Achieving Excellence Through Mathematical Enterprise
“ T HE ACADEMY HAS CONSISTENTLY BEEN RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE BEST SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND FOR ACHIEVEMENT.” LETTERS FROM MINISTER OF SCHOOLS 2012, 2013 AND 2014
“ T HE ACADEMY IS CONSISTENLY IN THE TOP TEN IN ITS FAMILY OF 55 OTHER SCHOOLS FOR EXCELLENT ACHIEVEMENT.” DFE 2012, 2013 AND 2014
THIS PROSPECTUS GIVES ONLY A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THIS OUTSTANDING ACADEMY HAS TO OFFER Our school provides the most exciting and promising future for your child. All our students take up the opportunity to lead fulfilled lives with direction and purpose. Our teachers lead with professionalism and scholarship. They are experts in their field. All of us are part of a warm family of staff and governors who have the highest ambition and a deep hunger to learn. The students understand that they are under a ‘moral obligation’ to develop all their talents and to never waste a minute of their day. I believe that there is nothing without work and nothing without a creative and open-minded approach to learning. Our students are excited by challenge and all of us value knowledge about the reactivity of chemical elements and the poetry of Heaney and Shakespeare as much as we do creativity and the performing arts. Developing the very best teaching alongside a culture of high expectations is essential for all our students. We offer a dynamic and personalised curriculum, delivered through an ethos of mathematics and enterprise. Nicholas Soar, Executive Principal
Ours is a cross-site Academy for girls and boys aged 11–19. We have a thriving Sixth Form. The two excellent sites, one in South Norwood and one in Upper Norwood have one ethos. Both sites provide students with the very best in technology and resources that inspire every student. On the very first day our students learn that: “I am here to learn” “I will have a positive attitude” “I will make it happen” These key attitudes underpin a real sense of independent learning, exemplary behaviour and individual success. All our students learn to become leaders and all grow into young adults of courtesy and ambition. Students take up the excellent opportunities to gain confidence as they grow into balanced young adults. We want every single student to fulfil their aspirations and to go on to lead happy, thriving and successful adult lives. It is a honour to be the Executive Principal at Harris South Norwood and I very much look forward to welcoming you to the Academy.
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First class and inspiring resources The Academy is an exciting and inspiring place, an ideal learning environment in which to foster ambition. With its high quality teaching and outstanding facilities, we enthuse and motivate students so that they will not simply achieve their potential, but exceed beyond everybody’s expectations.
Across the two sites we have excellent facilities, including: South Site
Upper Site
• radio station, television and dance studio
• state of the art Science laboratories
• superb drama facilities, lecture theatres, technology and construction areas
• fully equipped Apple-Mac Suites
• fully equipped Art and Design and Media studios (utilising Apple technology)
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• large sports field with running track, football and rugby pitch
“ I SETTLED INTO THE ACADEMY REALLY WELL, EVERYONE LOOKS AFTER ME.” YEAR 7 STUDENT 2014
Our Ethos Learning First Business Environment High Aspirations Celebrating success Growing confidence Spirit of Enterprise
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We make it
“outstanding progress award.� Schools Network 2013
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As an Enterprise Academy, we have an environment of high expectations, aspirations and self-belief for all students. From age 11 through to 19, we work hard to have the highest academic and pastoral standards. We aim for our young people to be self confident citizens and entrepreneurs, who will help set future trends and not just to follow them. Our young people are taught to respect the basic principles that enable them to be effective learners which helps shape them in becoming adults we can all be proud of. Visitors who have had the privilege to work with our students, all comment as to how confident and articulate our young people are.
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Developing the potential of every student Our aim is to provide the highest quality teaching in a first class learning environment. Teachers are highly trained and use tried and tested techniques as well as more innovative methods to promote the most effective learning. Learning in each subject is broken down into shorter term units lasting approximately six weeks each. Students and parents receive regular feedback on how well students are doing and what they need to do to improve their work further. The progress of each student is individually tracked and monitored. Academy staff intervene if a student needs assistance and will involve parents appropriately. We have excellent support systems for our most able students. We know who they are and we ensure teachers challenge them in lessons. We also ensure all students have activities and platforms outside of lessons such as Sports Clubs, Debating Teams, a STEM club and lateral thinking challenges.
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“ No stone is left unturned in finding ways of making this Academy even better.” Phil Saunders, Chair of Governors
Homework Regular homework is vital in securing the very best results for our students. It consolidates work done in lessons, extends focused learning beyond the Academy day, encourages self discipline and the skills of independent study. We use an on-line package whereby all teachers set homework electronically. Every student and parent can access homework. Through the use of an “app”, parents can choose to receive push notifications advising of when homework has been set.
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A Journey from Year 7 to Year 13
We are part of the Harris Federation Sixth Form. Our Sixth Formers are role models for our younger students. The Sixth Form offers everything our students love about their Harris education in an environment where they are treated as young adults. It involves a step change and a new relationship with teachers: our Sixth Formers wear suits not uniform and plan for a working day that fits in with a new type of learning.
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Our students look at Sixth Form largely as the step before University education. 95% of our students apply to University and increasingly to Russell Group Universities. This period of their education is filled with opportunities to develop their experience and to work with leading practitioners in the field they are interested in.
We also have links with top London universities including King’s, Imperial and Goldsmiths, enabling our students to attend university lectures and conferences. The Harris Federation Sixth Form has progression agreements with several good universities in London and the South East and is continuing all the time to expand this list. This means that, if our students can make the grades, they are guaranteed an offer of a place at these universities. The Sixth Form regularly sends students to top Russell Group Universities, specialist Arts, Drama and Stage Schools and direct into training for the careers of their choice.
Excellent behaviour and consistent uniform standards – we get the basics right “ When the bell rings for break, the children walk quietly down the corridors, chatting and laughing.”
The Academy is a place of calm and orderly learning where students feel safe and are able to learn without distraction.
Guardian Article, May 2012
We expect the highest standards from our students and encourage them to be self-disciplined at all times. Students will respect other people, their property and the environment in which they work and learn. We work with parents/carers to support us in helping to achieve this.
As an outstanding Academy, our students are taught the importance of looking and acting “outstanding”. Our students are the flag bearers of our reputation and we are only as outstanding as they are!
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more than just lessons 10
In order to develop a close sense of belonging, students will belong to one of five learning hubs. These hubs will provide a focus for rewards, competitions and celebrations and students will stay in their learning hub as they move through the Academy from Year 7 to Year 11. All our staff, teaching and non-teaching, build effective relationships with our students. We know our students by their first names, we see them as individuals and our students have the support they need to make the transition from primary to secondary school and to continue with the next phase of their education.
“ My son has made excellent progress at the Academy, the teaching is very good and he feels really settled.� Parental Survey comment
Tutoring that makes a difference Our students are in smaller vertical tutor groups. This means we have mixture of older and younger students in a tutor group. Through discussion topics, group activities and citizenship tasks, students of differing ages learn to work together and to support each other. Thus relationships on corridors, in the canteen and in the playground are very good as students mix well with students in the other year groups. We provide an environment where bullying is seen by all to be totally unacceptable. There is a very active and successful Student Council which is encouraged to discuss and feedback on bullying. This provides a forum for students to contribute to the running of the Academy.
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Harris Federation Our Academy is sponsored by the Harris Federation, a not-for-profit charity with almost 25 years of experience in running schools. The Federation runs a family of Primary and Secondary Academies in and around London. The Harris Federation has an exceptional track record, with academic progress outpacing the national average by 3 or 4 times each year and more than three quarters of its Secondary Academies so far judged as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted – this is unmatched by any other education body. The work of the Federation is made possible through the generous financial support of Lord Harris of Peckham and his family, and is brought to life by a team of excellent teachers and leaders. You can follow the Harris Federation on Twitter: @HarrisFed
Each year for Sports Day, the Harris Federation hires the Crystal Palace Sports Stadium. With well over 10,000 student and staff spectators in attendance, Academies compete in team and individual sports. The sound of students cheering each other on is so loud that last year Team GB athlete Louise Jukes who happened to be nearby tweeted:
“ Can hear hundreds of kids screaming from the stadium at Crystal Palace! What a great noise! Kids loving sports day! Wish I was a kid again!”
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From the Chief Executive The Harris Federation is a London charity with more than twenty years of experience in education. Our Academies combine the traditional values of good manners, strong discipline and smart uniform with the best of modern teaching and technology. Harris Academy South Norwood has established itself as a highly enterprising and very successful member of our group. Working closely together in and around London, our Academies are able to offer a far broader range of opportunities, far better training and professional development for staff and real success for our students. What makes this Academy so successful? Students who enjoy learning and look forward to coming to school each day; teachers and support staff who are genuinely ambitious for every student; a senior leadership team that consistently sets standards of excellence.
From the Sponsor As an employer and a father I strongly believe that a good education is the best start in life that you can give a child. Harris Academy South Norwood promotes hard work, curiosity of mind, integrity and ambition. It works tirelessly, in partnership with the other Harris Academies, to ensure the greatest success for every child, regardless of their ability or aptitude. I hope you will come along to our various Open Day or Evening Events to see for yourself the difference the Academy is making. Lord Harris of Peckham
If your son or daughter wants to come to an Academy with drive and ambition, then I hope you will attend one of its open events to find out more.
Sir Daniel Moynihan Ed.D, M.A., B.Sc. (Econ) Chief Executive of the Harris Federation
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South Site: 2 Cumberlow Avenue, London SE25 6AE Upper Site: Spurgeon Road, London SE19 3UG T. 020 8405 5070 F. 020 8405 5100 E. info@harrissouthnorwood.org.uk www.harrissouthnorwood.org.uk
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