School sponsorship. 4.2.1 City is a co-sponsor of the City of London Academy, Islington (COLAI) with the City of London. The Academy is an 11-19 school. There are 120 students in each year group in Years 7-11 and 106 students in the sixth form. Over half of the students are boys and 70% are “Ever 6”. This indicates that they are receiving Free School Meals or have done in the last six years. This is over twice the national average of 29%. 69% of students are ethnic minority students. Over 50% speak English as an additional language. The level of deprivation experienced by students at the Academy is 0.54, approximately 2.5 times the average national deprivation index (0.21). Typically students have prior attainment levels significantly below the national average.
4.2.2 COLAI’s vision is to be outstanding, with a commitment to improving the lives of the young people of Islington. In 2016 COLAI achieved its best results at GCSE. 68% of students achieved 5 A*-C passes including English and Mathematics. 93% of Academy students achieved GCSE A*-C in English. The Academy registered an outstanding score of 0.81 in the Progress 8 measure. Progress 8 is a new measure for the progress of pupils across a selected set of eight GCSE-level subjects. It aims to encourage schools to teach a broad curriculum and reward schools that teach all pupils well. COLAI’s score places it as one of the top performing Schools in the country in terms of the value added to students’ progress from Year 7 to Year 11.
4.2.3 City has four places on the governing body and members make a strong contribution to the governance of the Academy. City Governors are valued for their input and commitment across the range of governance duties. City Governors’ roles have included Chair of the Governing Body, Chair of the Finance, Personnel and Premises Committee and serving on the Curriculum and Community Committee. All take link Governor roles, overseeing and engaging with important themes or areas.
School sponsorship. The School recognises that raising attainment in schools is a key priority. The School has plans to review its Strategic Plan in 2017, this plan will hi-light the aim to raise aspiration and attainment in local schools. A report will be considered at Board level introducing a proposal to look into the feasibility of sponsoring a school in the future. Over the last few years the School has actively encouraged staff to take the time to become involved in local School and College governing bodies.
