Islington Arts and Media School

The Islington Arts and Media School (IAMS) is a small school open to students aged 11 to 16 and is located in the north east of Islington close to Haringey and Hackney. Formerly known as George Orwell School, the Headteacher, Diana Osagie has been in post since September 2010 and was previously Deputy Head for 9 years.

New Build

Having opened in September 2013 the school’s state-of-the-art new building, provides an outstanding and stimulating learning environment for each of their students, which accelerates academic success. It is at the heart of their vision that Islington Arts and Media School fosters and develops partnerships within the community and with their extensive education and recreational resources help to cement them as a centre of excellence and a hub for the local community.

The new building is furnished with state of the art facilities, modern classrooms, a fully equipped gym, all weather astroturf pitch with floodlights, mirrored dance and fitness studio, a large sports hall, science laboratories, a theatre with professional lighting and staging, drama studios, music recital rooms, technology suites, a recording studio, art studios, a media studies suite and a large library.

Their spaces for hire include: • 240 seat, professional Theatre • Conference Hall • Catering Facilities • Flexible Dining Space • Private Functions such as Weddings & Parties • All-weather multi-use pitches

Location

Located in the heart of London, in the Borough of Islington. The Borough of Islington is mainly a residential district of inner London, extending from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields. The area is well served by bus routes and is home to two higher education institutions, City University, London and London Metropolitan University. The borough also contains two colleges of further education; City of Islington College and Westminster Kingsway College. There are currently 47 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and three special schools. In 2000, Cambridge Education Associates, a private firm, took over the management of the Islington’s state schools from the local education authority. The local authority is Islington Council.

Exam results

In 2013 IAMS achieved their best ever results in the history of the school. 82% of students achieved 5 + A*- C grades across all subjects and 62% of students achieved 5+ A*-C grades including English and Mathematics, representing an impressive increase of 20 percentage points in just one year.

These results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of IAMS staff and students and also demonstrate the rapid progress they are making. The future looks set to be impressive.

Ofsted

In November Islington Arts and Media School was rated ‘Good’ under the new Ofsted Inspection Framework. Inspectors praised students’ achievement, the quality of teaching, the behaviour and safety of students and the leadership and management of the school.

IAMS were the first secondary school in Islington to be inspected under the challenging new Ofsted framework, with inspectors recognising the ‘accelerated rates of progress’ that students achieve at the school. This news follows their best ever GCSE examination results 2013, with 63% of students achieving 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE including English and Maths, demonstrating a staggering increase of 21% percentage points in just one year.

The report also identified the inspiring teaching methods and the support for students to ‘achieve their full potential’; in particular inspectors commented on ‘teachers who engage the interest of students’, the ‘high quality feedback’ students receive and students’ ‘positive attitudes towards learning’. Driving this success forward is their strong leadership which has ‘successfully embedded a culture of high aspirations’.

Partnerships

The school’s location in the city of London facilitates extensive links with a number of first rate organisations, universities and professional institutions, supporting their vision to be outstanding and develop the aspirations and confidence of their students. Partners vary from across the curriculum and include: Legal and General, John Jones, Barbican Art Book, Arsenal FC, Oxford University, University of the Arts etc. These partnerships enhance the school’s academic curriculum; providing students with exciting opportunities both within and outside of the classroom, developing strong employability skills and gaining a global understanding of the world of work. In addition, the school works closely with a number of local primary schools, sharing skills and expertise in key academic subjects. Each term they open their doors their primary partners, offering a variety of master classes, workshops, and activity days to enable, extend and enrich primary pupils’ experience at secondary.

Alumni

IAMS are committed to maintaining strong relationships with all of their alumni students, and have been working in partnership with the charity Future First to help stay in contact. IAMS is dedicated to providing opportunities for all of their students and regularly invite their alumni students back to the school to act as mentors for our younger students. Former IAMS students have furthered their studies at numerous prestigious universities such as Cambridge, UCL and Imperial College, London, with many enjoying successful careers across all fields.

Publications

The school issues a high quality, 8-page magazine once a term, named The IAMS newsletter, which includes all the latest highlights and achievements from students, staff and departments at Islington Arts and Media School.

History

Formerly known as George Orwell School. It was attended by Jay Simpson of Millwall. Other well-known ex-pupils are the actors Troy Titus-Adams and Kaya Scodelario. The facilities were used as a filming location in the Academy Award-nominated 2006 film, Notes on a Scandal. It was classified as a "School Of Creativity" in 2009. Prior to becoming the George Orwell School it was known as Tollington Park Secondary School. One of its notable students was worldwide-renowned photojournalist Don McCullin. McCullin attended the school in the late 1940s. The Victorian building still in use today was originally Montem St School, and was attended in the 1920s by Sydney Carter, the author of the words for the song Lord of the Dance.