City of London Academy Islington (COLAI, formerly Islington Green School) is an 11–18 mixed, secondary school 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 Islington, Greater London, England. It was established in 1966 and adopted its present name after becoming an academy in September 2008. Its sixth form opened in September 2010 and is jointly sponsored by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

and

City, University of London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

History

Islington Green School

Islington Green School (IGS) was established in 1966 and was an 11–16 mixed

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

secondary school. The school failed its Ofsted inspection in 1997. The school had received a 38 percent pass rate the previous year and despite shortcomings, the staff were convinced that the school was not failing. The decision caused the school to "implode". The headteacher, under enormous pressure to make visible changes discarded mixed-ability teaching, many teachers decided to leave, and the pass rate dropped below 25 percent. The school went through nine inspections before it finally came out of special measures in 2000 and serious weaknesses in 2003. Ken Muller, a teacher at the school and SWP activist, made a request to Ofsted under the new

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

to see the documents relating to the judgment. Twenty working days later, he got a reply. Most of the documents had been destroyed, said the email, but there was one that might be of interest. Attached was a memo dated November 1997, from HMI Barry Jones to the then chief inspector

Chris Woodhead Sir Christopher Anthony Woodhead (20 October 1946 – 23 June 2015) was a British educationalist. He was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England from 1994 to 2000, and was one of the most controversial figures in debates on the di ...

, making clear that the HMI team, of which Jones was a member, had disagreed with Ofsted's judgment, and noting that they were "of the unanimous view that the school was not failing". Peter Hyman, former speech writer for

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 ...

, decided to leave politics and teach at Islington Green School. He wrote a book of his experiences, ''1 Out Of 10: From Downing Street Vision To Classroom Reality''.

Cultural references

Students from the school were featured on Pink Floyd's 1979 album ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

'' in the song " Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)"."Pink Floyd pupils claim royalties"
BBC News Story (accessed 12 October 2006) The school was used as a location to film the BBC drama ''

That Summer Day ''That Summer Day'' is a one-hour docudrama directed by Jon East, written by Clive Bradley (who also wrote '' Last Rights''), produced by Hannah Pescod and executive produced by Jon East and Mark Redhead that provides a fictional account of the ...

'', a fictional account of the effect the bombings of the London public transport system on 7 July 2005 had on six children."How 7/7 impacted on the nation's children"
BBC press release. (accessed 6 July 2006) Some of the school's younger students were used as extras in the film.

Notable alumni

Islington Green School * Thomas Cruise, professional footballer *

Esther Farinde Esther Farinde (born 19 February 1984) is a British gospel singer and songwriter. She is also known as a Vocal Workshop Facilitator, who mentors young aspiring singers through her involvement with church choirs, as well as through projects suc ...

, singer and songwriter *

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sin ...

, singer, songwriter and actress *

Billy Godleman Billy Ashley Godleman (born 11 February 1989) is an English first-class cricketer who plays for Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Derbyshire. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm leg-spin bowler who played for Middlesex County Cricket Clu ...

, cricketer *

Joe Wright Joseph Wright (born 25 August 1972) is an English film director residing in Somerset, England. His motion pictures include the literary adaptations ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''Anna Karenina'' (2012), and '' Cyrano'' ( ...

, film director

Notable staff

Islington Green School *

Margaret Maden Professor Margaret Maden (born 16 April 1940) is a British educationalist who was Headteacher of Islington Green School in Inner London from 1975–1983. She is said to have led the school from being "on the brink of closure" to becoming over-subsc ...

, headteacher from 1975-1983

References

External links

* {{Authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Islington Academies in the London Borough of Islington Educational institutions established in 1966 1966 establishments in England