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The Hathaway Academy, formerly the Grays School Media Arts College (TGSMAC or Grays School), is a
coeducational 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 ...
,
non-selective In biochemistry and pharmacology, a ligand is a Chemical substance, substance that forms a Complex (chemistry), complex with a biomolecule to serve a biological purpose. The etymology stems from ''ligare'', which means 'to bind'. In protein-lig ...
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 that is located in
Grays, Essex Grays (or Grays Thurrock) is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England. The town which is both a former civil parish and one of Thurrock's traditional Church of England parishes is located on the north ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is currently part of the
Academy Transformation Trust The Academy Transformation Trust (ATT), or alternatively the Academies Transformation Trust, is a multi-academy trust administering 21 academy schools across 10 local authority areas in England. It operates in the East of England, South East En ...
. A school has existed on the Hathaway Road site since 1931, when the John Henry Burrows Central Council School moved from nearby Bridge Road. The school became a secondary technical in 1945 and a
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
in 1971. In 1993, it was given grant-maintained status and was renamed the Grays School. In 2004, it specialised and became the Grays School Media Arts College, which closed in June 2013 with the subsequent opening of the current academy-status school. The academy school has since retained TGSMAC's specialisms, which are digital media and performing arts. Since 2015, the school has held 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 ...
rating of "good"; from 2009 it was rated "satisfactory/requires improvement", and between 2007 and 2009, it was rated "
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 ...
". The pupil demography is mostly
White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population wa ...
, with a large
Eastern European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
population. Around 30% of the pupils speak
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
as an additional language, a higher proportion than the national average. As of 2021, 64.2% of pupils were boys and 35.8% were girls, and there were 782 pupils on the roll.


History


Early years (1925–1971)

In 1925, John Henry Burrows Central Council School opened on the former site of Bridge Road Infants' School. In 1931, the school was relocated from Bridge Road to Hathaway Road. In 1935, it became a
middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
and was renamed John Henry Burrows Intermediate School. The name "John Henry Burrows" may have originated from
Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
John H. Burrows, who was influential throughout Essex, primarily in
Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
, Hadleigh,
Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...
and Grays. On 30 August 1939, the school was nearly destroyed when an aeroplane crashed into one of its
playing fields A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ''pitch'' is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. For most sports t ...
. The pilot of a
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...
from nearby
RAF Hornchurch Royal Air Force Hornchurch or RAF Hornchurch is a former Royal Air Force sector station in the parish of Hornchurch, Essex (now the London Borough of Havering in Greater London), located to the southeast of Romford. The airfield was known as Sut ...
lost control during a training exercise, and during the crash it narrowly missed the roofs of some nearby houses before crashing into the playing field. The pilot, Cyril Douglas Gower, had been flying in formation with two other Spitfire fighters when his aircraft collided with the
wingtip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...
of another and lost control. He did not survive the crash. After the end of the
European theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...
of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the school was granted secondary technical status and became Grays County Technical High School, which was abbreviated to Grays Tech. It existed from 1945 to 1968. The only confirmed
headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...
of Grays Tech was Cyril Baggs, who left in 1957 to become head of Fryerns School in
Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...
. The headmaster after Mr Baggs was Mr Dolman until at least 1960. In 1968, Grays Tech merged with
Aveley County Technical High School Ormiston Park Academy, formerly the Belhus Chase Specialist Humanities College, is now a secondary school and academy located in Aveley, Essex, England. The school was reformed as an academy in 2009 under the sponsorship of the Ormiston Academie ...
on Nethan Drive,
Aveley Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom ...
, to become Aveley and Grays Technical High School. Aveley and Grays Technical High School had one headmaster, Frederick F. Harsant. The school motto was ''Rara Avis in Terra'' ("A Rare Bird Upon the Earth"). The amalgamation remained in force until a reorganisation in 1971, when the two schools would separate. Grays Tech was henceforth known as Grays Comprehensive School, remaining at the Hathaway Road site. Aveley Tech continued operations until 1972, when as part of the reorganisation of education in Essex, Palmer's Boys' and Girls' Schools amalgamated with Aveley Tech to constitute a
sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
, which became
Palmer's College USP College (Unified Seevic Palmer's College, previously known as Seevic and Palmer's Colleges Group) is a large general further education college in Essex, England. It was established in August 2017 from the merger of Palmer's College in Gra ...
.


Grays School (1971–2013)

Grays Comprehensive School was a "social priority" school, meaning that teachers were paid extra. It was also underperforming academically. The deputy headteacher was Alan Goodwin. It became grant-maintained in 1993 and "Comprehensive" was removed from the name. By this time, the deputy headteacher was Simon Viccars. After the school was given grant-maintained status, its budget grew by 500%. In 1996, the school was granted
Investors in People Investors in People is a standard for people management, offering accreditation to organisations that adhere to the Investors in People Standard. From 1991 to January 2017, Investors in People was owned by the UK government. As of 1 February 20 ...
status and in September 1999 the school gained
foundation status In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools. Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framework A ...
. By 2001, the headteacher was James Winstone, who likely left in 2002 and was succeeded by Mark Griffin in 2003. Griffin decided to apply to the
DFES The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's services in England. Th ...
in March 2003 for the school to specialise as a visual arts college. His application was supported by Lord David Puttnam and other supporting comprehensive schools from Essex and surrounding areas. In September 2004 the school successfully specialised and became the Grays School Media Arts College. At around the same time, Deputy Head Simon Viccars left the school to become headteacher of the Leon School and Sports College in
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
. Both Tim Rider and John Marchant succeeded Viccars, and they shared the deputyship.


2007 incidents and special measures

By 2007 the Grays School Media Arts College (TGSMAC or Grays School) had a controversial reputation in the local community due to a history with students' behaviour and grades. This culminated in 2007 when incidents occurred within and in relation to the school, leading to intervention by
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 ...
and
Thurrock Council Thurrock Borough Council, usually known as simply Thurrock Council, is the local authority for the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England. Since 1997, Thurrock has been a unitary authority, combining the functions of a non-metropolitan county wit ...
. In May 2007, a fight between two 11-13-year-old students broke out in the school playground; onlookers cheered on and no staff could be found. Videos of the fight were twice uploaded to
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
but were removed. In response, Headteacher Graham Winter said he knew "nothing" about the fight and law enforcement urged the school to "look into matters and report any assault to us so that we can put an end to this violence". The same month, another incident occurred and a TGSMAC pupil was threatened at knife-point, and police had to intervene again. These incidents were brought to the attention of OFSTED, which undertook took a surprise inspection of the school in June. The inspection showed the school upheld outdated academic policies, underachieved in core subjects and had failed to provide adequate
religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...
. In September 2007, 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 ...
and faced threats of closure after an OFSTED report of the June Inspection brought to light many problems with the school. Teachers were criticised for inadequate teaching, having low expectations in lessons and failing to mark books over several months, though it was noted pupils' behaviour had improved and was deemed "satisfactory". The pupils attained the only "2" or "good" rating for the school within the report. This improvement in behaviour was temporary; in January 2008, pupils' behaviour in the school was rated as "poor" by OFSTED, which made an interim inspection earlier that month and criticised the school's lack of progress. The school was also said to have been "overgenerous" in its self-appraisal. In March that year, Thurrock Council announced the resignation of headteacher Graham Winter, who was replaced with two trouble-shooting headteachers who were brought in from
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
on March 10 as part of the school's recovery plan. These two headteachers were replaced by Deputy Head Tim Rider, who became acting head, with John Marchant becoming sole deputy.


Rider's reforms and leaving special measures

Under Tim Rider, the school began a process behavioural and structural reform, which was praised by OFSTED after their July 2008 Inspection, which noted the school was now considered satisfactory in most areas. Rider attributed the improvements to a new school ethos of togetherness, which included the implementation of policies focused on improving pupil behaviour and happiness. Pupils were encouraged to "take ownership of their school", pupil work parties were formed and a new school motto "Do Your Best Today, For A Better Tomorrow" was introduced. Other schools in
Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The l ...
, including Ockendon School, Gable Hall, and
William Edwards William Edwards may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Edwards (architect) (1719–1789), Welsh architect of the Pontypridd bridge in south Wales *William Camden Edwards (1777–1855), Welsh engraver *William Augustus Edwards (1866–1939), ...
, supported and helped implement the reforms. The headteachers of these schools provided assistance to Rider and his administration. In September 2008, Lynn Ibeji took over from Tim Rider as headteacher in a permanent capacity and continued his policies, and the school was taken out of special measures on 8 October 2009. Also in 2009, the school attained the highest average
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 for Year 11 in its history. Despite this, the school's results were behind those of The Gateway and Ormiston Park academies. Ibeji left the school in May 2012. Deputy Head John Marchant became acting headteacher.


Transition to academy

In July 2012, acting Headteacher Marchant announced Grays School Media Arts College intended to become an
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 ...
, a plan that had been in place since at least 2008, The school's governing board made the decision unanimously, with the
Academy Transformation Trust The Academy Transformation Trust (ATT), or alternatively the Academies Transformation Trust, is a multi-academy trust administering 21 academy schools across 10 local authority areas in England. It operates in the East of England, South East En ...
sponsoring its conversion in a bid for it to achieve outstanding status, the highest OFSTED rank. It was announced PE teacher James Howarth, former associate principal at
Harris Academy Peckham Harris Academy Peckham (also known as the Academy at Peckham and Peckham Academy) is a coeducational academy in Peckham, in the London Borough of Southwark. Catering for pupils from the ages of 11 to 16, the school specialises in the curriculum ...
and Harris City Academy, and the former deputy head at
Eastlea Community School Eastlea Community School is a co-educational secondary school in the London Borough of Newham in Canning Town, London E16. The school caters for 11- to 16-year-olds. The school runs a scholarship initiative in partnership with charity Eastside ...
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 ...
, would be principal of the new academy. In a questionnaire on the school website four names were proposed for the new academy: Goliath Academy (referencing the ship), Gower Academy (referencing Cyril Gower from the 1939 Spitfire incident), Thors Oak Academy (referencing the association to the name Thurrock) and Tamesis Academy (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
name for the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
which flows through the Grays area). The deadline for the vote was April 30, 2013. The school closed for a final time on June 30, 2013, and the new Hathaway Academy began operations on July 1, 2013, in preparation for the beginning of the 2013-2014
academic year An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. School holiday School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which sch ...
.


Hathaway Academy

In April 2014 celebrity actor
Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...
, whose hometown is Grays and attended Grays School as a teenager, visited the academy whilst filming a documentary. During his visit, Brand visited a drama lesson for 20 minutes; he gave analysis and feedback then stepped on stage and gave a rendition from
Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, featuring only child actors ...
, in which he acted in a Grays School production. Brand was disappointed to learn the school no longer had a library, and funded the building a new one. At an event at the
Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to m ...
Brand said; "It's a disgrace that a state school doesn't have a library funded by the state, what's going on?", referring to Hathaway Academy. In June 2014, Principal Howarth was diagnosed with
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
and took an almost-year-long
leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...
. Fatima Rodrigues overtook his duties as acting principal until September 2014, when a new interim principal, Alan Osborne, was appointed. Howarth returned as principal in April 2015 after interim Principal Dave Lee-Allan left for Stowmarket High School. From December 2015, Howarth worked part-time, taking multiple leaves of absences for the treatment of his returning lymphoma. In June 2015, OFSTED categorised Hathaway Academy as "good", reaffirming this status with a short inspection in 2018. After his cancer returned again, James Howarth announced he was stepping down from his post as principal in September 2017, appointing acting Principal Fatima Rodrigues as the new principal from November. Before leaving, Howarth gave a final speech to the staff and pupils in which he stated; "I am going to say thank you and farewell ... I made you all a promise of becoming outstanding and I am stepping off the bus before our journey is complete. I am genuinely so so so sorry." In January 2020, the school was forced to enter a state of lockdown after 2 boys were seen chasing another boy with a knife shortly before the school was due to close that day. No-one was harmed and the school returned to normal the next day. In March 2020 the school closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
and moved to online learning via
Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams is a proprietary business communication platform developed by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft 365 family of products. Teams primarily competes with the similar service Slack, offering workspace chat and videoconferencin ...
. The school reopened in September 2020 but closed again soon after due to a rise of cases in the school. The school again reopened on March 8, 2021, in accordance with government guidelines.


Governance

Like most academies in England, Hathaway Academy is run by an academy trust: the Academy Transformation Trust. Day-to-day school administration is run by a
senior leadership team Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
consisting of the associate principals, vice principals and the head principal. There is also a local academy committee made up of
governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
who scrutinise the senior leadership team and are permitted to intervene in administration should the school's standards decline. There is also a leadership team made up of pupils who applied in Year 9 as
apprentices Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
. It has three ranks through which pupils can advance as they age: Year 9 and 10 apprentices, Year 11
prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...
s and head boy and head girl.


House system


Grays School Media Arts College

The Grays School Media Arts College introduced a house system consisting of four colleges (houses, three junior and one senior; these were named Tate, Chaucer, Holmes and Puttnam. Puttnam was named after Lord David Puttnam, the school's main sponsor in its bid to become an arts college. The colleges were split between KS3 with
Year 10 Year 10 is the tenth year of compulsory education in schools in many countries including England, Australia, India, Northern Ireland, New Zealand and Wales. It is the tenth or eleventh year of compulsory education. It is approximately equivalent ...
and the senior
Year 11 Year 11 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is the eleventh or twelfth year of core education. For some Year 11 students it is their final year ...
; at Year 11, students would leave their college and enter Puttnam, the senior college. The colleges aimed to create a family environment and were intended to recognise every student, not deterring them from making mistakes. There was also a fifth house named Austen.


Hathaway Academy

In September 2013, Principal James Howarth introduced a new "faculty system" for the Hathaway Academy. The school is segregated into three faculties (houses), each of which is represented by a colour; these are Purpose (red), Engagement (yellow) and Self-Worth (green). Pupils are placed into one of the faculties on their first day and the school's departments are divided between them. For example, Engagement contains the maths department and Self-Worth contains the science department.


Admissions

The Grays County Technical High School was selective and required all applicants to pass the 11-plus exam. The Hathaway Academy is coeducational and comprehensive, meaning pupils of both sexes are admitted and are not restricted by academic achievement or aptitude. The school is supported by four feeder schools in the local area. The Grays School Media Arts College was also coeducational and comprehensive, but offered boarding to its students. As a
state school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...
, all admissions to the school are free of charge. The school's admissions policy is dictated by the Academy Transformation Trust in coordination with Thurrock Council. Once the school's pupil admission number (PAN) is oversubscribed, applicants are preferred if they fall under the following factors by order of priority: * Looked after children/previously looked after children (supported by or in the care of the local authority which in this case is Thurrock Council). * Current pupils' siblings (has to live at the same address with a common parent to qualify). * Children of permanent staff members at the Hathaway who have served for more than two years. * Children attending Academy Transformation Trust primary schools or attending feeder schools (has to be attending at the time of the application). * Children living closest to the school (measured at a straight-line distance from the school to the address stated and based on the school's catchment area). Children who have been allocated to attend the Hathaway Academy by the government due to special needs or an education, health and care plan must by law be approved by the school. Should two or more students tie for the school's final spare slot after over-subscription, their names will be placed in a hat and selected by someone independent of the school or trust's staff. Qualifying siblings of current pupils bypass this process and are all admitted together. Applicants who are denied a place are placed onto a waiting list and can enrol to the school should a place be opened. Alternatively, they can appeal to an "independent appeals panel". Children can also apply mid-way through the academic year and will be placed onto the same waiting list as those applicants who were denied.


Extracurricular activities


Grays School

In the early 2000s, Grays School offered pupils out-of-hours extracurricular activities; this included fishing and
Warhammer Warhammer may refer to: * War hammer, a medieval weapon Warhammer media franchise *''Warhammer'', a series of games and related media: ** ''Warhammer'' (game), a table-top fantasy miniature wargame, and origin of the franchise ** ''Warhammer Fan ...
gaming. The school also offered to hold support classes for parents, in which finance management and desktop publishing were taught. There were also clubs for chess, Spanish, MFL, PE, science and drama. The music department provided music lessons for £13.50 a term and instruments could be hired for £5. The department also had a jazz band and a vocal group, both of whom performed at local primary schools, school concerts, school assemblies and a local
IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
shop. From 25 to 27 April 2003, the school held a "Craft for a Cause" workshop to support its bid to become a specialist school. Contests were held, and pupils and parents were invited to a
silent auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
. A raffle was also held, the proceeds of which were donated to the specialist school initiative. In 2007, TGSMAC hosted Grays Youth Theatre, which held classes every Wednesday evening. From 6 October, Grays Youth Theatre established two drama groups in preparation for a play that was to be showcased in June 2008, and offered sessions for 6-13-year-olds in one of the school's demountables. In 2011, TGSMAC collaborated with the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
to provide a drama workshop over the Easter holidays.


Hathaway Academy

Hathaway Academy provides out-of-hours clubs such as DnD and Creative writing and pupils are allowed to participate in school productions for music, art, drama and media. The school also provides after-school football sessions via its partnership with
West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, h ...
The school also hosts a church called the Proclaimer's Sanctuary.


Campus

Hathaway Academy occupies five building blocks and the PE department. There is an
assembly hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the st ...
, a library and a vocational centre. The school reception was relocated to the front of one of the buildings in a bid to make the school more inviting. The school also has a car park, a visitors' entrance and a pupil reception entrance. The school's main building was constructed in 1932. This building is centred around a quad, which is surrounded by the school's technology and maths blocks. In June 2015, after a period of deterioration, this quad was renovated with foliage and a new garden, which was complemented by an adjoining repaint. The school had previously failed to maintain the quad after some years of underfunding. In 2013, Grays School began demolishing old, disused demountables and replacing them with a new building in preparation for academy status. Once complete, the building would house two food technology rooms and become part of the school's D-block. Hathaway Academy was renovated in early 2015; according to the Principal James Howarth; "It's a complete transformation. A building that looked completely unattractive is now one where children comment regularly that they feel happier coming to school, and that environment is where learning and progress happens without any question of a doubt. This is amazing." Since then, more renovations have been done to make safe dangerous
asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
panelling within its buildings. The asbestos panels were encased in
aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
to mitigate the risks of exposure and contamination. A house owned by the school's old caretaker is rented to its teachers. In October 2017 ten teachers jointly rented the house. The school is located on Hathaway Road and
Grays railway station Grays railway station is on the London, Tilbury and Southend line serving the town of Grays, Essex. It is down the line from London Fenchurch Street via and is located at the junction where a branch line from via re-joins the route from Ra ...
is nearby. It also neighbours a large
council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
.


Awards and recognition

In 1996, Grays School was awarded
Investors in People Investors in People is a standard for people management, offering accreditation to organisations that adhere to the Investors in People Standard. From 1991 to January 2017, Investors in People was owned by the UK government. As of 1 February 20 ...
, which it retained in 1999 and 2002. Hathaway Academy has held the Diversity Mark Gold award for some time, and was last assessed for retainment in November 2020, and Gold status was confirmed in December 2020. In 2019, the academy signed an "agreement of affiliation" with the Grays branch of the
Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...
. This was likely a reaction to the school's 15-year record of collecting the most donations to the
Poppy Appeal A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to g ...
in the area.


Teaching awards

In 2016,
business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...
teacher Emma Hughes was awarded at the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
for her "outstanding contribution to the academy". Her award was presented by
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
John Spellar John Francis Spellar (born 5 August 1947) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Warley, formerly Warley West, since 1992. A member of the Labour Party, he previously represented Birmingham Northfield from 198 ...
.


Notable visitors

In 1993 the Grays School began inviting high-profile guests and organisations to visit the school and present awards. This tradition was continued by the Hathaway Academy. Some noteworthy visitors such as Russell Brand visit on their own volition.


Grays School

* Lord David Puttnam * Lord John Petre, 18th Baron Petre * Lord Alfred Dubs * Baroness Angela Smith of Basildon *
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
gold medallist
Louis Attrill Louis Mark Attrill MBE is a British rower and Olympic gold medallist. Career Attrill took up rowing at Shanklin Rowing Club on the Isle of Wight and won novice at Milford regatta. The following year he furthered his interest in the sport at I ...
*
Lloyd Scott Lloyd Scott, MBE (born 13 October 1961) is an English former professional football goalkeeper and now charity fundraiser, best known in the UK for his charity marathons. He is notable for competing in the 2002 London Marathon in a deep-sea ...
* Hastings College Nebraska *
Jackie Doyle-Price Jacqueline Doyle-Price (born 5 August 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician and former civil servant. She was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Thurrock in the 2010 general election. In September 2022, she was app ...


Hathaway Academy

* Russell Brand * Channel 5 * Sir Jack Petchey and his Jack Petchey Foundation *
Jermaine Jenas Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham ...
*
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 ...
* Gareth Thomas *
Polly Billington Polly Billington (born 1967) is a former BBC journalist who worked on the ''Today'' programme before becoming a special advisor to Ed Miliband. She was the media director for his successful bid in the 2010 Labour leadership election. Billingto ...
*
Emma Freud Emma Vallencey Freud (born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator. Early life Freud was born in London on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud (1924–2009) and June ...
*John Spellar


Notable former pupils


Grays School

*
Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...
(1986–1991),
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
actor, comedian and the divorcee of
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
.Brand, Russell, "''
My Booky Wook ''My Booky Wook'' is a memoir, written by English comedian and actor Russell Brand, published in 2007 by Hodder & Stoughton. It was released in North America and Australia in 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers. Summary This warts-and-all account ...
''", Hodder & Stoughton, 2007
* Allen Mayes (1998–2003),
Thurrock Council Thurrock Borough Council, usually known as simply Thurrock Council, is the local authority for the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England. Since 1997, Thurrock has been a unitary authority, combining the functions of a non-metropolitan county wit ...
Councillor for Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park. Allen Mayes, 2019 Thurrock Council election 2019


Hathaway Academy

* Emmanuel Temitayo Oyinbo-Coker (2013-2018)
2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...
Gold Medallist.


Headteachers and deputy heads


Headteachers and principals

Below is a list of the known headteachers and principals of the many iterations of the school. Due to the undocumented nature of much of the school's history it is likely that some heads and principals are missing.


Deputy heads and vice principals

Below is a list of the known deputy Heads and vice principals of the school. Due to the undocumented nature of much of the school's history it is likely that some deputies and vices are missing.


References


External links


School websiteMr. Viccars' Condolence Page
{{authority control Secondary schools in Thurrock Academies in Thurrock Grays, Essex Educational institutions established in 1925 1925 establishments in England Specialist arts colleges in England