Harris Garrard Academy (formerly Business Academy Bexley) is a 4–18 mixed,

all-through school All-through schools educate young people throughout multiple stages of their education, generally throughout childhood and adolescence. Definition The term "all-through" can be legitimately applied to establishments in many different circumstan ...

and

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 ...

with academy status in

Thamesmead Thamesmead is an area of south-east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly consi ...

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies nort ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, England. It was established in 2002 and 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

Business Academy Bexley was established in 2002 as a city academy, 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) ...

under the sponsorship of 3E's Enterprises (later acquired by

GEMS Education GEMS Education, founded as Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), is an Indian Emirati-based education company. It is a global advisory and educational management firm, and is the largest operator of kindergarten-to-grade-12 schools in th ...

), and property developer

David Garrard David Douglas Garrard (born February 14, 1978) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at East Carolina and wa ...

, chairman of the Minerva group, who donated £2.5 million. The school relocated to dedicated premises in September 2003 and the primary school section opened in 2004. As of 2007 the total enrollment was 1,477. The school was constructed on a site at a cost of £31m. Architect

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

designed the building, which was nominated for the 2004

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

, and some parts have been compared to "a smart City office". However the Academy didn't make the progress expected and by 2007 was languishing at the bottom of the School League tables for Bexley. In 2008 GCSE results and value added placed it ahead of a number of other non-selective schools in Bexley. In 2010 the school had a deficit of £500,000, largely for repairs to the "incredibly expensive to run" seven-year-old building, but also to attract staff. The school had had a high turnover of headteachers and pupil enrolment had fallen to about 1,100 exacerbating the deficit. On 25 September 2011 The Business Academy Bexley was featured on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's programme 'Derren Brown: How to be a Psychic Spy'. The school was placed 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 ...

during 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 on 11 and 12 May 2016. Due to the schools poor Ofsted inspection, the

took over the school and renamed it the Harris Garrard Academy from January 2017. After joining the Federation the primary school section was granted a

Literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

specialism.

References

External links

* {{authority control Garrard Primary schools in the London Borough of Bexley Secondary schools in the London Borough of Bexley Academies in the London Borough of Bexley School buildings completed in 2003 Educational institutions established in 2002 2002 establishments in England Specialist humanities colleges in England