The City Academies Initiative (now the Academies Initiative) was announced in July 2001 as a key Government scheme both for the creation of new schools and for generating innovation and improvement in educational provision.

Academies are publicly funded independent schools. They replace schools in challenging circumstances or are set up as part of a wider school reorganisation, or fulfil an unmet demand for school places. Academies are schools with state-of-the-art facilities for students aged 11 to 18 of all abilities. The City of London Academy (Southwark) is sponsored by the City of London Corporation in conjunction with the DfE. 

The Academies are intended to have a broad curriculum with a core specialisation and an emphasis on the needs of the individual pupil. They are expected to provide significant out of school learning activities, to introduce innovative ways of developing and delivering the curriculum and to encourage participation of partners in curriculum delivery, mentoring and work experience. ICT must be used, as appropriate, to support all learning.

Academies are, of course, subject to Ofsted inspection as are all other state-funded schools. Each Academy is set targets against agreed performance indicators. The Academies are intended to be ‘at the heart of their community’ sharing facilities with other schools and other organisations in the local area. Sponsors are given considerable freedom over management processes and structures as well as the length of the school day, terms and year. The Academy is allowed to select up to 10% of the intake on the basis of aptitude for the school's specialism.

These range from open spaces such as Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath to the famous Barbican Arts Centre. The Corporation is older than Parliament itself and today combines its ancient traditions and ceremonial functions with the role of a modern and efficient local authority, looking after the needs of its residents, City businesses and the people who come to work in the City every day.

Among local authorities the Corporation is unique: not only is it the oldest in the country but it operates on a non-political party basis through its Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Members of the Court of Common Council. The Lord Mayor in particular plays an important diplomatic role involving overseas visits, and functions for Heads of State at the historic Guildhall and Mansion House.

In addition to the usual services provided by a local authority such as housing, refuse collection, education and social services, environmental health and town planning, the Corporation performs a number of very special functions. It runs its own police force and the nation’s Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey. It provides five Thames Bridges, runs the Quarantine Station at Heathrow Airport and is the Port Health Authority for the whole of the Thames tidal estuary. Three premier wholesale food markets (Billingsgate, Spitalfields and Smithfield) which supply London and the South East with fresh produce also belong to the Corporation. Many of these services are funded from the Corporation’s own investments at no cost to the public.

Schools within the City of London Corporation’s boundaries are predominantly in the private sector. However the Corporation, as a Local Education Authority, has one voluntary-aided primary school that has been awarded Beacon status. Mainstream Secondary education is provided to City of London residents by schools outside the City. The Corporation’s primary focus is therefore not on schools, but on lifelong learning, with a particular emphasis on early years, adult, youth and community work. The Corporation is involved in a wide range of activities that show its innovative and supportive role. This is demonstrated not only by the excellent work with its voluntary-aided primary school but also through its commitment to ‘being a good neighbour’. For instance, the Corporation is the principal supporter of the Education Action Zone in Hackney LEA and is involved in the Excellence in Cities initiative. As an LEA, the Corporation recently received an outstanding Ofsted report. 

The City of London Corporation indicated its interest in sponsoring a City Academy because:

• There is currently no maintained secondary school in the City;
• It showed the Corporation's commitment to the public sector;
• It made a significant contribution to an adjacent borough.

The Corporation's initial Academy collaboration was with the London Borough of Southwark, who had shown enthusiasm and commitment to the project by providing the site for the new school. Southwark officials were involved in all stages of the project, to ensure that the Academy meets the needs of students and the community. The success of this first project led on to further collaborations with Islington and Hackney, and the City of London Academy (Southwark) is now part of a group of Academies sponsored by the City of London.

The London Borough of Southwark

Southwark had a growing shortage of secondary school places and a high percentage of pupils travelled to Lewisham. Southwark is the second most deprived London borough and it has the fourth highest crime rate. The majority of its primary and secondary schools are underachieving compared to national and local averages and pupils have low expectations. It is against this background, that the Corporation dedicated resources to raising expectations, widening the options of those living in the area local to the school, and assisting the regeneration of the borough.

The City of London Academy (Southwark) was planned as a new 11 - 19 school located in the Bermondsey area of Southwark. It opened in September 2003 in temporary accommodation in East Dulwich, but moved into its brand new state-of-the-art building in September 2005. 

Southwark helped in the Academy's development by:

• Carrying out research to justify building the additional secondary provision;
• Collaborating with the City of London Corporation to draw up the initial proposal document for the DCSF (now DfE);
• Assisting in the development of key policies required for the approval of the new City Academy;
• Assisting in the consultation process with parents and residents of the borough;

‘The educational vision for the Academy is based on a culture of high expectation and achievement within a caring community.’ ~ Supporting statement to planning application, October 2001

The overall aim of the City of London Academy (Southwark) project is to raise student attainment through the development of entrepreneurial and business skills.

The key objectives are:

• To extend opportunities for high quality education in a well designed environment
• To raise the aspirations and achievement of pupils through close links with business and commerce in the City of London and elsewhere
• To provide inclusive education, catering for a fully comprehensive intake of pupils
• To promote styles of teaching and learning which develop independent and flexible thought, problem solving, perseverance and team working
• To provide a rich educational environment that includes high standards of information technology, computing and communications equipment, creating an integrated learning community
• To actively involve parents in learning through outreach and community
• education
• To provide education and cultural facilities that can be shared by the wider
• community throughout the year.

	The specialism of the Academy is Business and Enterprise based on ‘City’ subjects such as finance, economics, business and law. This approach is consistent with the Corporation’s other initiatives to widen the horizons of inner-city residents so that they aspire to employment in the City and the Financial Service Sector.
	Sport was added as a specialism in 2004
	The Academy was awarded the Arts Council ArtsMark Gold award in 2010.

The City of London Academy (Southwark) Ltd. is a charitable company, which owns and maintain the building and premises at 240 Lynton Road. The Trust has a Board of Directors that acts as the Governing Body. As this is a state maintained independent school, the Trust is the staff employer.

The City of London Corporation has no obligation to contribute to the running costs of the Academy but may choose to give financial support where doing so would add value.

The DfE funds the running of the school in the same manner as other secondary schools in Southwark (based on pupil numbers) and with the additional sum per pupil based on the same criteria as for Specialist schools.

Academy Design & Construction

Designed by: Studio E Architects   Palace Wharf Rainville Road London W6 9HN

Constructed by: Willmott Dixon Suite 201 The Spirella Building Bridge Road, Letchworth Garden City, Herts SG6 4ET