London Academy of Excellence Tottenham
In 2017, through our Chrysalis Partnership Programme, Highgate became the primary educational sponsor of the London Academy of Excellence in Tottenham (LAET).
Alongside Highgate, LAE Tottenham also benefits from partnership with eight other leading independent schools from London and the South-East: Alleyn’s, Chigwell, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’, Harrow, John Lyon, North London Collegiate, Mill Hill and St Dunstan’s.
LAET has been supportive of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, giving them the chance and opportunity to attend some of the highest-ranking universities in the UK.
Highgate provides governance and is the lead education sponsor. We second both teaching and support staff, meaning the equivalent of six teachers from Art, Chemistry, English, Geography, Mathematics and Physics spend between two days and five days per week teaching there. In addition, Highgate also provides the Director of Academic Studies, an HR manager and five members of the governing body. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is LAET’s lead business sponsor.
In recognition of the transformative impact that LAET has had on the lives of its students, it was named as The Sunday Times Sixth Form College of the Year 2020.
Aims
1. We aim for the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham to be the place for academic rigour. The aim was for them to exist to provide the very best opportunities for their students with a particular focus on developing confident learners who achieve top A Level grades thus opening the door to the best further education available to them. Beyond this, we aim to ensure that once students access the most competitive courses at top universities, they have the confidence and resilience to feel that they belong.
2. On the whole, the aim was to open a sixth form that provided students with the same opportunities as students at the leading independent schools.
3. To provide a fully enriched curriculum offering opportunities which broaden the experience of local students.
4. To form invaluable links with partner independent schools that develop social capital of the students and coupled with strong links with the most prestigious universities themselves, ensuring that the provision at LAE Tottenham is amongst the very best on offer.
Identified Need
LAET was created in response to an identified need for improved post-16 education in the borough (in 2017, 52% of pupils left Haringey for post-16 education). It was generally accepted that there was a substantial disparity between the post-16 provision in the more affluent west of the borough and the east, where LAET is based. In 2017, when the school opened, 12% of students studying in the west of Haringey went on to Russell Group universities, compared to just 1% in the east.
LAET delivers A levels prized by universities and employers, whilst retaining close community links, establishing a culture of success and aspiration.
Critical Factors for Success
A number of factors were important in the pre-opening phase:
1. Knowledge of the educational environment in the east of Haringey
Highgate has dynamic relationships with a number of schools in the east of the borough through its Chrysalis partnership teaching. This made it more possible to gauge the opinion of school leadership in these 11-16 schools and generate the trust of students and staff alike in schools that were familiar with Highgate.
2. An identified need in the area
The lack of an academically rigorous 16+ provision in the area was crucial to ensuring a strong recruitment in the initial years and support from the local authority.
3. Visionary senior leadership
The sponsorship of a sixth form free school requires a substantial financial and time contribution, the visionary leadership and consistent support in all levels of senior leadership is vital.
4. A number of nearby 11-16 schools
Lessons learned from the opening of LAE Stratford identified the need to recruit large cohorts of high-calibre students in the initial years of the project.
5. The availability of an established model
LAE Tottenham is based off the successful model of LAE Stratford, due to the similarity between the educational environment of Newham in 2012 and Haringey in 2017 and the substantial success of the LAE Stratford model. The model provided the framework for LAE Tottenham’s aims and ethos, governance structure, funding model and co-curricular offer.
6. A business sponsor
Government funding simply does not allow for both an academically rigorous A level curriculum and an enriching co-curricular offer. The financial and logistical support offered by Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in this case is crucial.
7. Administrative infrastructure
Having delivered our programme of Chrysalis community partnerships for well over a decade, we had a large team - including a Community Partnerships Director that acted as the Project Manager - that was able to take on a great deal of the administrative functions in the pre-opening phase, including communications, event planning and other coordination functions.
Beneficiaries
Northumberland Park, the ward that LAET is in, is the most deprived in Haringey and is in the 2-3% most deprived wards in the country.
LAE Tottenham provides a stimulating learning environment for academically aspirational young people. In order to best prepare students for top universities and employment beyond, life at LAE Tottenham encompasses a variety of elements, both related to academics and personal development. The key areas of life at LAE Tottenham are:
1. An academically rigorous curriculum, with the vast majority of students studying four hard or facilitating A Level courses in Year 12
2. Weekly clubs and societies and opportunities for sport and exercise as part of the formal curriculum
3. A focus on social responsibility through weekly community projects through the first two terms of Year 12
In addition to this, all students benefit from a full careers programme centred around nine key strands, a timetabled lecture with a range of speakers and an extensive PSHE programme, designed to help students’ personal development.
Pastorally, students are supported through tutors via a house system, which provides them with a clear point of contact for pastoral issues. Students receive regular tutorials focused not only on preparation for higher education and employment but also in helping them to develop the personal skills for success. In addition to this, an SEN Learning Support Lead, a Mental Health Lead and a School Counsellor are available to ensure that LAE Tottenham offers a supportive learning atmosphere for all students.
Furthermore, in 2021, Thanks to generous support from investment firm Rokos Capital Management, Chrysalis East will see LAE Tottenham supply independent school-standard teaching in its four Tottenham feeder schools – Duke’s Aldridge Academy, Gladesmore Community School, Park View School and Woodside High School. The project aims to enhance the academic outcomes for higher ability students and increase the proportion of Tottenham school leavers going on to the most competitive university destinations and employment.
Background
LAE Tottenham (LAET) is a sixth form free school set up by Highgate and a number of partner independent schools in Tottenham, North London. The initial idea came from the Haringey local authority which was aiming to create an academically rigorous post 16 provision in the east of the borough. It had been established that young people experienced substantially different educational outcomes in different parts of the borough, with 18% of students attending Russell Group universities in the west of the borough compared to just 1/% of students in the east.
Furthermore, a large number opt to leave the borough for their post 16 education. Highgate was approached to sponsor a new free school sixth form in the east of the borough by the local authority as a potential development of the school's work with schools across the borough, which we call Chrysalis.
The pre-opening phase began in 2016 and LAE Tottenham opened in September 2017.
Resources
The most critical resource to the success of this partnership are its teaching staff.This is because they will be the ones engaging with LAE Tottenham students the most and the ones who are teaching them. Not only that, but they will also be the ones who help the students to access higher education at these Russell Group institutions. A large proportion of the goal of increasing the rate of higher education at Russell Group universities therefore rest with them.
This project will have access to and will sometimes use Highgate facilities. This may be its DTE facilities, HR facilities or its careers department.
The project will use teaching staff and Highgate will also be contributing the equivalent of 6 full time teachers.
There will be a financial contribution from Highgate and the 8 other independent schools that Highgate helped to secure. These are: East: Alleyn's, Chigwell, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’, Harrow, John Lyon, North London Collegiate, Mill Hill and St Dunstan's.
Impact
Students at LAET have achieved fantastic results. Results of the class of 2020 are as follows:
- Over 2/3 to Russell Group universities
- 11 students to Oxford or Cambridge
- 41% of students to global top 100 universities including King’s College - 13; Imperial - 10; Manchester - 9; Warwick - 8; UCL - 7; Oxford - 6; Nottingham - 6; Cambridge - 5
- 13 students on medicine, veterinary science or dentistry courses
In recognition of the transformative impact that LAET has had on the lives of its students, it was named as The Sunday Times Sixth Form College of the Year 2020.
Pupil Involvement
Highgate School 6th form pupils will participate in many events and projects alongside their LAE Tottenham counterparts, including expedition field days and employability and higher education fairs. These activities involve every pupil from both respective year group.
Frequency
This academic partnership is on-going and likely to continue for a prolonged period of time.
