Harris Academy Morden (formerly Bishopsford Art College) is a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

with academy status in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. The school is part of the

Harris Federation Harris Federation is a multi-academy trust of 52 primary and secondary academies in and around London. They are sponsored by Philip Harris (Lord Harris of Peckham). Description With 52 academies in London and Essex, the Harris Federation educates ...

History

The school opened in 1999, and by 2003 it was one of the top schools in Merton. However, this was not always the case. Previously, the school was named Garth High School, though it was a failing school and changed its name to Watermeads in 1995, before finally closing in August 1999. It is built on the land previously occupied by Catherine Gladstone Convalescent Home. In summer 2008, Bishopsford announced their best-ever

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

results – 57% achieved 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C. In the early days of February 2012 it was announced that the school would be changed to Harris Academy Morden in September 2013 after failing its latest

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 Harris Academy opened in September 2013. and was inspected by Ofsted in December 2014. There had been some staff changes and the principal was praised for addressing the previous weaknesses. The changes had not filtered through into the pupils results so the school was graded as 'Good'. A second full Ofsted in June 2018 upgraded this judgement to 'Outstanding'.

Description

This is a small secondary school situated on a large six-acre site in South London. The school had been successful using a three-year Key Stage 4, but when Ofsted warned

Impington Village College Impington Village College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Impington in the English county of Cambridgeshire. The buildings of 1938/9 by Walter Gropius and Maxwell Fry are Grade I listed. The school opened in 1939, two we ...

that it could not be 'Outstanding' using this curriculum model, it has reverted to the 3+2, three-year Key Stage 3/ two-year Key Stage 4.

Curriculum

Students entering the school in September 2020 as eleven year olds join year 7 and start the three year

Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...

. The school does not stream students. Virtually all maintained schools and academies follow the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...

, and are inspected by Ofsted on how well they succeed in delivering a 'broad and balanced curriculum'. In Key Stage 4, the school endeavours to get all its students to achieve the

English Baccalaureate The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...

(EBACC) qualification- this must include core subjects a modern or ancient foreign language, and either History or Geography. Here the language is Spanish.

References

External links

School website
{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Merton Academies in the London Borough of Merton

Morden Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Pa ...

Morden Educational institutions established in 1999 1999 establishments in England