Phoenix Academy 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 ...

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) ...

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 ...

located in

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

area of

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

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.

History

Prior to 1982 there were two schools on the current site of Phoenix High School: Christopher Wren Boys' School and Hammersmith County Girls' School. In 1982, these two

single-sex schools 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 ...

were merged into one co-educational

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 ...

on a single campus. This school was named Hammersmith School, with the two major wings named Wren Wing and County Wing to denote the previous school buildings. At the time of merging, the combined pupil population was 2,200. By the early 1990s, both the pupil population and educational standards at Hammersmith School had fallen and it was judged 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 ...

to be a failing school. A relaunching and rebranding of the school to The Hammersmith School failed to improve standards, and in November 1991 a major fire started by pupils in Wren Wing building caused extensive damage. In 1994 the school had been placed in

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 was listed as one of the eight most challenging schools in England and the school population had fallen to 500 pupils. 'Superhead' William Atkinson was appointed as headteacher to attempt to turn around the school's fortunes, and it was relaunched as Phoenix High School. In 2003 it had 759 students, of whom 429 were boys. In 2007 it was reported by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

to be the "most improved school" in the United Kingdom, judged by "league tables" of results. Headmaster Atkinson was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in the 2008

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

for "services to education and community relations". Following Sir William's departure, the school once again declined into special measures, in May 2016. Following this, Michael Taylor took over the leadership of the school. the school became 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 ...

in September 2016 and was renamed Phoenix Academy. Michael Taylor left at the end of the 2017 academic year, making way for a new leadership team for 2017/18.

Description

This is a small academy that is managed by

Future Academies Future Academies is a multi-academy trust running 10 primary and secondary schools, plus a teacher training college, in London and Hertfordshire in England. The trust's motto is ''Libertas Per Cultum'' (freedom through education). It was set u ...

Trust, who strongly believe in a knowledge centred curriculum, and one that is focused on the classics normally only taught in private schools. As such all

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 ...

pupils are taught

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 ...

, though this is not offered in

Key Stage 4 Key Stage 4 (KS4) is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other examinations, in maintained schools in England normally known as Year 10 and Year 11, when pupils are aged between 14 and 16 by August 31. ...

. In the sixth form students can study Ancient History and Latin. The cohort of student contains a higher than average number from disadvantaged backgrounds and a higher than average number who speak English as a second language, while the number of students with

Special Education Needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the United Kingdom refers to the education of children who require different education provision to the mainstream system. Definition The definiti ...

is broadly the same as in other English schools.

Notable former pupils

* Wes Foderingham (b. 1991), professional footballer * Chris Moore (footballer, born 1980)

Christopher Wren Boys' School

* Vigen Boyadjian (b. 1949), founder of the information technology company ''

Viglen Viglen Ltd provides IT products and services, including storage systems, servers, workstations and data/voice communications equipment and services. History The company was formed in 1975, by Vigen Boyadjian. During the 1980s, the company s ...

'' *

Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; yi, יראַ גראָססעל; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor, film producer, and singer, best remembered for playing Cochise in '' Broken Arrow'' (1950), for which he was no ...

(b. 1959), professional footballer *

Paul Cook Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene. Early life and career Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...

(b. 1956), pop music drummer *

Les Ferdinand Leslie Ferdinand MBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and television pundit, who is currently the director of football at Queens Park Rangers. A striker, his playing career included notable sp ...

(b.1966-), former professional footballer, director at Queens Park Rangers, F.C. * Tony Goodgame (b. 1946), professional footballer * Steve Jones (b.1955–), pop music guitarist *

Jeffery Kissoon Jeffery Kissoon (born 4 September 1947) is an actor with credits in British theatre, television, film and radio. He has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company at venues such as the Royal National Theatre, under directors including Peter ...

(b. 1947), actor * George Lawrence (b. 1962) former professional footballer *

Wally Nightingale Warwick Alan "Wally" Nightingale (3 January 1956 – 6 May 1996) was an English guitarist. He founded the band that went on to become the Sex Pistols. Early life Nightingale was born in West Kensington, London. He attended Christopher Wren B ...

(1956–1996), founder of the band that went on to become

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

* Steve Parsons (b 1957), former professional footballer * Don Shanks (b 1952), professional footballer * Alex Stewart (1964–2016), professional boxer * Very Rev Victor Stock (b. 1944), clergyman * '' Stray'', pop music band * Mike Trim (b. 1945), artist *

John Weider John Weider (born 21 April 1947) is an English rock musician who plays guitar, bass, and violin. He is best known as the guitarist for the Animals from 1966 to 1968. He was also the bass player for Family from 1969 to 1971. Biography Early c ...

(b. 1947), pop musician *

Kevin McGrath Kevin David McGrath (born March 1963) is a British Businessperson, businessman, philanthropist. and Executive Producer of an Oscar and BAFTA Winning Film Early career McGrath graduated from the Polytechnic of the South Bank (renamed Lon ...

DL OBE (b.1963) High Sheriff of Greater London 2014/15 *

Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He is the president of Serie B side Como 1907. He is best known for having spent the majority of his ca ...

(b. 1966), professional footballer

Hammersmith County Girls' School

Mo Abudu Mosunmola Abudu, also known as ''Mo Abudu'', (born 11 September 1964), is a Nigerian media mogul, philanthropist, and former human resources management consultant. She has been described by Forbes as "Africa's Most Successful Woman", and rated ...

(b. 1964), television presenter *

Sheyla Bonnick Sheyla Bonnick is a singer/songwriter, performer, co-producer, fashion designer, author, talent scout, reiki healer and games designer. Early life Bonnick was born in Jamaica in the 1950s. Her mother was a teacher and a seamstress and her ...

, singer *

Heather Small Heather Margarita Small (born 20 January 1965) is a British soul singer and former lead vocalist of the band M People. Her subsequent debut solo studio album, ''Proud'', was released in 2000. Career 1987–1998: Hot House and M People Small ...

(b. 1965) singer

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 1974 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1974 Academies in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham White City, London