Harris Boys Academy East Dulwich Prospectus

Happy and successful education for local families

“ This is an outstanding Academy. Central to this is the relentless pursuit of excellence by leaders and managers and the highest aspirations for every student.�

Ofsted 2012

Your son’s

education “ I think Year 6 students should come and see how good this school is.”

Student

Our Academy, which opened in 2009, aims to provide a happy and successful education for local families. We are an all-boys’ school from 11–16, with a thriving co-educational Sixth Form.

What makes us special goes far beyond the ‘Outstanding’ rating we were delighted to receive from Ofsted, or our spectacular building on Peckham Rye. At the heart of our success is an absolute belief in the ability of every student to shine. I hope this prospectus gives you a sense of the opportunities we offer and the care, warmth and pride that go into every student’s education.

We have a highly reflective, creative and energising set of students and staff. Please do make the time to talk to them and ask them questions at our open events.

Thank you for reading our prospectus.

Mr Chris Everitt, Principal

1

Happy Education

When students join the Academy in Year 7, some will already be high-fliers, some will be good all-rounders and some will face significant and individual challenges. Each will have a unique personality, gift and character that we see as our role to develop.

Boys are divided into sets, which they’ll move between at different stages of their academic career depending on their needs. We keep classes small – the maximum size is 25 students. Where students need it, we give them extra support one-to-one or in small groups.

Our aim is for every student to have a happy experience of their schooling and be fully prepared for life beyond the Academy.

2

In Years 7 and 8, your son will have lessons in English, Maths, Science, ICT, History, Geography, Religious Studies, Music, Dance, Drama, Design Technology and Art. He will learn Spanish and have a rich sports offer each week.

Three times a year school life is transformed and the usual timetable goes out the window to allow for a ‘Renaissance Day’. These give boys the chance to experience something completely different.

We begin preparing students for their GCSEs in Year 9, which spreads their workload over 3 years instead of 2 and gives them the best chance of success. GCSE option selections are made in individual meetings with you, your son and either our Principal or one of his Senior Team.

We have a Learning Hub System and each student has a named member of staff within their Learning Hub who takes responsibility for their pastoral welfare and keeps an eye on their academic progress.

We have a Homework Club from 07:30 and our Library is open every day until 17:00 so that students can do their homework and other private study with Academy staff around to help them.

We have a committed and engaged parent body. Reports are sent home six times a year so parents always know how their son is progressing. There are also regular opportunities to come into school for parents’ evenings. Our PTA, known as Parent Voice, is highly active with regular events including an annual family quiz night.

One of our recent Renaissance Days centred on the theme of ‘awe’. As part of this we looked at the ‘awe-someness’ of nature, racing on mountain bikes through the trees at Bedgebury Forest before a relaxing lunch by the lake.

“ Lessons are stimulating and challenge all abilities.”

Parent

3

Successful Education

Our extra-curricular programme takes place at lunchtimes and after school, with activities every day of the week.

These range from Keyboard Club, Composition and Band Practice for our musicians, to Table Tennis and Science Club. Through these activities, learning goes well beyond what is taught in timetabled lessons.

4

“There are great opportunities for clubs and trips which inspire me.”

Student

We invest in bringing in outside experts too: examples include Street Dance lessons by the Royal Academy of Dance and Mandarin Chinese for Beginners by language experts.

We have a thriving tradition in the arts. In the past year, our choir has sung at the top of the Shard, our dancers have performed a Bollywood themed routine at a national conference and students in all year groups have written and performed our own show: The Button, which combined routines from Grease, the Little Shop of Horrors and The Lion King.

Together with all of the Harris Secondary Academies, we participate in ‘The Harris Experience’. This programme is for our most able students, stretching them and introducing them to topics not covered by the national curriculum. The programme opened with a lecture at Christie’s on Holbein’s The Ambassadors and other topics have included space exploration, logic and historical research.

5

Clear

“Our teachers give us good feedback so we understand how well we are doing and how to achieve our targets.”

Student

Expectations Boys at our Academy benefit from a consistently calm and orderly environment.

We recognise and reward good behaviour on a daily basis so that students know when they are getting it right or wrong. At the end of each term, we organise activities to reward students who have been consistently hard-working and wellbehaved: these have included rock climbing, a waterpark visit and paintballing.

“ There is a clear and excellent rewards system which celebrates the positive behaviour and achievements.”

6

Parent

7

A thriving mixed

SIXTH FORM We are part of the Harris Federation Sixth Form and therefore education here is co-educational in Years 12 and 13. 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. They have tutorials not lessons, wear suits not uniform and have a working day that fits with a new type of learning.

Our students look at Sixth Form as the race to the finishing line of their pre-university education. 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.

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.

8

Our Sixth Form regularly sends students to top Russell Group universities, specialist arts, drama and stage schools, and directly into training for the careers of their choice.

Harris Westminster Sixth Form In September 2014, the Harris Federation joined forces with Westminster School to open the Harris Westminster Sixth Form. It prioritises academically able students from state schools around London in order to prepare them for study at the most competitive universities at home and abroad.

Westminster School has an unrivalled record of getting sixth formers into the best universities worldwide, regularly sending 50% of pupils to Oxford and Cambridge.

The only selective school in the Federation, the new Sixth Form is located just moments away from Westminster School and the two work closely together.

Competition for places is intense, but we are proud and delighted that a number of our students won places to join its first intake.

9

A spectacular

building Our building was opened in September 2010. Located on Peckham Rye, it was designed by our award winning architects to be a ‘pavilion in the park’.

We have bright and modern classrooms and outstanding facilities and equipment. Our boys are hugely respectful of the building and we keep it spotlessly clean and tidy.

Our building is also environmentally smart and sustainable.

We have our own wind turbines and a grass roof and a fifth of the energy required to run our building each year is generated on-site.

As well as the facilities we have on site, we also use the best of London’s other amenities to support our outstanding sports programme. This includes the Kings’ College London sports grounds.

10

“ There is a strong community within the Academy and our son is very proud to be a part of it.”

Parent

Admissions dates for your diary There are 150 Year 7 places available.

If you are interested in a place, we would strongly encourage you to attend one of our open events with your son. These are held in September/October each year. Exact dates and times can be found on our website www.harrisdulwichboys.org.uk Families applying should name us on their council’s Common Application Form. Our Supplementary Information Form should only be completed if your son requires additional time during the Admissions Testing.

To ensure that we have a comprehensive intake of students, we ask applicants to visit the Academy to sit a ‘non-verbal reasoning’ test. The multiple choice test is impossible either to pass or fail, but it places boys into one of nine ability bands. There is a set number of places in each band, based on national levels.

“ Students are known as individuals.”

Parent

The test will be held in December and you will receive a letter from us confirming this nearer the time.

Offers will be made via Southwark Admissions on the first day of March.

11

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.

We work particularly closely with Harris Girls’ Academy East Dulwich, with opportunities for mixing between students including a joint prom in Year 11.

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.

12

Each summer for sports day, the Harris Federation hires out the Crystal Palace Sports Stadium.

With well over 10,000 student and staff spectators in attendance, Academies compete in team and individual sports.

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 Boys’ Academy East Dulwich is an outstanding Academy producing confident, articulate and successful young men. Working closely together in and around London, Harris 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.

If your son 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

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 Boys’ Academy East Dulwich 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

B2

38

HBAED

Peckham Rye, London SE22 0AT T: 020 8299 5300 F: 020 8761 6566 Email: info@harrisdulwichboys.org.uk www.harrisdulwichboys.org.uk