City of London Academy Highbury Grove
City of London Academy Highbury Grove, previously Highbury Grove School, is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school in the London Borough of Islington, and is run by the City of London Academy Trust.[1] It covers the age range 11 to 18 as part of ic6 sixth form college which teaches both A-levels and BTEC courses. The Principal (head teacher) is Aimee Lyall and the Executive Principal is Clare Verga, who is responsible for two other schools run by the Trust in Islington.
History
Highbury Grove School began life as an all-boys comprehensive in 1967. The founding headmaster was Dr Rhodes Boyson. It was created out of three former boys' schools in the area, Highbury Grammar School, Barnsbury Boys' School, and Laycock School, as part of a comprehensivisation scheme by the then Inner London Education Authority.[2] Boyson introduced a regime of strict discipline, including caning for misbehaviour. Excellent academic results were achieved, and the school was soon heavily oversubscribed.[2]
Boyson left in 1974 after being elected a Conservative MP; in the 1980s he was to become an education minister under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The school moved into a new, modern building on the same site in December 2009.
In its December 2016 Ofsted report the school was described as "inadequate" by Ofsted, with particular concerns about discipline, pupil progress, and finances.[3] In January 2017, the head teacher Tom Sherrington abruptly left the school, which was put into special measures. This led to the school being taken over in September by the City of London Academy Trust. In September, Ofsted inspectors revisited the school and found a “well-ordered environment in which pupils behave well”. [4]
Students
The school has approximately 1,200 pupils.[4] A sizeable proportion of pupils have English as their second language. Over half the pupils are from Black Caribbean, Black African and Bangladeshi groups and about one third of pupils are from Turkish and other minority ethnic groups. Well over half of the pupils have been assessed with learning difficulties, disabilities, or literacy, dyslexia or language needs as well as there being a school joint to the same building called 'Samuel Rhodes' (a school helping people who have needs and disabilities).[clarification needed]
Notable former pupils
- Charlie Allen - local but Savile Row style tailor and designer. Sometime England kit designer.
- Micky Droy - Professional Footballer for Chelsea F. C
- Peter Ebdon - Professional snooker player and former world champion.
- Hogan Ephraim - Professional footballer for Queens Park Rangers F.C. currently on loan at Whitehawk
- Joe Swash - Actor and Television presenter.
- Frank Warren - Boxing Promoter
- Jake Wood (Max Branning) EastEnders - Actor
- Sid Owen (Ricky Butcher) EastEnders - Actor
- Jason Chue (Wookie) - Musician/Producer/DJ
- Adebayo Akinfenwa (The Beast) - Professional footballer for Wycombe Wanderers
References
- ^ "City of London Academy Highbury Grove" (City of London Academy Highbury Grove). 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ a b Rhodes Boyson, Oversubscribed: The Story of Highbury Grove School, London, 1974. ISBN 0-7062-3385-9
- ^ Ofsted report for Highbury Grove.
- ^ a b Alwakeel, Ramzy; Morris, James (6 February 2017). "Highbury Grove placed in special measures after damning Ofsted report - meaning it will become academy". Islington Gazette. London.