Mulberry Academy Shoreditch is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

for students aged between 11–18 in the

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

neighbourhood of the Borough of Tower Hamlets in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. It has previously been called the Green Spring Academy Shoreditch, Bethnal Green Academy, Bethnal Green Technology College, Bethnal Green High School, Daneford School, and Daniel Street School.

History

Mulberry Academy Shoreditch originated as Mansford Secondary School, which was founded in 1896, and Daniel Street School, founded in 1900. In the 1940s, the

Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

attended Daniel Street. In 1959, the two schools merged to create Daneford School (a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordssecondary modern A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

on Gosset Street. In 1965, Daneford acquired new buildings designed by

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

, and became a

single-sex school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

for boys. It acquired comprehensive status in 1973. Mulberry Academy Shoreditch (2)

From the late 1970s, the area of East London around Daneford started experiencing increasing racial tensions, and

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

students at Daneford experienced racist attacks. The Campaign Against Racism in Schools (CARS) was set up at Daneford, and teachers took part in demonstrations campaigning for the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corpor ...

(ILEA) to adopt an anti-racist policy. In 1982, The Daneford Trust was founded at the school, a charity that facilitates youth overseas exchanges. In 1997, Daneford School became Bethnal Green High School when it became

and started accepting female students. Shortly after, its name changed again to Bethnal Green Technology College. In 2005, the school went into

special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. In education (England and Wales) Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Ter ...

as a result of an

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

inspection. The headteacher resigned and was replaced by an interim headteacher, Keith Holt. Mark Keary was appointed headteacher in June 2006 and in 2007 the school came out of special measures. Keary was praised by

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

in a 2008 visit for the use of teachers from the

Teach First Teach First (also Teach First Cymru) is a social enterprise registered as a charity which aims to address educational disadvantage in England and Wales. Teach First coordinates an employment-based teaching training programme whereby participa ...

scheme in the school. In 2010, the school benefitted from a £17 million refurbishment with money from the

Building Schools for the Future Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...

scheme. Controversially, in July 2011 the governors of the school voted to adopt

status. The decision was said to split the local Labour Party group on

Tower Hamlets London Borough Council Tower Hamlets London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, curr ...

. The school became Bethnal Green Academy in January 2012 and a

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

was opened in September that year. Bethnal Green Academy was rated 'Outstanding' in an Ofsted inspection in December 2012. In December 2014, a female pupil at the school,

Sharmeena Begum Sharmeena Begum (born 1999) is a jihadi bride who left the United Kingdom to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in December 2014. Two months later, in February 2015, her school friends Amira Abase, Shamima Begum, and Kadiza ...

, left the UK to join the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL). In February 2015, three more female pupils known as the

Bethnal Green trio The Bethnal Green trio are Amira Abase, Shamima Begum, and Kadiza Sultana, three British girls who attended the Bethnal Green Academy in London before leaving home in February 2015 to join the Islamic State. According to the Institute for Strate ...

Shamima Begum Shamima Begum (born 25 August 1999) is a British born woman, who left the UK in 2015 aged 15. She obtained entry to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In February 2019, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, acting for th ...

, Amira Abase, and Kadiza Sultana - left via Turkey to join ISIL. Five further female pupils at the school were subject to a travel ban and were made wards of court to prevent them leaving the country. Counter-extremism officers from the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

investigated the school. In order to shake off the negative associations, the school was renamed Green Spring Academy Shoreditch in 2015. At the request of the

AQA AQA, formerly the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, is an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It compiles specifications and holds examinations in various subjects at GCSE, AS and A Level and offers vocational qu ...

and

Pearson Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education *Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada *Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies *Pearson PLC, a UK-based int ...

exam boards, an independent investigation was launched into allegations of exam-fixing at the school. Its conclusion led to several staff, including the headteacher Mark Keary, being suspended in February 2017. Several teachers left following the disciplinary process. Keary launched an

Employment Tribunal Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, red ...

claim in response, arguing wrongful dismissal and disability discrimination. In 2019, he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Teaching Regulation Agency. In September 2018, the school was transferred to the control of the Mulberry Schools Trust and renamed Mulberry Academy Shoreditch.

Alumni

– British teenager who went to ISIL controlled lands to be a bride of ISIL member *

– former bride of ISIL member (unrelated to above) *

Anwar Choudhury Anwar Bakht Choudhury ( bn, আনোয়ার বখত চৌধুরী; born 15 June 1959) is a British diplomat of Bangladeshi origin. He was Governor of the Cayman Islands until he was recalled in June 2018 after less than three month ...

– diplomat *

Micky Flanagan Michael John Flanagan (born 7 October 1962) is an English comedian. Flanagan has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured Britain with stand-up shows. He presented ''Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?'' for Radio 4 and has appeared on vario ...

– comedian * Delwar Hussain – writer and anthropologist *

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

– actor and original castmember on ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' *

Isaac Julien Sir Isaac Julien (born 21 February 1960Annette Kuhn"Julien, Isaac (1960–)" BFI Screen Online.) is a British installation artist, filmmaker, and distinguished professor of the arts at UC Santa Cruz. Early life Julien was born in the East End ...

– artist and filmmaker *

– gangsters *

Michael McMillan Michael McMillan (born 1962) is a British playwright, artist, curator and educator, born in England to parents who were migrants from St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).John H. Stracey – former professional boxer * Shafique Uddin – artist *

Michael Watson Michael Watson (born 15 March 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1991. He held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and challenged three times for a world title between 1990 and 1991. Wats ...

– former professional boxer

References

External links

* * Daneford Trust - Tony Stevens {{authority control Academies in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Secondary schools in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Bethnal Green