Clapton Girls' Academy

Clapton Girls' Academy (formerly Clapton Girls Technology College) is a secondary school with academy status located in Hackney, London, England.

The school is situated north of Hackney town centre on the A102. It is a few hundred metres west of Homerton University Hospital. It lies in the parish of St James, Clapton.

Admissions

There are 900 pupils in the school. As Clapton Girls Technology College, the school was amongst the top 5% of schools that had improved nationally. More than half the students that attend are eligible for free school meals and under a third have special educational needs. More than 50 languages are spoken at the school and 70% of the students hold English as an additional language.

History

The school is located on the site that was the Newcome's School from the early 18th century until 1815, and the London Orphan Asylum from 1825. On 21 September 1906, the school opened as the County Secondary School for Girls' South Hackney.

Grammar school

In May 1916, the name was changed to Clapton County Secondary School for Girls when it moved to new buildings in Laura Place. Due to WWII, in September 1939, the school was evacuated to Bishop's Stortford. It was called the John Howard Grammar School for Girls, named after John Howard (prison reformer) (1726–90), in 1947 and had around 450 girls. In 1966, the Queen Mother visited the school.

Comprehensive

In 1977, the school absorbed the Clapton Park School, a secondary modern school with 1,000 girls on Chelmer Road in Homerton, and the school adopted the motto Wisdom and Togetherness. It became an 11-16 girls' comprehensive school. In 1999, the school was awarded Technology College status, and changed its name to Clapton Girls Technology College. The former Clapton Park School has been turned into flats, and was off Glyn Road to the east of the hospital.^[1]

In June 2008 Clapton GTC achieved an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted report. Following a subject inspection in December 2006, the Maths Department was also awarded an ‘outstanding’. SATs and GCSE results improved significantly since the school became a Technology College in 1999. The school also became a Leading Edge Partnership school. Clapton GTC’s leadership and management was also recognised in an Investors in People assessment in 2007.

The school site was transformed under the Building Schools for the Future programme, having newly built and refurbished buildings, as well as landscaped grounds. The school also achieved many awards in recognition of the education delivered, including Artsmark Gold and Inclusion Quality Mark, and the status of Healthy Schools and International Schools.

Clapton GTC sixth form opened in 2007. From September 2010 the sixth form has operated in collaboration with Our Lady’s Convent High School Sixth Form, giving the opportunity for an increased course offer.

Academy

On 1 September 2011, the school formally gained academy status, and changed its name to Clapton Girls' Academy.

Academic performance

In the Year 2006, 59% of the students left with 5 A*-C compared to 34% in 2002. The Year 11 Class of 2010 have also received the highest target ever set for Year 11 students in the history of the school.

It gets GCSE and A-level results slightly below the England average.

In 2013, 71% of students left with 5 A*-C including English and Maths. This was a new school record. It had also been inspected by Ofsted earlier that year and was said to be outstanding in all areas.

Notable former pupils

John Howard Grammar School for Girls

• Beatrice Serota, Baroness Serota, mother of Sir Nicholas Serota
• Ebony Dormer-Kuti, Environmental Health Practitioner

Clapton Park School

• Helen Shapiro, singer, pupil of the Clapton Park School before the merger with John Howard in 1975

References

External links

• Clapton Girls' Academy Website
• EduBase