Harris City Academy Crystal Palace celebrates its 30th birthday
A state school which became the first to be run by a private company has celebrated its 30th birthday.
Harris City Academy Crystal Palace opened in 1990 as one of the first independent state schools in England.
It was sponsored by the carpet company owner, philanthropist, Arsenal director and Conservative Party donor Lord Harris of Peckham, and his family and called Harris City Technology College (Harris CTC).
It replaced Sylvan High School which had a reputation for poor standards with only 10 per cent of pupils ending up with the GCSEs they needed.
Within just a year of opening, more than 2,000 families came to its very first open day – traffic was gridlocked on local streets which had to be closed by the police.
Since then, it has consistently achieved the top ‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted and has been vastly oversubscribed by local families.
The advent of the academies programme meant that in 2007 Harris CTC became known as Harris City Academy Crystal Palace.
It was the original school in the Harris Federation, which now runs 51 academies in and around London.
A small group of special guests attended an anniversary event on Thursday where Lord Harris of Peckham unveiled a commemoration plaque.
Students performed musical recitals, poetry and gave speeches about the school. Items such as a book of photographs were added to the academy’s time capsule, which was first created in 1990.
Katherine Cumberbatch, principal of Harris City Academy Crystal Palace, said: “We had to postpone our 30th birthday celebrations by a year because of the pandemic, but the slight delay made the day all the more poignant.
“Students have enjoyed hearing about the history of the school and about the difference it has made to the lives of generations of local children.
“Today was also a chance to say thank you to the hard-working, long-serving staff members who have been with us since the very beginning and have helped us become the happy and successful school we are today.”