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Townley Grammar School is a grammar school with academy status for girls on Townley Road, Bexleyheath, in the London Borough of Bexley, England. It was previously known as Bexley Technical High School for Girls. The school consists of Years 7–11, single sex (girls), and a mixed-sex sixth form.
| Townley Grammar School | |
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| Address | |
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Townley Road , , DA6 7AB England | |
| Coordinates | 51°27′01″N 0°08′23″E / 51.4502°N 0.1398°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy Grammar School |
| Established | 1937 |
| Status | Open[1] |
| Department for Education URN | 137769 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Head teacher | Nevita Pandya (2020–Present) |
| Gender | Female (Mixed-sex sixth form) |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | c. 1,602 |
| Houses | Hestia, Hera, Aphrodite,Athene, Demeter, Artemis and Persephone |
| Website | http://www.townleygrammar.org.uk/ |
The school specialises in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) subjects as a core for its GCSE. In June 2018, the school was featured in the BBC Two documentary Grammar Schools: Who Will Get In?.[2]
Academics
editThe Sixth Form returns excellent exam results; in excess of 98% of students enter higher education at 18, and the school regularly appears in the Sunday Times Good Schools Guide.
In 2008 the school had 4 students going onto courses of study at Oxbridge, the highest number for a state school in Bexley.[3]
At GCSE, students perform well, consistently achieving a 100% pass rate.[4]
The only way to gain entry to the school is through the 11-plus.
Curriculum
editThe school was awarded Specialist Status for the performing and visual arts in September 2004. The school converted to academy status in 2012 but continues to specialise in performing and visual arts, maths, and computing.
All girls take eleven GCSEs. However, certain exceptional students can be entered early for subjects such as Art, Mathematics or Modern Foreign Languages if they have a special aptitude for the subject, and Mandarin used to be a part of the extracurricular programme.
Townley has a large mixed sixth form; students choose from some thirty five Advanced Level (AS and A2) courses.
Accommodation
edit
The school is constructed on a 17-acre (6.9 ha) site and has sporting facilities. A new building was completed in 2006 which provides a theatre, recording studio, a large Sports Hall, five additional science laboratories, and a further ICT suite.
Extra-curricular activities
editOfsted observed that the School's extra-curricular activities covered "an impressively wide range" and demonstrated "high standards of achievement".
The School has a long tradition for excellence in the Arts and was recently awarded the Gold Arts Mark. The school has three choirs, two orchestras, a concert band, string and woodwind ensembles.
Full-scale music, drama and dance productions have included Scarlatti's Stabat Mater, Benjamin Britten's Missa Brevis, Holst's Ave Maria, Dido and Aeneas, Vivaldi's Gloria, Oklahoma!, Sweet Charity, The Visit, Cabaret, 42nd Street, Rainbow's Ending, The Boy Friend, Cats, The Sound of Music, Bugsy Malone, Tales Untold, Jesus Christ Superstar Variations, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oliver!, Hairspray, Annie, Matilda and SIX. In December 2017, there was a musical production of School of Rock.
Townley works with Rose Bruford College, Trinity College of Music, Laban, The Royal Ballet and Tate Modern.
Regular exchanges take place with The Shri Ram School in Delhi, India and the Franz Stock Gymnasium in Arnsberg, Germany. Adventure holidays for lower school take place in the UK. The school also visits Silicon Valley, San Francisco, as well as New York City.
Notable former pupils and staff
edit- Baroness Valerie Amos, Labour politician and diplomat, British High Commissioner to Australia. Member of Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council. Amos is the first black head of an Oxford University college, was also the school's first black Deputy Head Girl.[5][6]
- Zoe Smith, Olympic weightlifter, Commonwealth champion, finished at Townley in 2012[5]
Notes and references
edit- ^ "Townley Grammar School - GOV.UK". www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ Benn, Melissa (5 June 2018). "Grammar schools: Even the BBC is waking up to the painful, divisive reality I Melissa Benn". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- ^ "Bumper Year for A Level Results", [The News Shopper], 16 August 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ "More Pupils Making GCSE Grade", The News Shopper, 29 August 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ a b "Townley alumni". Townley Grammar School. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ Ali, Aftab (29 June 2015). "UK gains its first-ever female black university leader". The Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2016.