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Schools near Welling

13 open schools in Welling, Bexley · Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and admission criteria · see all Bexley schools · grammar schools in Welling

Welling has 13 state schools: 9 primary, 3 secondary, part of Bexley's wider catchment. 13 have a published Ofsted rating, and 12 of those are rated Good or Outstanding. 1 is a state grammar school and sets an entrance test.

Aspire Academy Welling · Good Bexley Grammar School Welling · Outstanding · Grammar Bishop Ridley Church of England VA Primary School Welling · Good Danson Primary School Welling · Good East Wickham Primary Academy Welling · Good Foster's Primary School Welling · Good Harris Academy Falconwood Welling · Good Hillsgrove Primary School Welling · Good Hook Lane Primary School Welling · Good Leigh Stationers' Primary Academy Welling · Outstanding St Michael's East Wickham Church of England Primary School Welling · Good St Stephen's Catholic Primary School Welling · Outstanding Welling School Welling · Requires improvement

Undersubscribed schools rated Good or Outstanding

These schools didn't fill on first preference in the latest admissions year, despite an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding — worth a look if you're chasing the same handful of famous names everyone else applies to.

Hillsgrove Primary School Good · ×0.78 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Danson Primary School Good · ×0.81 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Bishop Ridley Church of England VA Primary School Good · ×0.92 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Harris Academy Falconwood Good · ×0.96 1st prefs/place (2026/27) East Wickham Primary Academy Good · ×0.97 1st prefs/place (2026/27)

How places are allocated in Bexley

Primary schools: Explicit: 'There is no such thing as a catchment area in Bexley' — pure nearest-school distance, no set qualifying distance. (source)

Most schools use the local authority's default scheme rather than a school-specific catchment map — see each school's page for its own designated/catchment area where one is published.

Bexley entrance test format

One shared test for all four Bexley grammar schools, assessing three areas: 1. Verbal ability and English comprehension. 2. Numerical reasoning (maths-based). 3. Non-verbal reasoning. Multiple-choice, age-standardised. One sitting covers all four schools. Registration is unusually early — historically 1-31 March of Year 5 (most areas close in June), with the test in the first half of September of Year 6 (primary-school test centres first, grammar-school test centres a few days later). Missing the March window means missing the main round entirely, so families considering Bexley should diarise it well ahead.

Key dates

Entry yearEventDate
Sept 2028 Application deadline 2027-10-31
Sept 2028 Primary application deadline 2028-01-15
Sept 2028 Offer day 2028-03-01
Sept 2028 Primary offer day 2028-04-17
Sept 2027 Registration opens 2026-03-01 (passed)
Sept 2027 Registration closes 2026-03-31 (passed)
Sept 2027 Test date 2026-09-07 (passed)
Sept 2027 Application deadline 2026-10-31
Sept 2027 Primary application deadline 2027-01-15
Sept 2027 Offer day 2027-03-01
Sept 2027 Primary offer day 2027-04-16
Sept 2026 Application deadline 2025-10-31 (passed)
Sept 2026 Primary application deadline 2026-01-15 (passed)
Sept 2026 Offer day 2026-03-02 (passed)
Sept 2026 Primary offer day 2026-04-16 (passed)

Out-of-area applications

Bexley's four grammar schools (Beths Grammar School, Bexley Grammar School, Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, Townley Grammar School) share the single Bexley Selection Test — one registration and one sitting covers all four, regardless of where you live. Registration is EARLY compared to most areas: historically the window is 1-31 March of Year 5 (closing at midnight on 31 March), with the test in early September of Year 6. Out-of-borough note: test results are not automatically shared with out-of-borough schools or LAs — parents are responsible for following the process communicated with their result. Apply via your home LA's Common Application Form by 31 October. Bexley grammar schools' oversubscription criteria include distance-based elements, so check each school's policy for how an out-of-borough address affects priority.

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