Open House at The Academy

The first ever open evening at The Academy. Six hundred prospective parents flocked to the site of The Old Boys School (once dubbed the 'worst school in Britain') to see the shiny new building from the inside and find out what The Academy is really like.

Our hand-picked creative, committed staff were ready in their classes with volunteer students engaged in activities ranging from a crime scene to a choir. They were supported by over 50 students recruited and trained to take parents on tours of the building not only to point out the incredible facilities including the sports hall, library and ICT areas but also to talk about the values and ethos of the school.Parents heard the Principal talk about the strict rules such as lining up in the playground and walking the corridors in silence on the left. They also heard about the reasons why these rules and routines were so important in an area with high deprivation and twice the crime rate of the borough as a whole. They were told about the compulsory after school classes- three days a week. Children choose what they study unless they haven't done their homework in which case they have to attend homework detention. Guides also explained how the family service lunch works where everyone has a set seat and each person on the table has a role from collecting the food to clearing up afterwards.There were many questions asked. The hardest to answer however was always the same. Where can I find out if I stand a chance of getting in?

Ten years ago the choices of secondary school in the borough were limited. Too many failing schools and there was no choice. Now however one London academy, Mossbourne has just published exam results with almost 9 out 10 students leaving with 5 good GCSEs and a number of new start up schools in the area there is some choice for parents. However the more popular the school, the closer you have to live. Last year it was 0.6 miles from The Academy next year it may be an even shorter distance. The borough operates a banding system to prevent schools from only taking students from higher abilities. Nonetheless, for parents, just living in the area is not enough. You have to have got lucky and be living in a street minutes from the school you would like to go to.The real choice will come when all schools are well led, with excellent facilities and established routines. Rome was not built in a day but our borough is at least moving in the right direction.