Harris Science Academy East London - Prospectus 2022

TO STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

Since September 2022, Harris Science Academy East London has been part of the Harris Federation, a group of 52 primary and secondary academies in and around London.

AN UNWAVERING BELIEF IN THE POTENTIAL OF EVERY CHILD

Our Executive Principal is Dr Lawrence Foley, who is also responsible for the ‘Outstanding’ Harris Academy Tottenham, an all-through school for 4-18 year olds. Our Principal is Dr Mark Taylor.

At Harris Science Academy East London, we are ambitious for our students and have an unwavering belief in the potential of every child.

We are proud to have an incredibly supportive parent community that mirrors the high aspirations we have for our students.

Here are the key reasons why we believe our academy is a truly fantastic place to learn. We offer:

1 A stimulating curriculum, led by teachers who are experts in their subjects;

2 Teaching that is relevant to students’ needs and aspirations, with an engaging and inspiring science specialism;

3 A range of experiences outside the classroom to help students become confident, self-assured young learners and thrive in the world beyond school;

4 A calm, orderly and respectful learning environment where disruption is minimised and every minute of teaching time is made to count;

5 A supportive community where every child is cared for and nurtured.

We are hugely excited to be leading our academy at this point in its journey and hope the following pages provide you with an insight into our school.

Lisa Kattenhorn Executive Principal Dr Mark Taylor Principal

EDUCATION WITH DRIVE AND AMBITION

Excellent teaching in every classroom.

Our students benefit from a dedicated team of exceptionally well-qualified teachers. They are subject experts who aim to embed a love of learning in every lesson and celebrate students’ intellectual curiosity.

We emphasise the traditional values of hard work, good manners, smart uniform and academic achievement and combine this with a modern approach to teaching and learning.

Our system for encouraging good behaviour is central to our ethos and means everyone feels safe and can learn.

A STIMULATING CURRICULUM

We are proud of our science specialism, which has limitless potential when it comes to engaging and inspiring the young minds in our academy, as well as opening up future study and career paths.

We aim to apply the scientific skills of research, creativity, innovation and investigation to every subject. This benefits all students, whichever academic or career path they choose.

This specialism is delivered as part of a well-balanced curriculum that is rich in all areas including the arts, humanities, sport and languages.

The Harris Federation employs a team of specialist teaching consultants in almost every subject – science, maths, English, through to music and Mandarin! They organise a huge variety of experience and opportunities that extend students’ learning and build their excitement and enthusiasm.

MEETING THE NEEDS OF EVERY STUDENT

We care deeply about the academic and personal development of our students. Every child is known by their teachers, our excellent team of support staff and our senior leaders.

We tailor our teaching to our students’ needs and talents and aim to nurture their bourgeoning interests. By providing the appropriate amount of stretch and challenge in lessons, we ensure that every student reaches their full potential.

Our teachers are also quick to put in place extra support for students when this is needed, including one-to-one coaching.

Our pastoral care system provides a strong framework to ensure that every child has the support and guidance they need to thrive. We aim to create a positive, calm and purposeful spaces where our students can not only achieve their potential but form lifelong friendships and become the very best version of themselves.

ENRICHMENT FOR LIFE

Academic success goes hand-in-hand with a rich variety of extra-curricular enrichment activities. To support this, we offer a packed timetable of trips, talks, clubs and activities and make the most of our location to visit the London’s best theatres, museums, galleries and universities.

Our sports department regularly uses the facilities on offer at the nearby Harris Academy Chobham. We are also lucky to be located nearby the superb facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, including the Copper Box Arena and London Stadium. Our Year 7 students also have the opportunity to take rowing lessons at the nearby Royal Docks and to play rugby at the East London Rugby Club.

Our students receive tailored careers advice early on in their education and we aim to provide them with a whole host of experiences that showcase the many different options available to them after they leave school.

HARRIS EXPERIENCE

We are proud to be part of Harris Experience, a five-year programme run by the Harris Federation in order to broaden the academic and cultural experiences of the most academically promising students – in the recent past these have ranged from world class art auctioneering with Christie’s Auctioneers to a trip to the Royal Opera House; from a day of Science in Action

at Imperial College London to a bespoke day of lectures at Oxford University.

For sixth formers, Harris Experience includes an Oxbridge Programme, a medicine/dentistry programme and university application support for all.

OUR SIXTH FORM

Our sixth formers are role models to our younger students and demonstrate the heights that can be achieved through hard work.

Classes are small and are led by outstanding teachers who are passionate about their subjects. The vast majority of our students go on to university and apprenticeships.

Our academy’s science specialism continues into our Sixth Form, where we aim to nurture the leading scientists, engineers and medics of the future. We have particular expertise in mathematics and the sciences, but offer a range of subjects including English Literature.

OUR CAMPUS

Our academy is currently spread across two sites:

• Our Lower School (Years 7-9) and Sixth Form are based at the historic Clock Mill and Custom House on Three Mills Island

• Our Upper School (Years 10 and 11) is based at Lock Keepers in Bow

There are shared facilities across our campus including IT access, a growing library, hot food and the whole school and year groups come together for Enrichment Fortnight, assemblies, annual prize-giving and subject lectures as well as our annual Beyond 18 Careers Conference.

In summer 2022, our academy benefitted from several upgrades to our facilities, including new Design and Technology suites and kitchens. Plans are in progress for our new permanent state-of-the-art home in Twelvetrees, West Ham.

PART OF THE SUCCESSFUL HARRIS FEDERATION

Our academy is part of the Harris Federation, a not-for-profit group of educators with over thirty years’ experience in running successful schools in and around London. There are 52 schools within the Federation educating over 40,000 pupils.

The Founder and Chairman of the Harris Federation is Lord Harris of Peckham. His vision of delivering happy and successful education is brought to life by an excellent team of teachers and leaders. The majority of Harris academies are rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted and, on average, receive four applications from parents for every place available.

The Harris Federation has an exceptional track record with academic progress far greater than the national average. The Federation regularly tops academic studies and national league tables measuring performance.

In addition to running schools, the Harris Federation provides high-quality training and professional development for teachers. Follow @HarrisFed on Twitter to stay updated.

APPLY FOR A PLACE

We offer 125 places in Year 7 each year.

We accept students from across London. Our students live almost equally in Newham and Tower Hamlets with some coming from even further afield. This is something we are keen to maintain as it gives the academy a uniquely diverse student intake. We do not operate any form of aptitude or academic selection in student admissions. The education we offer is unashamedly academic, yet also inclusive of the full ability range, and this is something we know our students and parents value highly.

Each application should be made through the student’s home borough as part of the PanLondon eAdmissions process.

We are formally in Newham but applications from out of borough are welcome and can be made on the Pan-London eAdmissions website or through your local borough application form. We recommend using the eAdmissions website so you can be sure your application is submitted promptly.

The Pan-London eAdmissions website opens on 1st September 2022 for the next round of admissions and close at midnight on 31st October. If successful, you will receive an offer of a place from the academy on national offer day which is 1st March 2023.

The Pan-London eAdmissions website is www.eadmissions.org.uk

OVERSUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA

Children with a statement of Special Education Needs that names our academy (subject to the academy’s right of appeal to the Secretary of State) will be offered a place before all other applications are considered.

After this, places will be allocated in the following order of priority:

Children who are in the care of a Local Authority including those that have been previously looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a residence or special guardianship order.

Children who will have a sibling attending our academy at the time of admission. A “sibling” is defined as children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brothers and sisters. Where applications are received from twins, triplets or same year siblings, if one child is selected for a place the twin/triplet/ same year sibling will be ranked in their own priority group immediately below children in the care of a Local Authority. The sibling rule does not apply to students with a place in Year 12 or 13.

Children of staff at our academy where the member of staff has been employed here for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission is made, and/or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.

After places have been filled by the first three criteria, 1/3 of any remaining places will be offered to children who live between 0 and 1.499km from the academy, measured by straight-line distance from the main academy entrance of the current academy location (as specified in the academy prospectus or on the academy website) to the child’s home address being the home address of the main carer as set out on the application form. Where the number of applicants in this category exceeds the number of places, offers will be determined by random allocation.

After places have been filled under the first four criteria, 1/2 of any of the remaining places will be offered to children who live between 1.500km and 2.999km from the front gate of the academy. Where the number of applicants in this category exceeds the number of places, offers will be determined by random allocation.

After places have been filled under the first five criteria, any remaining places will be offered to children living a distance of 3.000km or beyond from the front gate of the academy. Where the number of applicants in this category exceeds the number of places, offers will be determined by random allocation.

After places have been filled under the first six criteria, any remaining places will be offered to any other children making an application, where children live closest to the academy, measured by straight- line distance from the main academy entrance of the current academy location (as specified in the academy prospectus or on the academy website) to the child’s home address being the home address of the main carer as set out on the application form, are given priority.

Note: Distances from the student’s home address to the main academy entrance will be measured by using Ordnance Survey data to plot the applicable distance using the London Borough of Newham’s home school distance service. In the event of a tie between two or more children following the above criteria, places will be allocated by random selection which will be independently supervised.