City of London Academy Islington

City of London Academy Islington (COLAI, formerly Islington Green School) is an 11–18 mixed, secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Islington, Greater London, England. It was established in 1966 and adopted its present name after becoming an academy in September 2008.[3]

City of London Academy Islington
Address
Prebend Street

Islington
,
Greater London
,
N1 8PQ

England
Coordinates51.5362°N 0.0979°W / 51.5362; -0.0979
Information
Other nameCOLAI
Former nameIslington Green School
TypeAcademy
MottoWhere students succeed
Established1966 (1966)
Local authorityIslington London Borough Council
TrustCity of London Academies Trust
Department for Education URN135587 Tables
OfstedReports
Executive PrincipalClare Verga[1]
GenderMixed
Age range11–18
Enrolment750 (2018)[2]
Capacity805[2]
Websitewww.colai.org.uk

Its sixth form opened in September 2010 and is jointly sponsored by the City of London Corporation and City, University of London.

History

Islington Green School
Logo of Islington Green School

Islington Green School (IGS) was established in 1966 and was an 11–16 mixed community secondary school.

The school failed its Ofsted inspection in 1997. The school had received a 38 percent pass rate the previous year and despite shortcomings, the staff were convinced that the school was not failing. The decision caused the school to "implode". The headteacher, under enormous pressure to make visible changes discarded mixed-ability teaching, many teachers decided to leave, and the pass rate dropped below 25 percent. The school went through nine inspections before it finally came out of special measures in 2000 and serious weaknesses in 2003.[4]

Ken Muller, a teacher at the school and SWP activist, made a request to Ofsted under the new Freedom of Information Act to see the documents relating to the judgment. Twenty working days later, he got a reply. Most of the documents had been destroyed, said the email, but there was one that might be of interest. Attached was a memo dated November 1997, from HMI Barry Jones to the then chief inspector Chris Woodhead, making clear that the HMI team, of which Jones was a member, had disagreed with Ofsted's judgment, and noting that they were "of the unanimous view that the school was not failing".[5]

Peter Hyman, former speech writer for Tony Blair, decided to leave politics and teach at Islington Green School. He wrote a book of his experiences, 1 Out Of 10: From Downing Street Vision To Classroom Reality.

Students from the school were featured on Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall in the song "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)".[6]

The school was used as a location to film the BBC drama That Summer Day, a fictional account of the effect the bombings of the London public transport system on 7 July 2005 had on six children.[7] Some of the school's younger students were allowed to be extras in the film.

Notable alumni
City of London Academy Islington

Islington Green School

Notable staff

Islington Green School

References
  1. "Executive Principal's Welcome". City of London Academy Islington. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  2. "City of London Academy Islington". Get information about schools. GOV.UK. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  3. "Islington council announcement". Archived from the original on 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  4. Rebecca Smithers (4 February 2005). "Woodhead overrode inspectors to fail improving school". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  5. Barry Jones (27 November 1997). "Islington Green High School" (PDF). Her Majesty's Inspector. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  6. "Pink Floyd pupils claim royalties", BBC News Story (accessed 12 October 2006)
  7. "How 7/7 impacted on the nation's children", BBC press release. (accessed 6 July 2006)
  8. "Arsenal Young Gun wants loan deal after Spurs clash". Islington Gazette. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  9. Eyre, Hermione (22 October 2009). "The lives and loves of Paloma Faith". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  10. Marshall, Tom (19 October 2010). "My Islington school made me a star, says Paloma Faith". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  11. Davies, Gareth A. (3 August 2004). "Bunbury Festival: Marsh's wise words for stars of future". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  12. Dean, Jon (1 March 2011). "England international joins fight to save cricket in Islington". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  13. "Joe Wright: I asked Keira Knightley to rein in her pout for Anna Karenina". 6 September 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
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