Introducing
Harris Academy Sutton A brand new academy with drive and ambition
Opening September 2018
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Welcome Harris Academy Sutton will couple a spectacular new building with the guarantee of excellent education that is the hallmark of every Harris academy. Our location at the heart of the proposed London Cancer Hub and our proximity to the world-leading doctors, scientists and technicians that will be drawn to work there, means we will excel in science and research. But the plans we are putting in place and the design of our new building focus on delivering outstanding all-round education. The curriculum will be rich in all areas and, as this booklet goes on to describe, our facilities for sport and the arts will be superb. As part of the Harris Federation, the new academy will use well-established methods for providing students with a happy and successful education. The London Cancer Hub partners share our commitment to creating an ambitious and aspirational new school. We are looking forward to working with them on making this happen. If you are interested in finding out more about this school, please do come along to one of our consultation events. We are looking forward to hearing your suggestions and ideas, and to answering your questions.
Sir Dan Moynihan
Carolyn English
Harris Federation CEO
Director of Secondary Education
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Education with drive and ambition Harris Academy Sutton will offer education with drive and ambition within a culture that creates independence and resilience. There will be events and activities with other Harris academies, but our first 195 children will be uniquely advantaged as the only year group in the school. They will benefit from the highly focused attention of our teachers and it will be the best and easiest possible transition between primary and secondary school. Our curriculum will be broad and balanced, with teaching that inspires the best in students whether they are struggling, need to be stretched or are somewhere in the middle. We will combine the traditional values of good manners and smart uniform with the best of modern teaching methods and technology. All Harris academies have orderly classrooms, corridors and playgrounds and there is a firm but fair emphasis on good behaviour. We want our students to be well-educated and excited about learning. We also want them to be well-rounded individuals ready to take on the world once they leave the academy. They will be supported to develop strong interpersonal skills and the aspiration to be successful. We will, of course, also cater to a wide range of interests with our extra-curricular clubs and will encourage every student to find at least one activity they can really excel in.
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An exceptional building Our ÂŁ40m new building will be constructed as part of the proposed London Cancer Hub, a global centre for innovation in cancer research and treatment. In addition to the new school, the Hub will comprise research buildings and hospital facilities as well as leisure facilities. The entrance to our school will be off the Brighton Road, on Chiltern Road. The land was purchased by the London Borough of Sutton, who are also managing the design and construction of the building. Their plans, which were submitted in December, will deliver a spectacular new building. Because of its environmentally friendly credentials, we are all proud and delighted that our building will be the first secondary school in the country to meet the Passivhaus energy performance standard. In addition to the world-class science facilities planned for the school, we will have the space and facilities we need to excel in the arts and sport. Our hall, which will also be used as a performing arts space, will be larger than the standard normally expected for schools. We will have a high quality Sport England sports hall. A separate building on the site of the London Cancer Hub will be refurbished and well-resourced for us to use during our first year of opening. We will move into our new building in time for the start of our second year in September 2019.
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Artist’s rendering
Specialisms in science and enterprise Because of the school’s location, there is an opportunity to build an outstanding specialism in science. We are already liaising with colleagues at the Institute of Cancer Research to develop our ideas for how we could make the most of our relationship and proximity to each other. In addition to all of the opportunities presented by our location, we already also employ a team of highly skilled science teachers within the Federation. They help our academies ensure students are taught science imaginatively and engagingly. The team has built links with London’s top universities and medical schools so that students have access to a huge variety of experiences and opportunities. Our enterprise specialism will centre on encouraging students to take a business-like, optimistic and can-do approach to everything they undertake. These characteristics are important in every subject and every career. The specialism will involve actively developing students’ presentation skills, initiative taking, team-working, creative problem-solving, imagination and interpersonal qualities. The two specialisms will be taught alongside a curriculum that is rich in all areas, including the arts and creative arts, humanities, sport and languages. But we will apply the scientific skills of research, creativity, innovation and investigation to every subject. This will benefit all students, whichever academic or career path they choose to follow.
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Admissions and intake We will open in September 2018 with places for 195 Year 7 students. After this, we will grow by a year group at a time until we have 975 students in Years 7–11 and 300 in the sixth form. Parents wishing to apply for a place will be able to name Harris Academy Sutton on their Common Application Form. Like all secondary schools, if we are oversubscribed, children with education, health and care plans will be offered the first places. Looked-after and previously looked-after children will have next priority. After this, we propose to prioritise students for places in the following order: 1. Siblings of children already at the school – for obvious reasons, this will only apply from September 2019; 2. The children of staff who have been recruited to teach subjects where there is a shortage of skilled staff; 3. The children living closest to the new school’s site. If you are a parent in the area and would like to be kept up-to-date about the new academy – including, for example, when the prospectus is published or when a Principal is appointed – please contact us so that we can add you to our mailing list.
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Harris Federation The Harris Federation is a not-for-profit charity. Led and run by teachers, we established our first school over 25 years ago. There are 41 happy and highly successful primary and secondary academies in our federation. We have a well-established commitment to families in Sutton and run the thriving Harris Junior Academy Carshalton in the borough. With each school that has joined us, the expectations we set ourselves have increased. Every Harris academy so far inspected by Ofsted is rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, with three quarters of our inspected secondary academies judged ‘outstanding’. In the past twelve months alone, Harris has been recognised as a top performer by researchers and data analysts at the Department for Education, Sutton Trust and Education Policy Institute as well as Watchsted and PwC. As well as joint working between the teachers at our academies, there are many shared experiences for our students. These include federation-wide sports days at the National Sports Centre and Harris Experience, a unique programme that readies our most able students for life at top universities.
Every Harris academy inspected by Ofsted has been rated
‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ 9
Find out more To meet the leaders running the school, or if you have questions or suggestions, please come to one of these venues:
Thursday 23rd February 2017, 7pm – 8pm Devonshire Primary School: Devonshire Avenue, Sutton SM2 5JL
Wednesday 1st March 2017, 6pm – 7pm The Aitken Hall, St Andrew’s Church: Northey Avenue, Cheam SM2 7HF
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We welcome your views
Please complete the form below and return it to us by
17th March 2017.
Feel free to use separate sheets of paper if you need more space. Alternatively, you can complete the form on the Harris Academy Sutton website.
Your details Name:____________________________________________________________________________________ Address (including postcode):________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ Are you the parent or carer of a child who may go to the academy?
Yes 
No
If yes, please supply your email address so we can contact you from time to time with relevant information about the new school: _________________________________________________________________________________________
Ethos and aims Harris Academy Sutton will aim to produce well-educated young men and women ready to succeed in whatever goals they set themselves in adult life. We will be open to all and have high aspirations and expectations. As a Harris academy, we will combine engaging teaching with a firm but fair emphasis on good behaviour. With the help of their teachers, students will set themselves challenging goals with a focus on academic achievement. Progress will be monitored regularly so that teachers know how each child is doing and can step in quickly if a student needs more support. Learning does not begin and end at the classroom door and we will recognise, support and nurture the wide-ranging talents of our students. Do you support this?
Yes 
No
If you have any other comments or suggestions about these aims, please add them here: _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________
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Curriculum We will have a broad and balanced curriculum, but with specialisms in science and enterprise. Do you support the specialisms we have selected?
Yes
No
If you have any comments on the proposed specialisms, please add them here: _________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ If you have any comments on the wider curriculum, please add them here: _____________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Admissions The consultation document sets out the order in which students will be prioritised for places, in the event that the academy is oversubscribed. Do you support the admissions policy we have proposed?
Yes
No
If you have any other suggestions for the admissions policy, please add them here: _____________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Signing a Funding Agreement The Department for Education will want to know that there is support for the Harris Federation opening the new school. Do you agree that the Harris Federation should sign a Funding Agreement, which will enable us to open Yes No and run the new school?
Completed forms should either be returned by post or scanned in and emailed to us. Postal address: Harris Academy Sutton c/o Harris Federation 4th Floor Norfolk House Wellesley Road Croydon CR0 1LH Email: info@harrisfederation.org.uk
Email: info@harrisfederation.org.uk T: 020 8253 7777
www.harrissutton.org.uk
@HarrisFed