What’s the secret? ‘Exceptional’ City Academy to lead Mayor of London’s education-sharing initiative

Success: Assistant principal Mhairi Stewart (right) with London’s deputy mayor Joanne McCartney. Photograph: City Academy

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has praised the “hard work” of Hackney’s City Academy after it was inducted into his new Schools for Success programme.

Only 102 schools in the capital have received an accolade from the scheme, which has created a network through which teachers can share the secrets behind their success.

The City Academy in Homerton was hailed for its “exceptional” exam results, and will now pass on its methods to other schools as part of the Mayor’s drive to tackle education inequality.

Principal Mark Malcolm said: “Since we opened in 2009, students who live closest to The City Academy have benefited from an outstanding education. Our academic results are exceptional, with students achieving results significantly above the national average despite their lower than average prior attainment.

“Our Progress 8 score is consistently above 1.00 every year indicating that students achieve an average of one GCSE grade better in each of their best 8 GCSEs compared to the national average.

“In addition students have access to exceptional sporting, linguistic and creative education. The music academy has links with the Barbican and the Guildhall School of Music and all students in year 7 learn a musical instrument as part of the curriculum.”

Schools for Success celebrates institutions that are achieving academic success with all their pupils, but in particular disadvantaged or vulnerable students who started off behind their peers.

In 2016, more than 39,000 pupils at the end of primary school and 30,000 at the end of secondary school did not reach expected levels.

The Mayor launched the network so schools like City Academy can share best practice with others across London through events, site visits and online profiles.

He said: “Congratulations to The City Academy for its outstanding achievements and for the hard work of its pupils and teaching staff. London has some of the best schools in the country, and Schools for Success shows the huge difference good quality teaching can make to pupils who started off behind in their studies.”