The school motto is from Chaucer's Prologue to The Canterbury Tales: "Trouthe and Honour, Fredom and Curteisye".

His endowment was supplemented from several quarters, including some ancient charities associated with the parish of Lewisham.

In 1995, for reasons of space, the school moved to its present site following extensive refurbishment.

In Year 7 it accepts applicants of all abilities and the admissions policy is largely based on proximity, but, as the school specialises in music, up to 10% of its intake can be determined by aptitude in this subject.

The Ofsted report of March 2003 noted, however, that attainment on entry to the school was higher than the national average.

In the subsequent Ofsted report of March 2007, the school was awarded Grade 1 (outstanding) in overall effectiveness.

It is a listed building of Grade II* status due to the presence of a series of high quality and rare mural paintings carried out in the Assembly Hall between the years 1933 and 1936 by four painters connected with the Royal College of Art: Evelyn Dunbar, Charles Mahoney, Mildred Eldridge and Violet Martin.