Harris Academy Battersea Rated 'Outstanding'
Harris Academy Battersea is the latest Harris Federation academy to receive an ‘Outstanding’ rating following an Ofsted inspection.
Rated ‘Inadequate’ when it joined the Harris Federation just over three years ago, this year’s school performance tables placed Harris Academy Battersea as the highest performing school in Wandsworth and ranked it as one of the top performing schools in London. In 2017, it was named Evening Standard School of the Year for academic excellence and one of the Sunday Times’ Top 20 Schools in the country.
The report commends the outstanding behaviour of pupils which is described as ‘exemplary’ by the inspectors and highlights the Academy’s ‘outstanding leadership’ and ‘unwavering commitment’ of staff as drivers of the Academy’s success.
Ofsted also particularly praised the Academy for its support for disadvantaged students, who make ‘excellent progress’ whilst at the Academy. The Academy has been ranked as the fourth best school in the whole country for its pupil progress two years in a row.
This means that 90% of the Federation’s secondary schools are now ‘Outstanding’.
Read the full report here.
David Moody, Principal, said:
“It’s been an incredible few years at Harris Academy Battersea and this Ofsted rating really is the icing on the cake. We are thrilled with the comments from the inspectors as they recognise what we know is true every day at Harris Academy Battersea.
“This ‘Outstanding’ rating is testament to the commitment and hard work of the entire team - our staff, governors, the Harris Federation, parents and pupils - who put so much energy into making our school not only a fantastic place to learn, but a place that can transform the life chances of many young people.”
Dr. Chris Tomlinson, Regional Director of Harris Secondary academies, said:
“Many generations of families had been let down by the failing predecessor school so I am particularly proud that the local community now has an ‘Outstanding’ school it can be proud of. This change has not been achieved by changing the building or changing our intake – but by changing what happens in the classrooms and setting high expectations of every student, no matter what their starting point.”