Blackfen School for Girls

About Blackfen School for Girls

Blackfen School for Girls is a state secondary in the London borough of Bexley, a local authority with 17 schools of the same type. Among them, it ranks 11th by Progress 8 score, placing it in the bottom half of the LA. The top-performing peers nearby are all grammar schools: Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, St Catherine's Catholic School, and Townley Grammar School. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Bexley Grammar School, just 0.8 km away. Blackfen itself holds a Good rating from its most recent inspection in March 2025, with all assessed areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision — all judged Good. The school is a girls-only secondary with a co-educational sixth form, and it is significantly oversubscribed: for 180 places in 2025/26, it received 472 applications, a ratio of 2.62 applicants per place, with 111 first-preference offers made.

Academically, Blackfen's Progress 8 score of -0.14 is below the Bexley LA average of 0.03, and the school is ranked in the bottom 50 nationally. Its Attainment 8 score is 46.9, and 68.2% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though this drops to 46.2% at grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate is 21.5%, with 16.1% achieving the EBacc at grade 4 or above. In the sixth form, the picture is stronger: the value-added score is 0.18, rated Above average, and the average points per entry is 31.65, equivalent to a grade C. The best three A-levels average out at a C+ grade, with 32.92 points. The school's Ofsted breakdown shows that in its previous inspection in 2011, it was also rated Good overall, with leadership and management and sixth-form provision both graded 2. The most recent inspection did not assign an overall effectiveness grade, but all individual categories were Good.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, and a sixth form centre. Sports include netball, hockey, rugby, and martial arts, while clubs range from Book Club and Coding to Model UN and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties, autism, speech and language needs, and hearing or visual impairments, with a resourced provision on site. Parent View responses from 134 respondents in the 2024/25 period show 78% would recommend the school. Strong positives include 90% agreeing their child is happy, 90% feeling safe, and 92% agreeing there is a good range of subjects. However, only 67% agreed that concerns are dealt with properly, and 57% felt the school makes them aware of what their child will learn. For families considering Blackfen, it is a popular, oversubscribed girls' school with a solid sixth form and good facilities, but academic outcomes at GCSE are below the local average, and the school faces strong competition from nearby grammar schools.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Blackfen School for Girls

Helpful Guides for Parents