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 ...

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 ...

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 c ...

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 List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, 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 r ...

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 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 Te ...

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 A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

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 G ...

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 pres ...

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 philosop ...

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 th ...

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 ...

, 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 Wesley Andrew Foderingham (born 14 January 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Sheffield United. He is a former England U19 international. Foderingham was with Fulham and Crystal Palace as a young pl ...

(b. 1991), professional footballer *

Chris Moore (footballer, born 1980) Christopher Moore (born 13 January 1980) is a former footballer who manages Southern Football League side Hanwell Town. He played as a striker. Playing career Moore was born Hammersmith, England. He began his career at Brentford as a traine ...

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 nom ...

(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 (b.1966-), former professional footballer, director at Queens Park Rangers, F.C. *

Tony Goodgame Anthony Alan Goodgame (19 February 1946 – 17 November 2022) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League as a left back. He was born in Hammersmith, Greater London Greater may refer to: * Greatness, the state of b ...

(b. 1946), professional footballer *

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist *Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

(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 ...

(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 Bo ...

(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 that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

* Steve Parsons (b 1957), former professional footballer * Don Shanks (b 1952), professional footballer * Alex Stewart (1964–2016), professional boxer * Very Rev

Victor Stock Victor Andrew Stock AKC (born 24 December 1944) is a retired English Anglican priest. He was the Dean of Guildford in the Church of England. Apart from his being an Associate of King's College, he is also a member of the Order of Australia (OAM ...

(b. 1944), clergyman * ''

Stray Stray or The Stray or ''variation'', may refer to: Animals * A feral (abandoned or escaped) domestic animal; see also estray * A stray or free-ranging dog Places * Areas of open grassland in North Yorkshire: ** Strays of York ** The Stray (Har ...

'', pop music band *

Mike Trim Mike Trim (born 26 August 1945) is an artist famous for illustrating the cover of ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', which depicts a Martian tripod striking down the heroic ''Thunder Child''. A book of his illustrations en ...

(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 businessman, philanthropist. and Executive Producer of an Oscar and BAFTA Winning Film Early career McGrath graduated from the Polytechnic of the South Bank (renamed London South Bank Univ ...

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 ...

(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