Chis & Sid or Townley

[SweetMemory15]

Which is better Chis and Sid or Townley Grammar School. I lived in Orpington and My DD passed the Bexley Grammar School.
Thanks for any help.

[scary mum]

Surely it's not about which is "best", but which would suit your child best? What did you think when you visited? Which one seemed to offer what you/she value? Sports, drama, art, pastoral care, ease of journey. Deciding solely on academic results is misleading as this is your child. If you must use academic results, look at the progress 8 rather than % A* etc, and remember things could change at both schools in the next 5-7 years.
(Not from your area, btw)

[zcacmxi]

There was a thread from last year where these 2 schools were compared. Try and look back at previous pages to find it. They are different, main point being Chis & Sid is co-ed.

Distance / catchment is also an important factor. Townley only went out to ~5 miles for 2018 entry. Orpington is 8+ miles away, so you'd not have got an offer last year unless you're in Top 180.

[PettswoodFiona]

Bear in mind many from Orpington who would have got these schools in previous years didn’t this year so next year with birth trends for that year may be even worse? I had a friend in Petts Wood who got Chis n Sid for her son and a friend in Orpington who didn’t and her DD started recently at Weald as she didn’t get Townley or Chis n Sid either. If your DD passed in top 180 the distance criteria of course isn’t a concern.

[Jenbob]

Something to be aware of is that Chis and Sid's catchment as of June 2018 for Sept 2018 entry was 4 miles and Townley's was 6 miles according to the Bexley Secondary Admissions book for 2019. I noticed that you have another post about CAF form filling in, so going on the current year 7 intake I strongly advise you place your local catchment school in Orpington as you would be unlikely to get either grammar based on this current data (both catchments shrunk from previous year). That is unless of course your DD scored in the top 180 ie 246 or above which means you are guaranteed a place as distance does not come into play.

[zcacmxi]

Last year, distance on National Offer Day / March 1st for Townley was ~5.1 miles. By June it reached 6 miles.
They use "safe walking distance". Unsure on exactly which system/ measure they use, but Google shows 5.6m to Chislehurst station, so on offer day would not get an offer, but on wait list between March - June.
Petts Wood Station shows as 6.5m & Orpington 7m, so no offers to these areas last year unless top 180, sibling, etc. In all previous years they were in catchment. Hard to guess what catchment will be this year, so still worth considering if you have space on CAF.

[thickasabrick]

Last year, distance on National Offer Day / March 1st for Townley was ~5.1 miles. By June it reached 6 miles.
They use "safe walking distance". Unsure on exactly which system/ measure they use, but Google shows 5.6m to Chislehurst station, so on offer day would not get an offer, but on wait list between March - June.
Petts Wood Station shows as 6.5m & Orpington 7m, so no offers to these areas last year unless top 180, sibling, etc. In all previous years they were in catchment. Hard to guess what catchment will be this year, so still worth considering if you have space on CAF.

There is a thread on Townley a bit further down that gives you up-to-date information for this year's distance and how it is measured.