Townley Grammar School 11+ Guide 2026

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Townley Grammar School is the largest girls' grammar school in the London Borough of Bexley, with a published admission number of 224 places for Year 7 entry. Located on Townley Road in Bexleyheath, it is one of four selective schools in Bexley, all of which use the same entrance process: the Bexley Selection Test, now administered by Quest Assessments. For September 2027 entry, the test takes place at the grammar school test centres between 7 and 10 September 2026, with results published online in early October. This guide covers everything families need to know about Townley's entry requirements, test format, scoring, key dates, and how to prepare effectively.

What Is Townley Grammar School?

Townley Grammar School is a selective girls' academy located in Bexleyheath, part of the London Borough of Bexley. It became an academy on 1 January 2012 and is the admissions authority for its own intake. With a current school roll of 1,637 pupils, it is the largest grammar school in Bexley by total pupil numbers and one of the larger girls' grammars in south-east London. The school admits only girls to Year 7 (aged 11) through the Bexley selective process, though the sixth form welcomes male students.

Townley holds two specialist designations: Performing and Visual Arts (awarded 2004, re-designated as a High Performing Specialist School in 2008) and Mathematics and Computing (from 2009). This dual specialism shapes much of the school's co-curricular offer, which includes strong music, drama, and arts programmes alongside an active STEM provision. The school operates a house system and Duke of Edinburgh programme, and it publishes the Townley Baccalaureate as an additional framework for student achievement beyond standard qualifications.

Bexley has four grammar schools in total: Beths Grammar School (boys), Bexley Grammar School (mixed), Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School (mixed), and Townley Grammar School (girls). All four schools share a single test — the Bexley Selection Test — so a family registering their daughter for the test enters a single process that covers all four schools simultaneously. Applications are then made separately via the eAdmissions portal, listing preferred schools on the Common Application Form (CAF).

For a broader introduction to the 11+ process across grammar schools, see our guide to what the 11+ exam involves and our 11+ tuition page for details of how Leading Tuition approaches selective school preparation.

What Is the Bexley Selection Test (Quest) — 2026 Format?

The Bexley Selection Test is a paper-based two-paper examination set by Quest Assessments. Bexley moved to Quest as its test provider for the 2026 intake onwards, replacing the previously used GL Assessment materials. An important point for families to understand from the outset: the Bexley Selection Test uses a paper format, not the online adaptive Quest test used by independent schools such as Dulwich College, City of London Girls, and The Perse School. The skills tested overlap, but the delivery and strategy differ significantly.

The test consists of two separate booklets, both taken in the same session on the same day. Each paper lasts approximately 50 minutes, plus additional time for instructions. The full session runs from two and a half to three hours including a short break between the two papers. Both papers consist entirely of multiple-choice questions. All rough working must be done in the test booklet — no separate rough paper is provided.

The three subject areas assessed are:

Verbal ability and English comprehension — tests vocabulary, English comprehension, and verbal reasoning skills. This component is weighted at 50% of the total standardised score, making it the single most important area for overall performance.

Numerical reasoning — tests mathematical problem-solving ability. Content does not exceed what children are expected to know by the end of Year 5 of the national curriculum, so the most advanced KS2 material (Year 6 curriculum additions) is not tested. This component carries 25% of the total score.

Non-verbal reasoning — tests the ability to recognise patterns, understand relationships between shapes, and make logical deductions from visual information. This component also carries 25% of the total score.

The invigilator leads students through the test, instructing them when to move to the next section. Children should bring two sharp HB pencils, an eraser, and a pencil sharpener in a clear bag or case. Wristwatches may be worn, but smartwatches (including Apple Watch and Android devices) are not permitted. Mobile phones must be switched off before entering the room. A small snack and bottle of water may be brought for the break between papers.

For the full detail on how the Bexley Selection Test differs from the online Quest test used by independent schools, see our Quest Assessment for Bexley Grammar Schools guide, which covers the paper-based format in detail.

How Many Places Are Available and What Is the Selective Standard?

Townley Grammar School has a published admission number (PAN) of 224 places for Year 7 entry. Across all four Bexley grammar schools combined, a total of 800 places are available for September 2027 entry. Townley's 224 places represent the largest single-school allocation in the Bexley consortium, reflecting its status as the borough's largest grammar.

In the 2025 test cycle, 5,866 children sat the Bexley Selection Test, and 2,070 were deemed selective — approximately 35 per cent of all candidates. However, being deemed selective does not automatically guarantee a grammar school place. The test results are used in two ways:

First, the top 180 scorers across all Bexley test takers receive a guaranteed grammar school priority — this means that any of these children who lists a Bexley grammar school as a preference on their CAF will be offered a place at that school (subject to standard criteria such as looked-after children and pupil premium). Children who score in the top 180 represent the highest-performing tier of Bexley test takers and have strong prospects of a place at their first-preference grammar, including Townley.

Second, all other children who achieve the selective standard but rank outside the top 180 are considered for remaining places under Townley's oversubscription criteria, with distance from the school as the final deciding factor. In oversubscribed years, children in this group who do not live close enough to Townley may be deemed selective but still not receive an offer.

Townley also reserves 20 places for children who attract the Pupil Premium funding and achieve the qualifying selective score. These children are placed in a dedicated priority category (Category 2 in the oversubscription criteria), ahead of the general selective pool but after looked-after children. This provision is designed to widen access to selective education for children from lower-income backgrounds.

What Are the Key Dates for Townley Grammar School 11+ 2026?

The following dates apply to the September 2026 test for children seeking Year 7 entry in September 2027. These children were born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 and will be in Year 6 during the 2026–27 academic year. All dates are confirmed by the London Borough of Bexley and are correct as of publication (July 2026).

A critical point: registration for the September 2026 test closed on 31 March 2026. The London Borough of Bexley accepts no late registrations under any circumstances and there is no appeal process. If your daughter missed the 2026 registration window, the next opportunity to sit the test will be during September 2027 for September 2028 entry, with registration expected to open in approximately March 2027. Children can also be tested in Years 7, 8, or 9 if they move into the area or are already attending an all-ability secondary school.

For a broader view of 11+ and grammar school test dates across London and the UK, see our 11+ exam dates guide.

How Is the Bexley Selection Test Scored?

The Bexley Selection Test uses an age-standardised scoring system. Raw marks are converted to standardised scores so that all children are measured on the same scale regardless of when in September to August they were born — this means an August-born child is not disadvantaged compared to a September-born child in the same cohort. The standardised scores are then weighted and combined to produce a total score used to determine selective status.

The weighting applied to each component is:

50% verbal ability (vocabulary, comprehension, and verbal reasoning) + 25% numerical reasoning (mathematical problem-solving) + 25% non-verbal reasoning (pattern recognition and spatial reasoning) = total weighted age-standardised score.

The average total weighted age-standardised score is 200, and approximately two-thirds of all candidates score between 170 and 230. Children at the higher end of this range — typically scoring above 220 — have a strong likelihood of achieving the selective standard. Children scoring in the top 180 across all Bexley test takers receive guaranteed grammar school priority status.

The selective threshold is not a fixed number. It is set each year by the four Bexley grammar school headteachers, in conjunction with the London Borough of Bexley, based on the distribution of scores in that year's cohort. In 2025, 5,866 children sat the test and 2,070 were deemed selective — a selectivity rate of approximately 35 per cent. The approximately 30 per cent figure quoted by Bexley as a general guide reflects variation across years; the actual rate depends on that year's specific cohort performance.

Test papers are marked externally. The London Borough of Bexley does not hold raw scores and cannot respond to subject access requests or freedom of information requests about individual raw marks — it only holds standardised results. A headteacher review process is available after results are published: if a child is not deemed selective but parents believe there are grounds for review, they should discuss with the school headteacher whether to request a review. The Independent Review Panel can change selective decisions only in exceptional circumstances; its decision is final.

What Are Townley Grammar School's Oversubscription Criteria?

In the first allocation of places, Townley Grammar School considers only applicants deemed selective by the London Borough of Bexley. If there are 224 or fewer such applicants, all will be admitted. In practice, significantly more than 224 girls achieve the selective standard each year and list Townley as a preference, so the school applies the following oversubscription criteria in strict priority order:

1. Looked-after children (LAC) — children in public care or who have previously been looked after and subsequently became subject to adoption, residence, or special guardianship orders.

2. Pupil Premium children — up to 20 places are reserved for children attracting Pupil Premium funding who achieve the qualifying selective score. Families must list Townley Grammar on the CAF and submit the school's Supplementary Information Form (SIF). If fewer than 20 Pupil Premium children apply with the qualifying score, the remaining places in this category are extended to Pupil Premium children scoring up to 2% below the selective standard.

3. Guaranteed Grammar School Place (top 180) — girls identified by the London Borough of Bexley as achieving one of the 180 highest scores in the selection tests who list Townley as a preference on the CAF.

4. Sibling — girls who will have a sibling attending Townley Grammar at the time of application. Siblings include full brothers/sisters, adopted siblings, and step/half siblings living at the same address.

5. Staff children — children of staff employed at Townley Grammar for two or more years, or of staff recruited to fill a demonstrable skill shortage vacancy.

6. Distance — distance from home to the school entrance, measured in a straight line using the local authority's computerised system. This is the most commonly applied tiebreaker for the large majority of applicants who are not in categories 1–5.

Townley Grammar does not operate a defined catchment area. In principle, any child who is deemed selective and lists Townley on their CAF can be considered. In practice, the combination of Townley's large PAN of 224 and the distance criterion means that girls from a wide geographical area across Bexleyheath, Welling, Sidcup, Erith, Crayford, and into neighbouring parts of Greenwich, Bromley, and Dartford have historically been offered places. However, the specific last-offered distances vary each year and should not be relied on as a guarantee — Bexley does not publish this data in advance.

How Should Your Daughter Prepare for the Townley Grammar 11+?

Effective preparation for the Bexley Selection Test requires a clear understanding of what distinguishes it from other 11+ tests in London. The three key differences that shape preparation strategy are: the paper-based format (not online), the specific scoring weighting (50% verbal), and the Quest Assessments style of question (different from the GL Assessment materials that some families may have seen in older Bexley test preparation resources).

When to start: The majority of education specialists working with Bexley grammar school applicants recommend beginning structured preparation by January of Year 5 at the latest, and no later than January of Year 6. For the September 2026 test (for 2027 entry), children preparing now in July 2026 are in the final weeks of their final year of preparation before the September sitting. At this stage, the priority should be full timed paper practice and stamina building, not new skill acquisition.

Use paper-based practice materials: Because the Bexley test is administered on paper, preparation on online adaptive platforms (including the online version of Quest used by independent schools) provides incomplete preparation. Practice materials must be taken on paper, under timed conditions, using answer sheets — children must be accustomed to the physical experience of marking a grid answer sheet quickly and accurately while working through paper-format questions.

Quest-specific VR and NVR materials: Bexley moved to Quest as its test provider for 2026 entry onwards. Quest question styles for verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning differ somewhat from the GL Assessment formats used in previous years. Families should specifically seek out Quest-format practice materials rather than older GL Assessment 11+ papers, which may introduce confusion about question types and conventions.

Focus areas by component: Given the 50% weighting of verbal ability, English comprehension and vocabulary practice should occupy roughly half of total preparation time. Maths problem-solving up to Year 5 level (including fractions, percentages, ratio, area and perimeter, and data handling) is the core of numerical reasoning preparation. NVR requires specific practice in visual sequence recognition, matrix patterns, spatial rotation, and analogies — these are skills that improve rapidly with targeted practice but are rarely developed in standard school curricula.

Build stamina for the full session: With each paper lasting approximately 50 minutes and the full session running up to three hours including the break, children need to be accustomed to sustained concentration over a long period. Practising full-length timed papers, rather than short topic exercises, is the most effective preparation for this aspect of the test.

Familiarisation materials and guidance documents for parents are available directly from Quest Assessments at questassessments.com. Townley Grammar School also offers a free 11+ familiarisation session for registered families — check the school's website for dates.

Frequently Asked Questions