Privacy and cookies

Log in

Register

Subscribe

Tuesday 18 September 2012

HOME NEWS WORLD SPORT FINANCE COMMENT BLOGS CULTURE TRAVEL LIFE FASHION TECH

Dating Offers Jobs

Politics Obits Education Earth Science Defence Health Scotland Royal Celebrities Weird University Education Clearing Student Life League Tables Primary Secondary Expat Education Make Britain Count
HOME EDUCATION

Inner-city academy that's a blueprint for the future

Rigid discipline and academic rigour are helping to transform the lives of students at a striking new school in an area scarred by deprivation and gang violence
GCSE AND A-LEVEL LEAGUE TABLES

GCSE league tables 2011

Share 172 93 60 Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn 0 19

A-level league tables 2011

Image 1 of 5 Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton, south London, was designed by the internationally renowned architect Zaha Hadid Photo: Maximiliano Braun

Education Lifesty le Secondary education Family

LATEST TRAVEL DEALS IN EDUCATION

By Caroline Scott
7:00AM BST 16 May 2011 24 Comments

It is morning assembly at Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton, south London, and 12-year-old Maha Salem is reading out a poem about what it feels like to be a Muslim girl in post-7/7 London. Students sit bolt upright; there's no chair-scraping, no fidgeting, no chatting. When Maha has finished, there's a ripple of silent finger tapping an Evelyn Grace construct to replace a burst of raucous applause. As assembly ends, teachers standing at the back raise their hands wordlessly, and one by one whole classes rise and follow. This is Brixton's first secondary school and the first school the prize-winning Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid (one of whose projects is the Aquatics Centre for the London Olympics) has designed in Britain. Its open, monochrome interior aims to maximise light and minimise what Hadid describes as 'potentially problematic zones'. The school opened on a temporary site in 2008, moving here in September last year, so it has yet to see its first cohort of students through GCSEs, but its overall principal, Peter Walker, who left his role as a director of the government's national schools strategy to take up the post, has ambitious plans for these children. Coldharbour Ward in the London Borough of Lambeth hits all six categories on the index used to measure social deprivation, and has one of the highest rates of violent crime in Europe. Fifty-five per cent of children at EGA are eligible for free school meals, 57 per cent have special needs, two thirds are AfroCaribbean and many lack a father figure, but everyone is expected to achieve a minimum of five A*-C grades at GCSE in 2013, and the school has pledged to do whatever it takes to achieve this. In return, each child must sign an extensive home-school agreement, which runs to seven pages and includes such clauses as 'I will arrive on time, prepared for

Britain's most beautiful universities

$1799+: Oceania Cruises Sale Ends 9/30

Free Airfare + 2-for-1 Cruise Fares. Powered by Dunhill Travel Deals

Britain's best value universities

View More Offers

EDUCATION MOST VIEWED

TODAY

PAST WEEK

PAST MONTH

Top 10 universities for getting a job

Top 10 degrees for getting a job

1. GCSEs axed: True test to restore faith in exam system 2. GCSEs axed in favour of 'English Baccalaureate Certificate' 3. Freshers' Week: 10 things you should know 4. Adults 'put off education for life' after failing 11-plus 5. GCSEs axed: written report card for strugglers
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

learning and in perfect school uniform' and 'I will hand in my mobile phone every morning or lose it for a fortnight'. EGA is one of eight academies (six in London and one each in Birmingham and Portsmouth) sponsored by Ark (Absolute Return for Kids), a charity founded 10 years ago by the French financier Arpad Busson to raise the bar for children living in the most disadvantaged communities. Last year Ark received 400 million from its donors to support its children's welfare programmes across the world. In Britain it selects previously underperforming schools in the poorest wards of the country (others are Walworth Academy and the new Charter Academy in Portsmouth) which, it believes, with the right staff and expertise, it can fix. Lucy Heller, the managing director of Ark Schools (Ark's education charity), talks about the 'apparently ironclad link' between class and achievement. 'It's a scandal that only five per cent of children on free school meals make it to university,' she says. 'The hope is that we can provide a network of schools that will provide a model for the system as a whole.' Ark schools are designed to be self-sustaining; like all academies, funding for each pupil comes from the Department for Education, with Ark providing extra literacy and music programmes, enrichment activities (debating, chess, museum and theatre trips) and catch-up support for children who are falling behind. They are run according to Ark's ethos: high academic expectation, exemplary behaviour, excellent teaching, a longer school day and the division of large academies into smaller 'schools within schools'. EGA is divided into two schools, Evelyn and Grace, which are themselves split into two age groups, making four small schools of 270 students, each with a head and deputy, to try to capture some of the intimacy lost when children leave primary school. David Gorton, EGA's key governor and a hedge fund manager, contributed 2 million of his own money towards the 38 million cost of the build, choosing Hadid because he wanted an architect whose work would create a stunning visual statement. Gorton's own father died when he was 13, and he was educated by Christian Brothers in Blackpool. He said, 'I believe profoundly that every child has the right to be taught by teachers who are ambitious for them, who believe they can excel.'
RELATED ARTICLES

TELEGRAPH COURSES

Parents' Education Guide

FREE PRINCE2 Project Management qualification from The Learning People Try the FREE Rosetta Stone language demo today! PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner project management course at London's leading college Extensive Logistical, Procurement and Business Management training opportunities Get 10% off beginner and intermediate digital photography courses

Behaviour not good enough at one in five secondaries 28 Apr 2011 More state pupils at Cambridge 06 May 2011 Heads to get more powers to sack poor teachers 01 May 2011 Schoolchildren 'being turned into statistical fodder' 01 May 2011

The core values at EGA are self-discipline, endeavour and excellence with an unshakeable belief that deployment of the first two will achieve the last. Ark draws its philosophy, particularly its belief in the small school model, from the American Charter School movement, which has an emphasis on academic rigour, discipline and strong relationships with caring adults. Before taking up his post at EGA, Walker visited Noble Street Charter School in a primarily Latino neighbourhood of Chicago where 85 per cent of students go on to college. 'Students were smartly dressed, motivated, hard working,' he says. 'A block away at another public high school the atmosphere was quite different. Discipline was poor, the kids had their heads on their desks during lessons, attendance was 40 per cent and the atmosphere was threatening.' Walker spent seven years as the head teacher of Park View Academy in Haringey, north London under his leadership the school was named as one of the top 100 improved schools in the country and he has twice moved out of significant strategic roles to go back into secondary headship in challenging areas. As soon as he accepted his post at EGA and long before the plans for the building were even drawn up he placed an invitation in the Times Educational Supplement to 'change the face of secondary education'. 'I thought we'd get about 60 replies. In fact, 450 teachers responded and from those we selected our founding staff. A lot of people came here because they wanted to do things differently.' Staff are selected by
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

MORE FROM THE TELEGRAPH

interview with both Walker and a student panel. 'The kids are very rigorous, very professional,' he says. 'And they're never wrong.' Online local parent forums bristle with indignation at the length of EGA's school day 8.30am-5pm (most schools finish at 3.15) and its hardline approach to behaviour and sanctions. Verbal warnings are given for transgressions as small as wearing earrings; three warnings and you are 'timed out' of a lesson and must work alone with a teacher in a designated 'reconciliation room' all day. 'Parents may squeal about the discipline,' Walker says, 'but the truth is, a lot of them struggle to manage their children as they grow up. What we're trying to do is establish a baseline of behaviour where children can learn and teachers can teach.' On one side of the railway line that skirts Evelyn Grace, leafy Herne Hill stretches into Dulwich Village. On the other side is a cluster of notorious estates. Karen Weston, an EGA senior learning support assistant, has lived in Brixton all her life, working previously at Hillmead Primary School. 'Last Friday there was a stabbing at Angel Town and some of my boys witnessed that,' she says. 'They've had guns put to their heads, they've lost cousins to knife crime. They're thinking, "Is it me next?" ' Six boys she has known since they were infants are serving life sentences. Another, 'a bright, bright child', was murdered. Weston scoops up children like these. 'There's no way they're going to come in on Monday morning and do maths,' she says. 'I take them out of the lesson, see what I can do to help. We let them learn at their own pace.' Camila Batmanghelidjh's charity Kids Company provides a full-time social worker who 'digs deep', and a floating team of 16 therapists sign in as needed. 'Some children disclose things that we need to act on, others have simply fallen out with their best friend,' Rachel Nichols, who leads the Kids Company team, says. This, coupled with the geography of the building, means there are few places to hide. Children don't gather anywhere in groups of more than two. No one goes to the lavatory unsupervised. It sounds draconian, but it's the structure and discipline that the most troubled children cleave to. 'Take it away and they fall apart,' Weston says. 'I can look after them while they're here, but my heart breaks for them as we head towards the holidays because they're scared.' In the kitchen, Amelia Hanslow (a chef whose last job was working with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage) is taking a food technology class with a group of 11-year-olds. They are preparing mirepoix onions, celery and carrots. 'My instinct was to give them the proper tools and teach them to respect them,' she says breezily, as pupils get busy with a battery of sharp knives. Next door, a Year 9 music group is showing Peter Walker a video of a rap they have written, performed and filmed. 'I think we need to think about doing this without the school uniforms,' he beams. They all look at each other nervously. Finally the teacher, Audley Anderson, clears his throat. 'We did, sir, but we thought you wouldn't like it.' I listen to a group of 13-14-year-olds discussing school rules over lunch. Everyone has a reading book on the table. No one moves towards the pasta and meatballs until a teacher gives the signal, and even then there's an atmosphere of quiet restraint. 'If we didn't have the strict rules we have, I dread what it would be like here,' Xanthe Greenwood, 13, says. I ask if they all feel like that. They nod furiously. 'Children are less likely to misbehave because they know there are consequences,' Jimmy Orena, 14, says solemnly. But is it too strict? 'My dad was worried I wasn't having enough fun,' Keanna Williams, 14, says. 'But actually I really like it.' Enitan Onifade says her mother told her, 'This is a new school, you're making history. It's up to you to make it work.' Keanna wants to be an international human rights barrister. 'Not just for the money, you know, but to make a difference.' Toby Wells, 14, who lives in a leafy street in Stockwell, finds himself in an ethnic minority here. His mother, Rosemary, who leads the parents' association, was surprised none of her friends chose EGA. They may now be kicking themselves. In 2008 EGA was an unknown entity, now it is oversubscribed by 4:1. 'We thought, "New school, it's bound to have high standards," ' she says. 'One of the other schools we looked at was so big they gave students a map. I really wanted a school where the teachers knew Toby personally. We've been
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Expert Employee Trainer & Career Development Coach

Find out more about how I can help you, your company or professional organization? View

really pleased. He's in the top groups for everything.' Malachi Vaughan, 14, lives with his mother and older brother, Ramone, on Loughborough Estate. 'I got excluded in Year 7 for getting into a fight,' he says, shuffling in his seat. 'I've had to be more level-headed.' Andrea Angamarca Tandazo, also 14, came to EGA in Year 8. 'My last school was more laidback. People would text during lessons. And if you got a detention and didn't go, no one cared. If you did that here' She looks around for support. 'You'd get three days of detentions!' Amandine Guihard, 11, shrieks. They all talk about the level of support they get from teachers. 'In some schools you get called a neek if you work hard, but we're all neeks here,' Andrea says. 'You get teased if you're not a neek. It's kind of a relief.' Andrea, originally from Ecuador, wants to be a lawyer. 'I take my learning very seriously,' she says. 'I'm hoping to get a scholarship to Oxford.' Winston Ellis, a maths teacher, remembers hearing Enoch Powell's 1968 Rivers of Blood speech when he was a teenager. 'As a black boy growing up in the Moss Side area of Manchester, the most you were expected to aspire to was managing a supermarket. I just thought, I'm not having this. After I'd finished my degree I met a black guy who was teaching, and my jaw dropped because I didn't even know black people could be teachers.' Ellis left a post at a comfortable school in Eltham because he believed something special was going on at EGA and he wanted to be part of it. 'Here, every student believes university is for them,' he says. I watch a Grace deputy head, Mareca Laing, teaching maths to the lowest set. Laing is the daughter of a no-nonsense Caribbean teacher who raised five children single-handed. 'Good, Crystal! Now explain exactly what you did to Victoria so she can also progress.' Everything she says is empowering and enabling. 'We have to be much more confident in ourselves today. Solomon! No one else speak. Give him a chance, he'll get there. Yes, well done, absolutely spot on.' Laing regularly discusses with her learning group the draw of 'easy money' earned by gang members compared with working hard for a degree 'which,' she says, eyes flashing, 'no one can take from you.' Year 9 children who arrived at the school two years earlier with low selfesteem are scattered about, greeting visitors, answering the phone on reception, supporting younger children 'in order to inspire others'. Every fortnight, children are set individual targets and attend weekly 'masterclasses'. Rhoda Fisher, a senior learning support assistant, uses art lessons as a chance to deal with challenging behaviour. 'I have one 14-year-old who's been disruptive since primary school. He wants attention. If he doesn't get it and he doesn't care if it's positive or negative he'll kick up a fuss.' The same boy comes up in conversation with an Evelyn head, Marlon Miller. 'It was a real milestone to hear him say, "I want to get better, I just don't know how," ' Miller says, 'because it shows he knows he's got a chance here and he's asking for our help. This is where the small school model is so important. We all know him, we know what the barriers to learning are, and we can begin to break them down.' EGA's Learning Support Unit (LSU) runs a nine-week inclusion learning programme for students who are falling behind target levels in English and maths or are at risk of exclusion for poor behaviour. The students are expected to reach not only their academic targets but behavioural and social ones too, to give them the 'soft skills' to ease back into their learning groups and cope with the school's rigorous routines and expectations. I meet Maria Rodrigues, the special educational needs coordinator and child protection officer, flying up the stairs to the LSU one morning. She has just come from a court hearing where the mother of a Year 7 child was sectioned. 'Trust me, it was the best thing.' It's 10.30am and a little girl with tight braids is wandering slowly down the corridor. 'Are you hungry? Go and get some breakfast She's a model student,' Rodrigues says. 'Lovely little girl. But she's been physically abused, she's been in and out of care. There's no mum. She's coping with a lot.' Rodrigues stresses the importance of professional boundaries. 'Children don't need you to be their friend. They need you to be their teacher and mentor.' And then admits to crossing them, often. 'I

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

just replaced a boy's blazer myself, but nobody knows' She sighs, conscious of the paradox. 'This boy. The first year he was here, he cried and cried. His mum is in prison, his dad's an alcoholic. But he doesn't cry any more. He just gets very, very angry, because he has no one. It's important to show these children you care.' Reuben, a tiny boy of 13, has just finished a course in the LSU. Verbally quick, when he arrived at EGA at 11 he could neither read nor write and had severe behavioural problems. 'He was basically ungovernable, but it was just a gap in learning,' Rodrigues says. 'After an intensive phonicsbased programme, Reuben now reads but still struggles to get his thoughts down on paper. It means his pride in reading has been chased by crashing disappointment, and all this coupled with a difficult home life. I know he'll get there,' Rodrigues insists. 'All our children will achieve, some just have a different time line.' The shiny new building is important, up to a point children can be taught effectively in portable buildings but, as Peter Walker is fond of saying, spending 38 million on a school in a catchment area where the vast majority has so very little says to a child, 'You matter.' Walker likes to tell a story about how the first time a group of EGA children walked through Brixton Market, the stallholders clapped and cheered and it's worth mentioning that every single member of staff is dressed as formally as the students, as a mark of respect. Earlier this year, Walker was stung by a 'satisfactory' Ofsted report, rather than the 'outstanding' he was expecting. There was criticism that children are too tightly governed and given implausible targets. A former inspector himself, he suspects racism, or at least a lack of professionalism, and has asked for an inquiry. He is much exercised by the notion that less should be expected of poor children than their middle-class contemporaries. 'An HM schools inspector asked one of my teachers, "What can you expect of children who live round here?" There's an ingrained belief that there's only so much you can do with children who have had a difficult start in life. I just don't believe that. Of course there are voices in the system who will say what we're trying to do here is totally unrealistic, but I cannot understand that mindset. Everything here is governed by the 100 per cent principle as it is in all the best schools. Work hard and you will achieve. Why should we teach children who are already disadvantaged to settle for less?' Some names have been changed

Share

172

Facebook

93

Twitter

60

LinkedIn

19

More from The Telegraph

More from the web

Parade's End: the real affair behind the BBC drama 17 Sep 2012 Businesswoman falls to death from City rooftop restaurant 05 Sep 2012 David Willetts: don't cut foreign student numbers to tackle immigration 17 Sep 2012 GCSEs axed in favour of 'English Baccalaureate Certificate' 17 Sep 2012 UK schools are 'socially segregated', research shows 11 Sep 2012

The 10 Richest Colleges in America TheStreet Top 5 Hardest Languages to Learn Third Age 10 Colleges That Receive the Most Applications U.S. News University Directory Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Change the World Goodnet Billionaires Dumping Stocks, Economist Knows Why Moneynews
What's this?

ADS BY GOOGLE

NYC Special Needs Plans

Have One of Our Knowledgeable Specialists Give You a Call.
HFNYCMedicare.org/SpecialNeedsPlans

Be a Certified Teacher
NYC's Affordable in Person Program Conveniently located Weekend Course
www.cnratcite.com

Trident University Online

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Flexible, 100% Online Education. View TUI's Current Programs Today!

www.Trident.edu

24 comments
Add a comment Comment with a Telegraph account Login | Register with the Telegraph
Comments for this page are closed.

Alternatively... Comment with one of your accounts

Showing 24 comments Real-time updating is enabled.

Order by newest first Follow with email Follow with RSS

caz111 05/22/2011 04:06 PM

From the ARK Master Funding Agreement: Curriculum, curriculum development and delivery and RE and collective worship 24) The curriculum provided by each Academy to pupils up to the age of 16 shall be broad and balanced. The core subjects of the National Curriculum (being Mathematics, English and Science) must be taught to all pupils in years 7-11 except where, in the opinion of the head teacher, it is inappropriate for an individual pupil or groups of pupils to be taught one or more of those subjects. From the EGAwebsite: Literacy is not a luxury; it is a right and a responsibility. President Clinton. Im not sure if Peter Walker, head of EGA, is aware of the various clauses in the ARK Master Funding Agreement. It seems people really are not paying attention to the considerable research available on the internet about these schools, and not reading primary source material which indicates what these schools are about. It is essential to do so. The evidence which supports the well-sourced rumour in Brent that ARK Academy is built on top of underground cells is considerable. Lucy Heller is perfectly well aware that the ARK Academy in Brent has been built on top of a pre-existing structure for which Brent council has not been able to provide planning permission, and which was incorporated into the school plans.

Recommend Report

caz111 05/18/2011 12:25 PM

Recommend Report

It is now not possible that parents (or even teachers) know what information their children are being subjected to, and assessed on. Students spend considerable time in virtual worlds, the only people who are aware as to what is in them are those who designed them. Parents are pleased to hear that their child has a level 5, level 6, etc, but don't actually know what they got it for. Even if they have achieved a level of academic success, the propoganda which goes with it is not known. The Ocean Maths programme introduces students to images of weapons and military, considered 'cross-curricular'. The 'Opening Minds' curriculum is certainly occult, and being introduced in this country without people knowing. With respect to finances, Ron Beller, trustee of ARK, and his involvement in subprime mortgages, which will have certainly caused financial devastation for some, (on low incomes in particular) is worth reading about.

paddingtonbear 05/18/2011 10:34 AM

As a parent of a child who attends this school, I am fully supportive of Peter Walker and his senior management team. My daughter left year 6 with level 4 and 5's she is now achieving level 7's consistently. I receive regular updates on her progress and targets and completely feel that her teachers know her and what she is capable of. Her confidence has developed and she is taught by some excellent teachers.I was disappointed by the

Recommended by 10 people Recommend Report

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Ofsted inspection and felt it was not a reflection of what myself and my child's experience of the school is. The school day is structured and long but there are chances for the students to partake in activities my family and friends children will never have a chance to do. My daughter is visiting Oxford university today. Parents can be involved through the Parent Forum.The Parent Teacher Association is in the process of being set up. Brixton deserves a good secondary school and the children living and growing up here deserve the chance of a good education regardless of their social or economic background.

caz111 05/17/2011 09:51 AM

Recommended by 1 person Recommend

I do suggest that people pay some very serious attention as to what is going on in academy schools. The youtube vid Ark Schools Academies and Eugenics is a good place to start, the agenda is eugenics, euthencis and human re-engineering, confirmed by the ARK Academy architect. This is not exclusive to Ark Academies. Ark is mentoring head teachers in others schools which are not academies, and funds Future Leaders who install deputy head teachers in schools. ARKs threatening solicitors letters from Schilings law firm are also essential reading, particularly in the light of their incapacity to defend their statements in court. Links to this information is in the indymedia article (and related comments) titled Academy Schools: possibly 1,567 more by September, ARK, FRS, involved. The location which we have described as the John Adam St Gang is where this is being driven from, Cleopatras Needle on Thames Embankment is their landmark. I also suggest people take a look at the flickr account John Adam St Gang Occult Theosophy. Images of the destruction of Jesus Christ (the spoken word) are telling. With respect to mybnkdeclans comment In our case we are being brought in to help young people learn about money and develop sound financial habits, it is absolutely the case that students are to be immersed in the world of money and material possessions.

Report

mybnkdeclan 05/17/2011 11:47 AM

Hi Caz - Money is indeed something we're all immersed in, if we can impart basic financial knowledge and provide a structure to build good habits, like saving, we can get money to work for us rather than against us. It's less about fulfilling a young persons desire for material possessions or front-loading commercialism, rather it's a balancing of wants vs. needs. Do you really want it? Can you really afford it? If so, here are the consequences, debt etc.

Recommended by 1 person Recommend Report

dfromnw 05/16/2011 05:55 PM

I wish Mr Walker well, but I also wish he'd drop the 'student' nonsense, it really isn't very clever. As for Ofsted, it's about time it was itself subjected to a review. Is it fit for purpose, or has it morphed into an enforcer for its own view on how things should be done?

Recommended by 3 people Recommend Report

eastlondoner 05/16/2011 06:22 PM

It's funny how Ofsted's credentials are questioned when inspectors offer a satisfactory judgement to a so-called flagship school. Usually, the complaints in these columns revolve around the suggestion that Ofsted is "soft" on schools. For the record, the Ofsted framework for inspection is widely known and any head teacher/senior management team worth his/her/their salt will know exactly what the inspectors are looking for and what the so-called limiting judgements are.

Recommend Report

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Incidentally, this school's capacity for sustained improvement was scored at only 3 (satisfactory) - one of the limiting judgements.

tommi2007 05/17/2011 12:32 PM

Indeed. Many people who read the Telegraph routinely complain that Ofsted is letting schools 'get away with it', until they inspect one of the Telegraph readers' pet schools and then it's not fair, is it? The verdict on leadership and capacity for sustained improvement was especially damning - a fine example of academies being all image and little content.

Recommended by 1 person Recommend Report

mybnkdeclan 05/16/2011 04:58 PM

Have nothing but admiration for E.G. My charity runs financial and enterpise education courses alongside microfinance saving and lending schemes at both schools. I've found their commitment to 'all round behavioural' education enlightening. It's not just about learning to text. In our case we are being brought in to help young people learn about money and develop sound financial habits.

Recommend Report

idmurray 05/16/2011 01:54 PM

Why go to all that effort and expense? According to Gove all you need to do to improve a school is to change its name to include Academy - job done.

Recommended by 1 person Recommend Report

willz 05/16/2011 01:59 PM

Why even bother sending them to school at all, just change all children's names to 'idmurray' and we'll have a nation of geniuses.

Recommended by 3 people Recommend Report

idmurray 05/16/2011 03:42 PM

I think you missed a punctuation mark from the end of that question. You'd be safer grammatically with 'genii' for the plural of genius when referring to people.

Recommended by 1 person Recommend Report

willz 05/16/2011 04:08 PM

You really are nitpicking now :) There is some debate about the proper plural of genius however the majority view appears to support "geniuses". I do love any plurals that take the +ii form, but sadly they are extremely rare. If you really want to be picky, perhaps you should try to limit yourself to a single space between words.

Recommend Report

bugeyed 05/16/2011 01:43 PM

I wish all concerned with this venture all the very best for the future. I would be interested to know how they are dealing with unsupportive parents. Have they avoided them by a selection process, or have they excluded the children of them? One of the biggest issue in Education at the moment is when there is a lack of support (or worse) from the children's homes, meaning that the children cannot be kept within the schools discipline framework and hence ethos. This academy is being trumpeted as having a rigid system which can only ultimately

Recommended by 2 people Recommend Report

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

work if it can maintain support from home. What happens to the children who do not have that support?

eastlondoner 05/16/2011 03:28 PM

Bugeyed, in reponse to your query, here is a direct quote from the Ofsted report: "Relationships with parents and carers are generally satisfactory, but a significant proportion do not feel that their views and concerns are listened to. They would also like the academy to do more to enable them to support their children's learning." They don't sound like unsupportive parents to me.

Recommend Report

tommi2007 05/16/2011 01:36 PM

I'm hugely amused by the Telegraph headline for this article - 'Inner-city academy that's a blueprint for the future' - given that it would appear to be a blueprint for only a satisfactory school, according to Ofsted. Readers unfamiliar with Ofsted gradings may not know that there's actually a category between the 'Outstanding' that Peter Walker wanted and the 'satisfactory' he got - the school couldn't even manage a 'good', despite all the shedloads of money spent on it. The fact of the matter is that iron discipline (a lot easier when you're an academy and can sling out any pupils not complying with your home-school agreement and rules) can only take a school so far - the report makes clear that teaching, assessment and leadership are just not very good. Free school fans - take heed.

Recommended by 2 people Recommend Report

willz 05/16/2011 02:13 PM

Well lets wait and see what their exam results are like, that's the true test. One of our teachers got blasted by Ofsted for not using the latest trendy techniques, not setting homework, teaching from the front. Despite this "awful" technique over half her (average ability) kids achieved A/A*.

Recommended by 12 people Recommend Report

assegai 05/16/2011 11:51 AM

Makes me wonder if there really is a demographic and logistical demand for the free school that KB wants to set up on the old Lilian Baylis school site, a stones throw away from where the EG Academy is sited.

Recommended by 3 people Recommend Report

assegai 05/16/2011 11:37 AM

Ark academy schools often have a longer school day and have extra resources they can pump into a school which other comprehensive schools in the maintained sector don't. Anyway good luck to the staff and pupils and let's hope the hype lives up to expectations.

Recommended by 6 people Recommend Report

Ben 05/16/2011 11:24 AM

Reading about life at the Academy and "EastLondener"'s brief analysis of the Ofsted report, I have mixed reactions. On the one hand, the pupils do appear to be well behaved and more motivated towards learning. On the other hand, the place does appear to be ruled by an iron fist and the management do appear to have unrealistic expectations of the pupils, especially if the assessment, marking, monitoring and evaluation of them isn't up to scratch.

Recommend Report

eastlondoner 05/16/2011 10:25 AM

Being all for improving educational opportunities for children from "challenging" backgrounds, I read this report with great interest. In particular I noted that the school had received a satisfactory judgement when it was inspected in February, so I looked up the Ofsted report on http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu...

Recommend Report

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

It is clear that the school did not do better because it needs to improve its teaching (satisfactory, inadequate assessment, marking variable); its leadership and management too need improvement (monitoring and evaluation should be better); the curriculum has to cover a wider range of needs. In those circumstances, the comments from Peter Walker in the final two paragraphs are disingenuous.

grammarschoolman 05/16/2011 11:36 AM

Indeed, as a seasoned reader of Ofsted reports, I would translate the diplomatic language thus: The teaching is mostly crap, many teachers have little idea what they are doing, especially where assessment is concerned, and few have a real understanding of their pupils as individuals. This in turn calls into question senior management, who seem far more interested in the move to a swanky new building and the publicity that this will guarantee for them. Which closely tallies with everything in the article above, especially Walker's comments in the last two paragraphs. The parents from leafy Stockwell are unlikely to be kicking themselves.

Recommend Report

grammarschoolman 05/16/2011 11:40 AM

Third sentence should read: This in turn calls into question senior management, who seem far more interested in the move to a swanky new building and the publicity that this will guarantee for them, rather than in proper recruitment of staff. Wretched Disqus, not letting me edit!

Recommend Report

facta_non_verba 05/16/2011 02:27 PM

There is also the following possibility: Teachers are overworked due to the longer hours and insistance from management on rigid methodologies, thus lessons (especially for an inspection) are highly formalised and there's no time for proper marking. ..and to be fair to management, the old "don't smile till Easter" may have to be extended a bit for this lot. My own experience of the new style of inspection is that the observation of teaching is nowhere near sufficient to get a correct impression (either way).

Recommended by 2 people Recommend Report

Social Media Reactions renatojlopes on twitter 05/21/2011 10:29 PM

DFE seems to approve: "...and 'I will hand in my mobile phone every morning or lose it for a fortnight'." http://bit.ly/mj5I5i Oh dear...

BrightSparkEd on twitter 05/19/2011 02:34 PM

Inner-city academy that's a blueprint for the future - Telegraph http://t.co/EQecAX1 via @Telegraph

KateLPortman on twitter 05/19/2011 12:02 PM

RT @jovanmaric: It can be done........the vision of a tough school - http://t.co/uWTQ1k4

IdleSi on twitter 05/19/2011 11:34 AM

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Inner-city academy that's a blueprint for the future http://bit.ly/l8zNB5

jovanmaric on twitter 05/19/2011 11:08 AM

It can be done........the vision of a tough school - http://t.co/uWTQ1k4

redteachers on twitter 05/18/2011 12:17 PM

Inner-city academy that's a blueprint for the future - Telegraph http://t.co/ib4hfYF via @Telegraph

audleyanderson on 05/17/2011 10:32 PM

twitter

@Chry5ta1 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/8497435/Inner-city-academy-thats-a-blueprint-for-the-future.html check dis sis

HolzHar on twitter 05/17/2011 06:57 PM

Just SO INSPIRING http://is.gd/z6RYlL

toryeducation on twitter 05/17/2011 10:30 AM

RT @educationgovuk: Bit of Twitter traffic about this already. But nice @telegraph feature on Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton: http://bit.ly/iltdPP

MsLesleySmith on twitter 05/17/2011 01:00 AM

RT @ARKSchools: Do not miss profile of ARK's Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton here http://bit.ly/iSihjq
blog comments powered by DISQUS

MORE FROM TELEGRAPH.CO.UK FREE PRIZE DRAW TO WIN 1,000 DUNHILL TRAVEL DEALS WORLD NEWS TELEGRAPH FOR IPAD FREE TRIAL

Share with us your favourite place in the world and win 1,000
View

Most competitive travel deals and vacation packages

View

Iran to target filmmakers as protests erupt

View

Try The Telegraph for iPad free for 30 days

View Back to top

Hot Topics Prince Harry

News Politics World News Obituaries Travel Health Jobs

Kate Middleton

Libya

France shooting
Finance Personal Finance Economics Markets Fashion Property Crossword Terms and Conditions

London Fashion Week

Comment Blogs My Telegraph Letters Technology Gardening Telegraph Journalists Today 's News

Football

More...
Follow Us Apps Epaper Expat Promotions Subscriber Sy ndication Weather Forecast

Sport Football Cricket Fantasy Football Culture Motoring Dating

Contact Us Privacy and Cookies Advertising Fantasy Football Tickets Announcements Reader Prints Sty le Book

Copy right of Telegraph Media Group Limited 201 2

Archive

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com