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20/12/24

We wish everyone in our community a happy and safe holiday. Should any student need us for any support, they can contact us using our safespace.org.uk email.

20/12/24

Yesterday, we wore Christmas jumpers for charity, the canteen put on Christmas lunch and the steel pans regaled us with tunes at lunch to celebrate the penultimate day of the term. pic.twitter.com/ciWvoAh6Bb

20/12/24

The basketball teams see out the term strong with the U19 and U16 boys and girls teams picking up wins in the school’s competition this week pic.twitter.com/nmIx25Nkzv

19/12/24

It was a delight to have Alex Wheatley come to speak to our year 8s last week. Such an inspiration-it’s always wonderful to have authors who we read come to give us insight into their novels. pic.twitter.com/beVudJM0lL

18/12/24

We had our charity basketball game today. Our U17 basketball team beat London Nautical: 104-56. Over £200 raised! pic.twitter.com/9KBAqvyVPK

18/12/24

Thank you to for letting us use your beautiful venue for our Winter concert this evening. pic.twitter.com/FH7xt2B6hX

18/12/24

We had our wonderful Winter Concert tonight. Well done to all the performers and the Performing Arts Department for all their hard work! pic.twitter.com/cUO0h3gNAP

17/12/24

Year 8 learnt all about healthy eating today through the very exciting, inspirational and interactive . Thank you, chef Ben! pic.twitter.com/lmB3uca0fk

09/12/24

on the official Instagram 🤩 📸 🎄! What a wonderful evening! AtChristmas pic.twitter.com/BQPFHo2UjA

09/12/24

Our students were so happy to be part of this special occasion, thanks to . Thank you for inviting us, we will never forget this magical experience🎄💫 https://t.co/D9qf3lU6AO

06/12/24

with performing for the guests of arriving at Together at Christmas 🎄! We are so proud of our students! Thank you pic.twitter.com/9Lv5f969TN

06/12/24

The Year 10 girls handball team in action today with wins against East Dulwich Girls and Charter🤾‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/HfgA5KGKSD

06/12/24

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated, bringing some Xmas cheer to our reception area. Thank you for the tree! pic.twitter.com/8d0rli7HUe

06/12/24

students ready for their performance welcoming guests for Together at Christmas 🤩! We are so excited!!! An incredible opportunity, all thanks to pic.twitter.com/wo6HcSl1SH

05/12/24

Our annual winter recital is coming soon at St John’s Church on Wed 18th December. We look to seeing everyone there for a mince pie and a warm drink to celebrate our students’ musical talents! pic.twitter.com/ZuPauPWYxU

05/12/24

A hive of activity in robotics and MfL homework clubs this afternoon! pic.twitter.com/QqjUgAjLKr

05/12/24

Year 8s had Safety First sessions today from Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade, London Ambulance Service & TalkConsent. The sessions were engaging & elicited interesting questions. Thank you , pic.twitter.com/DqqmLFnmzY

05/12/24

Our annual winter recital is coming soon at St John's Church on Wed 18th December. We look forward to seeing everyone there for a mince pie and a warm drink to celebrate our student's musical talents! pic.twitter.com/Oak1JJP9zY

05/12/24

The U18b boys basketball team get their National schools campaign underway with back to back wins against Dulwich and Platanos this week 🏀 pic.twitter.com/cXIq71Kz0F

04/12/24

Year 12 students completed their first aid training with Zara from , learning how to deal with wounds, CPR, AEDs and lots more! pic.twitter.com/F6Fygj9nQq

Harris Academies
All Academies in our Federation aim to transform the lives of the students they serve by bringing about rapid improvement in examination results, personal development and aspiration.

Central Office

Bexley

Brent

Bromley

Clapham

Croydon

Greenwich

Haringey

Havering

Merton

Newham

Southwark

Stratford

Sutton

Thurrock

Wandsworth

Westminster

Ethos and Values

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace has a long established, distinctive and positive ethos which guides our work and the education of our students.

Preparation for adult life underpins our Academy aims and the well-developed culture which is established across all aspects and functions of the Academy. We are committed to the success of each of our students and this is reflected through the Academy's values and aims to deliver:

  • Exam success we want our students to get the best possible qualifications
  • Challenge, relevance and engagement – we want our students to be fully involved in their learning
  • Appropriate skills for living, for work and for happiness
  • Active citizens
  • Self-identity and a feeling of self-worth
  • Opportunities and experiences that ignite our students
  • Healthy habits that are embedded for life

Core values

Our five core values at Harris City Academy Crystal Palace are:

  • Community
  • Courage
  • Courtesy
  • Co-operation
  • Contribution

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace also supports and delivers a firm commitment to developing and upholding British Values.

Core Values


Democracy

We have our own Student Council made of up of elected form representatives, Year 11 Prefects, a Senior Student Leadership Team who lead our Senior Prefects as well as elected Head Boy, Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl and Deputy Head Boy. Students are taught about the importance of democracy in a variety of ways including tutor time, assemblies and in subject specific content.


The rule of law

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the Academy or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout all aspects of life at HCACP. Students are taught the value and reasons behind our rules, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. We have visits and talks about the rule of law from the Community Police Officer/Safer Schools team.


Individual liberty

Students are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. We educate and provide boundaries for students to make choices safely, through provision of a safe environment and empowering education.  Students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-Safety and tutorial sessions. Whether it be through choice of learning challenge, for example, or participation in our extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, our students are given the freedom to make choices.


Mutual respect and tolerance

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is situated in an area which is culturally diverse and our Academy community reflect this diversity. We place a considerable emphasis on promoting diversity within the student and staff body. Our Religion & Philosophy lessons, Thematic Days, assemblies and tutor time sessions reinforce this. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes, just as our students and staff are able to share their cultural heritage and experiences.


Curriculum

Within the wider curriculum and its delivery we expect all students irrespective of gender, ethnic origin or beliefs to:

  • Take part in PE, art, music, dance and drama lessons
  • Participate in wider activities and discussions, for example during tutorial time, that uphold British values
  • Show tolerance of different faiths and beliefs, including Christianity.

Female students in all years can be taught by a male PE teacher.


Radicalisation and extremism

The Academy believes and actively supports the view that all students should be protected from radicalisation and extremism. Our approach to this is in line with the Government’s CONTEST strategy (the counter terrorist strategy) and PREVENT (stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism).

Radicalisation is the process by which people come to support terrorism and extremism, and in some cases, participate in terrorist groups. Extremism is the vocal or active opposition to the fundamental British values.

Our 100% commitment to safeguarding student welfare means we are vigilant to monitoring vulnerability to radicalisation including:

  • Family tensions
  • Sense of isolation
  • Migration
  • Distance from cultural heritage
  • Experience of racism or discrimination
  • Feeling of failure

Any concerns must be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Officers.


A cross-curricular approach

We deliver a cross curricular approach to the delivery of SMSC (spiritual, moral, social and cultural development), including British Values. This is done via:

  • current affairs, including weekly tutorial discussion sessions centred on a topic in the news, such as extremism
  • assemblies – once a week and centred on a theme that links to British Values, for example, Human Rights and Freedom
  • the Academy - Thematic Days that encourage the exploration and application of British Values and being a British citizen
  • student leadership – actively voting in Academy elections to elect posts of responsibility
  • Religion & Philosophy lessons  – predominantly Christian but exploring beliefs and values of other faiths including multicultural celebrations
  • and in subjects where we map how other subjects deliver knowledge and understanding of key concepts that link to British Values.