Our Vision

The Harris Federation comprises 9 open Academies, with more planned  in the future, eventually growing to 20 or more Academies.  

Additionally there are  7 Harris Specialist Schools, and 4 pilot specialist primary schools, a total of around 20,000 pupils in South London.

The Harris Academies are:

  • Harris Academy Bermondsey
  • Harris City Academy Crystal Palace
  • Harris Academy Falconwood
  • Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich
  • Harris Boys' Academy East Dulwich 
  • Harris Academy Merton
  • Harris Academy at Peckham
  • Harris Academy South Norwood
  • Harris Academy Purley 

    The Harris Specialist Schools are:

    • Archbishop Tenison's C of E High School - Croydon
    • Darrick Wood School - Orpington
    • Cator Park School for Girls - Beckenham
    • Kelsey Park School for Boys - Beckenham
    • Kemnal Technology College - Sidcup
    • Priory School - Orpington
    • Bacons - Rotherhithe

    The Harris pilot Primary Specialist Schools are:

    • Cypress Junior School - Croydon
    • Gloucester Primary School - Southwark
    • Oliver Goldsmith - Southwark
    • All Saints - Croydon

    Harris Federation is the only group of academies in the country where a number of academies (Harris Crystal Palace, Merton, South Norwood and Purley) share one single Post 16 examination centre number. Link to Post 16 website is: www.harrispost16.org.uk


    Strategic Rationale for the Harris Federation

    • A  structure for efficient management of multiple Academies
    • Consistency
    • Optimum use of resources and experience
    • Succession Planning by Sponsor
    • Strength in the face of political change
    • New Entrants –  ready made structure
    • Brand Identity – One strong united voice – issues championed by Sponsor/CEO

  • Educational Benefits of the Harris Federation

    • Wider Course Choice  – especially for 14 -19 Options & new Diplomas.
    • Improved viability of minority courses – eg Law, Psychology teachers employed jointly. 
    • Co-ordinated and better extra curricular offer, including after hours study, catch-up and trips.
    • Creation of The Harris Federation Post 16-   unrivaled course choice and opportunities  – raising aspiration and  achievement. 
    • Workforce Reform – reduced duplication through sharing of expertise, best teaching materials and course plans – eg BTEC Teams.
    • Professional Learning Communities for Subject Leaders - A Voice for Middle Managers.
    • Rapid dissemination of best-practice across the group- sharing of policies, procedures.
    • Consensual sharing of teachers, expertise, best practice, course materials.
    • On-Call High Quality Support when needed. 
    • Specialist team of Advanced Skills Teachers to work across the schools.
    • Innovative Staffing Arrangements - High Quality better paid staff working across more than one Academy.
    • Training Days in common – An unparalleled range of Professional Development Opportunities.  
    • Internal Employment Market – ladder of career opportunity.
    • Package of recruitment incentives

  • More Effective Support for Individual Academies

  • Every academy operates in its own way with its own Principal and Academy Governing Body (AGB).   The Principal is responsible for the day-to-day running of the academy and they report to their local Governing Body and the Board of the Harris Federation of South London Schools on which every local Governing Body Chair sits. The Federation is overseen by the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Daniel Moynihan who is based at the Harris Federation Offices in South Norwood, along with the Director of Finance and Operational Development, Mike Antoniou, the Director of ICT, James Penny, the Projects Director, Chris Randall along with a small team of subject specialists and project managers.


    A Federation of academies geographically close gives us the opportunity to build a joint purpose, encourage healthy competition and share best practice.  The benefits of being part of the Federation include:

    • Sharing best practice: Teachers can share learning materials online through the Harris Virtual Learning Environment.

    • Harris Federation MA: The course, which is focused on school improvement, is designed to hep teachers of all levels progress into leadership and management roles.
    • Cross-Federation working groups: Teachers from all of our academies work collaboratively to develop new ideas and teaching methods for their particular subject.
    • Support network for newly qualified teachers (NQT): The Federation offers an NQT programme which enhances individual academy provision and runs several projects designed to help teachers in their first year.  NQTs are given the opportunity to meet each other and establish links, by which they can share resources, develop best practice and feel part of the Federation.

    • Economies of scale: By managing our ICT, finances, human resources and site maintenance from one central location our costs are reduced.  This also means that individual academies can spend more time focussing on education and improving standards.

    To read more about the Federation and the other schools, academies  and sponsors, please download this short brochure about it.


    > Click here for an overview of Harris Federation academy results to date.