King Henry School (formerly Erith Grammar School and later Erith School) is a large mixed

bilateral Bilateral may refer to any concept including two sides, in particular: *Bilateria, bilateral animals *Bilateralism, the political and cultural relations between two states *Bilateral, occurring on both sides of an organism ( Anatomical terms of l ...

secondary school and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

in Erith in the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The London Boro ...

for students aged 11 to 18. In October 2010, it became an

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

, and from September 2018 it merged with Townley Grammar School in Bexleyheath, forming the Odyssey Trust for Education, a

multi-academy trust Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) or school trust is an academy trust that operates more than one academy school. Academy schools are state-funded schools in England which are directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local author ...

, and adopting its current name. It is located just off the A220, Bexley Road.

Admissions

It was designated specialisms in Sports and Mathematics & Computing. Although a comprehensive, for the bilateral intake, many are selected on academic ability. Intake is banded and transfer from one band to another takes place, with each band being successively more academically demanding.

History

The predecessor school to the current school was founded in the 1890s. Erith School was founded in 1967 by the amalgamation of Northumberland Heath Secondary Modern School and Erith Grammar School. Initially, Erith School was a ten-form entry school catering for students of all abilities. In 1972, it became a bilateral school, the only one in the

. Between 1967 and 1997 the school was situated on two sites. The East Building, on Avenue Road, was the old Erith Grammar School, with buildings dating from the 1950s. The West Building, on Brook Street, was built in the 1930s and was the site of the Northumberland Heath Secondary Modern School. In 1979, a "hands off Erith School" campaign successfully allowed the school to retain its status, following the announcement of plans by Bexley Council to either close the school or divide it. Building work started in the spring of 1994 on a new, refurbished £6.5 million single-site school on the Avenue Road site, and was completed by December 1996. It was opened in January 1997, with a new teaching block, sports hall and all-weather astroturf facilities. The old West Building on Brook Street now houses Northumberland Heath Primary School. In 2005, the school was awarded Specialist School status, recognising its excellence in PE, Maths and ICT. This was announced in a formal opening by

Trevor Brooking Sir Trevor David Brooking, (born 2 October 1948) is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England. He spent almost his entire career at West ...

. A new sixth form block, the David Friend Building, opened in May 2007. Its Community Sports Centre oversees usage during the evenings and weekends by a variety of teams. In June 2018, the school was featured in the BBC documentary ''Grammar Schools: Who Will Get In?''. In September 2018, the school changed its name to King Henry School after joining Townley Grammar School to form a

, the Odyssey Trust for Education. In September 2022 King Henry School started working with the Leigh Academies Trust to help address the issues listed within the Ofsted inspection report received earlier that year. In February 2023, it was announced that the school would be renamed again to Leigh Academy Bexley, under the management of the Leigh Academies Trust.

Notable alumni

Jimmy Bullard James Richard Bullard (born 23 October 1978) is an English former professional footballer, coach and television personality. He is the co-host of the Saturday morning Sky Sports show ''Soccer AM''. As a player he was a midfielder and played you ...

(born 1978), footballer * David Conner (born 1947), Anglican bishop and

Dean of Windsor The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilated to the dea ...

* Felicity Palmer (born 1944), mezzo-soprano opera singer, professor at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

Keith Peacock Keith Peacock (born 2 May 1945, in Barnehurst) is an English former footballer and manager. He was the first player to come on as a substitute in the Football League. Early life He was educated at Erith Grammar School, now named Erith School. ...

(born 1945), professional footballer (

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

) and manager *

Alan Knott Alan Philip Eric Knott (born 9 April 1946) is a former cricketer who represented England at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). Knott is widely regarded as one of the most eccentric characters in cricket and as ...

(born 1946), professional cricketer (

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

)

References

External links

School homepage
{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Bexley Educational institutions established in 1967 Academies in the London Borough of Bexley Bilateral schools in England 1967 establishments in England

Admissions

History

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links