Welcome to Townley Grammar School
Welcome to Townley Grammar School
An academically selective and socially responsible girls’ school with a coeducational Sixth Form.
Education should inspire students to value learning for its own sake: to take joy from the pursuit of ideas and the struggle to understand. Townley students learn in a stimulating environment where teachers understand how to challenge and where the range of extracurricular opportunities is vast and varied. We are an exceptional school, rated outstanding by Ofsted, and highly commended by the DfE for our leading-edge character education provision.
It is through the pursuit of the arts, coupled with academic rigour that our students fully flourish; this is facilitated through our specialisms in the Performing & Visual Arts, as well as Maths and Computing.
It is our responsibility to draw out our students’ talents, to extend their potential and to develop their personal qualities. Our school values resonate in everything we do; our vision is of leading a learning community fostering academic, emotional and physical confidence. We aim to cultivate resilience, courage and compassion; to enhance communication skills; to embrace creativity, and to promote a progressive and outward-looking mentality so that our students are well prepared to make a real difference in their community.
Scholastic Endeavour
Hard work and dedication are essential for success and so is the development of a work ethic. Success in education as in sport is the result of successive small failures followed by ever-increasing challenges. Our students know that everything worth achieving is outside of their comfort zone. This learning challenge is what we term Scholastic Endeavour; our students are encouraged to engage in academic study at all levels. It is, in short, the capacity to be inspired to become the very best you can be.
An academically selective and socially responsible girls’ school with a coeducational Sixth Form.
At Townley Grammar School, our commitment is simple: we are dedicated to seeing every student receive a truly holistic education, so that we are able to watch them grow into confident, capable individuals ready to flourish in the world beyond school.
Townley has always been recognised for its academic excellence, but we are defined by a dual commitment: the pursuit of academic brilliance and the provision of world-class pastoral support. We place as much value on our students' happiness and resilience as we do on their examination results, ensuring they have the emotional security to meet every intellectual challenge with confidence. When a student joins us, they will be inspired by exceptional teaching and surrounded by motivated, brilliant peers. They will leave Townley with the outstanding academic qualifications required to access the world’s leading universities and career paths.
However, the question I always reflect on is not just how well they will do academically, but who they will become in their Townley Journey.
Students at the Heart of Every Decision
At the core of my leadership and our school ethos is a singular focus: the student. We believe that for young people to thrive, they must be known, valued, and supported. We unashamedly put the wellbeing of our students on an equal footing with their academic achievements.
Our pastoral care is the heartbeat of the school; we make every decision by asking how it serves the best interests of our learners. We are not just educating students; we are nurturing agents of change - young people equipped with a strong moral compass who possess the confidence to challenge the status quo and shape a better future. We actively foster the life skills that traditional education sometimes overlooks: critical thinking, complex communication, collaboration, and, crucially, emotional intelligence.
We are proud to be an exceptional school, rated Outstanding by Ofsted, highly commended by the DfE for our leading-edge character education provision and are considered leading edge in Curriculum Design, Teaching Approaches, Professional Learning, Engaging in Research and Leadership through a Moral Purpose.
Our focus extends far beyond the classroom timetable, through our bespoke and ambitious curriculum, we foster the life skills that the 21st century demands: critical thinking, complex communication, and emotional intelligence. Our extensive wider opportunities programme - from international Model UN debates and robotics to competitive sports - ensures our students find their voice and discover hidden passions. Townley students learn ambition from the original meaning of the word—the Greek root ambit which means wingspan—they are prepared to spread their wings.
Our Bespoke Curriculum and Defining Values
To support this vision, we offer a truly bespoke curriculum, embedding our core values at every key stage:
- At Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9), We have our unique Townley Baccalaureate and we also explicitly teach Leadership, International Relations, and Consciousness.
- At GCSE, the Townley Advantage programme ensures students gain a broad, enriching set of skills alongside their core subjects.
- At A-Level, the Elective programme allows for deep, independent study, preparing them for the demands of leading universities.
This focused learning ensures our core values are embedded in every student's journey from the moment they arrive. These values are: Curiosity, Compassion, Courage, and Consciousness.
- We cultivate Curiosity to ensure our students never stop asking 'why?' and develop a lifelong love of learning that goes beyond the syllabus.
- We instil Compassion so that our students are outward-looking and understand their responsibility to the wider community. A Townley student is successful, but never selfish.
- We encourage Courage, the resilience to challenge themselves, to speak up for what is right, and to embrace difficult intellectual territory.
- We promote Consciousness: self-awareness, mindfulness, and the ability to reflect critically, preparing them to be responsible, ethical citizens.
Townley is more than a school; it is a powerful community dedicated to nurturing future leaders who possess both sharp intellect and moral integrity. We are a school that will truly prepare every student for all aspects of life, equipping them not just for life after school, but for navigating the ever-evolving challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
We invite you to explore our website and visit us to experience the warmth, ambition, and vibrant spirit that make Townley Grammar School so unique.
Sarina Totty
Headteacher/CEO
