Skinners' Academy
Address
Skinners' Academy, Woodberry Grove Hackney , London , N4 1SY England
Coordinates	51°34′22″N 0°04′23″W / 51.572677°N 0.073050°W / 51.572677; -0.073050
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	"Be the best you can"
Established	1890
Department for Education URN	136137 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair of Governors	Jocelyn Mitchell
Head teacher	Shereka James
Gender	Girls/boys
Age	11 to 19
Enrolment	900

Skinners' Academy (formerly The Skinners' Company's School for Girls) is a school in the Manor House (Woodberry Down) area for boys and girls aged 11–19. The academy opened in 2010 and is supported by the Worshipful Company of Skinners, a London Livery Company. There are currently approximately 900 pupils on roll from Year 7 - Year 11 and over 100 Sixth Form students. More than 60% of the pupils speak English as an additional language and more than 86% of students are from ethnic minority backgrounds.

In March 2017 the academy welcomed a short Ofsted inspection which resulted in the academy retaining its recognition as a 'Good' school.

History

School buildings and grounds

The lower school site consists of one building. The upper school site consists of a range of buildings built at various stages of the school history.

Each serve a range of departments:

• The main building (upper school) was the only building of the school when it opened in 1890. It contains administrative offices including school reception, Head and Deputy Head offices and a staff room. It also houses a library, assembly hall, canteen, and classrooms that service various departments and laboratories. This building was extended in 1893, when the gym was built and again in the 1960s when the current ICT classrooms were built.
• The Art Block was built in 1964 and later extended. It contains dedicated rooms for Art, the Sixth Form facilities and facilities for those with special educational needs.
• The Business Huts were built to accommodate the school's specialist business and ICT facilities.
• The Science/Technology block is the newest building on the school grounds, built in 1994. This provides dedicated resources for the teaching of Science and Design and Technology.

In order to achieve the school's aim of sustainability, fruit and vegetables are grown on school grounds for use in the canteen.

At the upper school site there is a rowan tree, which was given to the school by the Skinners' School Old Girls Association. The rowan tree recognises the school's origins with the Skinners' Company, as rowan berries were used for tanning leather.

School uniform

Since the school's opening in 1890, the uniform has undergone great change. The uniform currently consists of a white dress shirt, a green/red tie (depending what year you're in), a green and grey blazer, lanyard, a green and grey jumper (optional), grey skirt/trousers, smart black shoes and a skinners rucksack/shoulder bag.

Present and future plans

The school currently operates on a split site basis, with years 7–9 in the lower school and years 10–13 in the upper school. However, due to the inefficiency and the limitations caused thereof, plans have been made to relocate the school as an academy to a single site at Woodberry Down, under the Woodberry Down Regeneration project in 2010.^[3] In order to prepare for the transition of sites, in the academic year of 2006–2007 the school took its final cohort of year 7s. In the academic year of 2008–2009, the lower school site shall be closed and the then years 9-13 shall be accommodated in the upper school. To adapt to these changes some innovative teaching and curriculum practices will be adopted, including vertical tutoring.

Academics and curriculum

The academic curriculum in the years leading to GCSE reflects the National Curriculum in its breadth and balance. The school offers a range of vocational and academic subjects at GCSE and A- Level, most notably in business studies. Of the 127 pupils eligible for GCSEs in 2007, 24.4% had special educational needs. In 2007, 28% of students achieved 5 or more A*-C Grades, including maths and English.^[4]

Student leadership

Extracurricular

The school hosts a variety of clubs.

At present the school is part of the Urban Scholars Intervention Programme hosted at the City of London School for Girls, which supports a number of gifted and talented students, through a programme of activities.^[5] The school also works in collaboration with NFTE and last year, a group of five students won a nationwide competition for their business ‘Hennoo', their prize included a trip to New York.^[6]

The school has links with a number of businesses and companies working within the City of London, these include Linklaters, UBS, Commerz Bank, Hewlett-Packard, HSBC, and The Skinners' Company.

The school has a choir and steel pan club and they've performed at the Skinners' Hall and other venues.^[7]

Each year, Sports Day is held at Finsbury Park and all students and staff participate. In addition to this, there are a number of sporting opportunities available to staff and students. These include: football, tennis, volleyball, badminton, canoeing, and kickboxing. Yoga is also available for teachers.

Prize Giving

This event was previously known as "Speech Day", and was held each year at the Upper School. Each November the entire school gathers in the Round Chapel, to celebrate the school and the achievements of the year. The event is attended by the school governors and representatives from the Worshipful Company of Skinners, along with staff and the parents of the girls. The representatives of the Worshipful Company of Skinners dress in lynx fur trimmed robes in order to commemorate the Skinners' Company. Before proceeding to the stage, the beadle of the Skinners' Company knocks his ceremonial staff against the floor twice, indicating the start of the procession. Behind him walks the headmistress, who is followed by a row of school governors and a row of company representatives who bear the silver leopard statue, a symbol of the Worshipful Company of Skinners. Prizes are awarded to individuals who have performed well in their year, along with specific prizes accredited to past headteachers and the SSOGA.^[8]

Traditionally, pupils supplement applause by ‘whooping' when the recipient accepts their award. The annual report is read by the headmistress and short speeches are given by a representative from the Worshipful Company of Skinners and the Head Girl and Boy.

The Skinners' School Old Girls Association

The Skinners' School Old Girls Association has three main aims:

1. To provide opportunities for Old Girls to keep in touch with their former school friends
2. To provide opportunities for Old Girls to keep in touch with the school
3. To provide and promote financial and/or material assistance to the school

SSOGA were disbanded in the 1980s, but were then revived in the late 1990s. Upon leaving school, students may join SSOGA. The SSOGA are active in the transition of the school from its current sites to the one in Woodberry Down. Members of SSOGA have been working with current students to mark the history of Skinners'. The committee chairperson is currently Mrs Val Griffiths. The association meet regularly and publish a quarterly news sheet, 'Our Chronicle'.

References