Bexley Grammar School

History

Bexley Grammar School was opened in 1955. In 1966, it was proposed that the school was merged with Westwood Secondary Modern School; Edward Heath, the MP for Bexley at the time, said that he had used his influence to stop this happening.

The school became an academy in January 2011.

Academics

The school entrance examination is the eleven plus exam taken by prospective pupils in September of Year 6. Candidates who live in Bexleyheath must come in the top 120 and candidates who live in the wider catchment area (10 miles from the Broadway Shopping Centre, Bexleyheath) must come within the top 60. Students who apply to enter the school between the years 7 and 11 are required to pass examinations in English, Mathematics, Science, and a Modern Foreign Language.

To enter the Sixth Form students must achieve higher than GCSE grade C in all compulsory subjects and at least GCSE grade B in selected subjects. Current pupils must achieve more than six A*–Bs (including Maths and English) in their GCSEs to continue their studies in Sixth Form.

In the 2016 academic year, 100% of pupils attained 5 GCSE grades A* to C. 99.1% of the A-level grades were A* to D. The school began offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Sixth Form in 2003, alongside A Levels. From September 2017, students in the sixth form were only able to study the IB, as the school stopped teaching A Levels.

The school's last Ofsted inspection was in 2022; it was rated Outstanding in all areas.

Premises

The school has expanded into new buildings over time; Main (M), Jubilee (J), Golden Jubilee (was the Danson building but was replaced in 2005 by the current building), Heath (H), Le Feuvre (L), Music (Mu), Jubilee extension (J) (2002–03) and Golden Jubilee (G). Some confusion can occur with the Jubilee extension, which was originally the G building and the 2005 extension of the Main building. Recently, the SEN block (S) has been added on the end of the school on the side of the PE block and a new sixth form centre has been built as an extension to the Le Feuvre building. In 2017, a further extension to the school added a (K) block with a Theatre and sixth form study area.

The school buildings form an internal courtyard area surrounded on all sides except the West, which is a covered area.

The field covers a larger area than the buildings and is surrounded on two sides by Danson Park.

Notable former pupils

• Stephanie Brind, professional squash player
• Daniel Francis, MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford.
• Gavin Peacock, former professional footballer
• Matthew Rose, former professional footballer
• Joshua Bradley and Tobi Brown, YouTubers and members of the Sidemen

References

References

1. "Bexley Grammar School - Governance".
2. (10 September 1955). "Five more coming into use next term". Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald.
3. Heath, Edward. (2011). "The Course of My Life: My Autobiography". Bloomsbury Publishing.
4. (14 February 2012). "Academy conversion and predecessor schools". Ofsted.
5. (26 April 2023). "Bexley Grammar School - Ofsted Report 2022".
6. (19 December 2000). "Stunning Steph". Newsquest.
7. "Councillor Daniel Francis".
8. Peacock, Gavin. "Official Website of Gavin Peacock".
9. "Surnames beginning with P". Government of the United Kingdom.
10. (2019-11-09). "Who are The Sidemen - KSI's YouTube group explained ahead of Logan Paul rematch".