Capital City Academy (commonly abbreviated to CCA) is a specialist

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

and

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

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 ...

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

, North West

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 ...

, in the

borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London boroughs, London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow to the north-west, London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the north-east, London Borough of Camden ...

Design

The School was designed by architect

Sir Norman Foster ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

and engineers

Buro Happold Buro Happold (previously ''BuroHappold Engineering'') is a British professional services firm that provides engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for buildings, infrastructure, and the environment ...

, and is sponsored by Sir Frank Lowe. Capital City Academy was built to replace its predecessor Willesden High School. Its buildings on the high school's playing fields were first used in 2003 and officially opened on 12 June 2003.

Location

It is situated near Willesden Sport
Stadium
and King Edward VII Sports Ground. Although near

Willesden Green Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed p ...

, the school is in the parish o
All Souls

. The school is also located not far from

Roundwood Park Roundwood Park is a public park in Willesden, London, measuring a total of 26.5 acres, or approximately 10.27 hectares. It was originally known in the 19th century as Knowles Hill (its name coming from the Knowles Tower nearby), or Hunger Hill ...

History

The school began as Willesden County Grammar School on Uffington Road (off Doyle Gardens) in 1924 and the buildings were extended in 1932. It was one of five grammar schools run by the Willesden Education Committee from 1947. In September 1940, a bomb destroyed four classrooms; a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

landed nearby in 1944 at the junction of Doyle Gardens an
All Souls Avenue
For one year in 1966 it became Willesden Grammar-Technical School when it amalgamated with Willesden School of Engineering in Goodson Road earlier known as Leopold Road Comprehensive. In September 1967, it joined with Pound Lane School o
Pound Lane
to become a comprehensive school known as Willesden High School. In 2003, it became one of the first thre
academies
in England, with the aim of attempting to overcome educational underachievement in deprived areas. At the time, Willesden High School had some of the worst GCSE results in the UK.

Notable visits

Former UK Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

opened the Academy.

Frank McCourt Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book ''Angela's Ashes'', a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood. Early life and education Frank McC ...

the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of

Angela's Ashes ''Angela's Ashes: A Memoir'' is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt, with various anecdotes and stories of his childhood. The book details his very early childhood in Brooklyn, New York, US but focuses primarily on his life ...

visited and signed copies of his books for the Gifted education group of students, reviewing the Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway Medal nominations of the year.

CCA in Media

The Children

'' The Children'' was a TV Mini Series aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in September 2008. The main character was a

headteacher 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 ...

played by ''

Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series ''Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...

'' actor,

Kevin Whately Kevin Whately (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the British comedy drama ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas ''Inspector Morse'' 1987–2000 and ...

. The scenes set at his school were filmed in the academy, with actual students, as extras.

Teachers TV

The Academy has been filmed for

Teachers TV Teachers TV was a UK government–funded website and former free-to-air distance education television channel which operated from 2005–2011. The website provided video and support materials for those who work in education, including teachers ...

a number of times most notably in its first two years. where it goes into depth about the school on the original site of the Academy, Willesden High School.

Sports Hall

The Academy's main sports hall is home to the

PAWS London Capital London Capital, officially called PAWS London Capital in reference to their partnership with PAWS Foundation, were a basketball team based in London, England. The team competed in the British Basketball League for a three-year period in 2007-20 ...

basketball team, one of the leading clubs based in the capital city. Having recently featured in the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

for three years, the Caps currently compete in Division 1 of the

English Basketball League The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 4 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish B ...

Alumni

Capital City Academy

Ricardo P. Lloyd Ricardo P Lloyd (born 20 November 1993) is a British actor and presenter. He began his career in theatre, appearing in productions, including those by Shakespeare's Globe. In 2020, ''The Voice'' named him one of the Top 20 to watch out for. In ...

, British actor

Wilesden High School

Dave Beasant David John Beasant (; born 20 March 1959) is an English football coach and former football goalkeeper. As a player, he was a goalkeeper, who notably played top-flight football for Wimbledon, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Southampton and Nottingham ...

, goalkeeper *

Luther Blissett Luther Loide Blissett (born 1 February 1958) is a former professional footballer and manager who played for the England national team during the 1980s. Born in Jamaica, Blissett played as a striker, and is best known for his time at Watford, ...

, striker with

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Phillip DeFreitas Phillip Anthony Jason "Daffy" DeFreitas (born 18 February 1966) is an English former cricketer. He played county cricket for Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Leicestershire, Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire and Derbyshire County Cri ...

, cricketer, fast bowler for

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 ...

Shane Richie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the charac ...

Alfie Moon Alfie Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Shane Richie. He made his first appearance on 21 November 2002, and left on 25 December 2005. He returned to ''EastEnders'' on 21 September 2010, following the ...

in ''

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 ...

'', former husband of

Coleen Nolan Coleen Patricia Nolan (born 12 March 1965) is an English singer, television personality, and author. She was a member of the girl group The Nolans from 1980 to 1994, in which she sang with her sisters. Since 2000, Nolan has been a regular panell ...

Eugene Ankomah Eugene Ankomah (born 8 June 1978) is a self-taught British contemporary visual artist of Ghanaian descent, with an art career that has spanned more than eighteen years. Early life Born and raised in the London Borough of Brent, northwest Lond ...

, Contemporary visual artist

Willesden County Grammar School

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

, renowned animator and creator of ''

Thunderbirds (TV series) ''Thunderbirds'' is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It was made between 1964 and 1966 using a form of el ...

'' *

Roy Battersby Roy Battersby (born 20 April 1936) is a British television director, known for his work in drama productions such as '' Between The Lines'', ''Inspector Morse'', '' Cracker'' and ''A Touch of Frost.'' Early in his career, he made documentary fea ...

, television director * Les Buck, General Secretary from 1962-77 of the

National Union of Sheet Metal Workers, Coppersmiths, Heating and Domestic Engineers The National Union of Sheet Metal Workers, Coppersmiths, Heating and Domestic Engineers was a trade union in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History The union was founded in July 1920 as the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Braziers wit ...

* Stuart Carne CBE, GP * Carl Cushnie, first black entrepreneur to enter Britain's richest 500 people (number 312) in 1998, becoming Britain's richest black businessman, sentenced for six years for fraud. *

Liz Gebhardt Elisabeth Anne Gebhardt (12 April 1945 – 10 August 1995) was an English actress, best known for playing the part of form 5C pupil Maureen Bullock in the LWT sitcom ''Please Sir!'' (1968–71) and in the subsequent spin-off show, ''The Fenn St ...

, actress *

Ron Goodwin Ronald Alfred Goodwin (17 February 19258 January 2003) was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included ''Where Eagles Dare'', ''Battle ...

(briefly), renowned composer of soundtracks such as ''

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines ''Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines; Or, How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes'' is a 1965 British period comedy film that satirizes the early years of aviation. Directed and co-written by Ken Annakin, the film ...

'' and ''

633 Squadron ''633 Squadron'' is a 1964 British / American war film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, and Maria Perschy. The plot, which involves the exploits of a fictional World War II British bomber squadron, was ...

'' *

Norman Hudis Norman Hudis (27 July 1922 – 8 February 2016) was an English writer for film, theatre and television, and is most closely associated with the first six of the ''Carry On (series), Carry On...'' film series, for which he wrote the screenplays un ...

, screenwriter who wrote the first six ''Carry On'' films, and established the franchise *

Gary Locke (English footballer) Gary Robert Locke (born 12 July 1954) is an English former footballer born in Willesden, London, who played in the Football League for Chelsea and Crystal Palace, and in the Allsvenskan for Halmstads BK. Locke was born in Park Royal but moved ...

, full back for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

* John Neville CM OBE, actor who starred in

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...

's ''

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' is a 1988 adventure fantasy film co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, and starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Robin Williams and Uma Thurman. An international ...

'' *

Molly Parkin Molly Parkin (born Molly Noyle Thomas, 3 February 1932) is a Welsh painter, novelist and journalist, who became most well-known for her work on ''Nova'' magazine, newspapers and television in the 1960s. Early life Parkin was born on 3 February ...

, fashion writer and novelist * Prof Graham Warren FRS, Professor of Cell Biology from 1999-2007 at

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

, and Principal Scientist from 1989-99 of the

Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

Former teachers

* Max Morris, headteacher from 1966-78 of Willesden High School and President of the

NUT Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...

from 1973–74

References

External links

School website
*
Former Willesden County Grammar School

EduBase
{{authority control Academies in the London Borough of Brent Educational institutions established in 2003 Secondary schools in the London Borough of Brent 2003 establishments in England Specialist arts colleges in England Specialist sports colleges in England