The Department for Education has confirmed that the Corporation will be the new sponsor of the Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre (NCS) in East Ham. The local authority already sponsors a number of academies across the Capital, including institutions in Hackney, Islington and Southwark.
The NCS is the academic A-Level centre for a group of Newham Schools including Cumberland, Kingsford, Lister, Little Ilford, Plashet, Rokeby, Royal Docks, Sarah Bonnell, and Stratford School Academy. It also takes students from other secondary schools in the borough and surrounding areas.
The NCS will now form part of The City of London Academies Trust, which itself is also opening four new schools – two secondary academies in Hackney and two primaries in Islington and Southwark.
Catherine McGuinness, chair of the Academies Trust, said that the Corporation is committed to providing access to first-class learning opportunities as she welcomed the NCS into the fold. “We will continue to work closely with Newham Council and the partner schools to ensure the sixth form continues to deliver outstanding education, helping students to reach their full academic potential,” she added.
In its first year of A-Level results for 2016, the NCS obtained 77% A*-B and 96% A*-C grades, placing it in the top 1% of schools nationally. Principal Mouhssin Ismail explained that this high level of academic achievement provides the perfect base from which to build on with the support of the City’s Academies Trust. He added: “The NCS has enjoyed great success over the last couple of years and has developed a strong reputation for outstanding A-Level provision in the borough.
“The announcement that the City of London Corporation will be the academy sponsor provides exciting opportunities for collaborative work and sharing of expertise, enhancing the educational experience of our young people.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our partner schools, University College London and Newham Council for their support, and we thoroughly look forward to working collaboratively with all our stakeholders in the years to come.”
Councillor Quintin Peppiatt, cabinet member for children and young people services at Newham Council, echoed the view that the new arrangement will see the sixth form go from strength to strength. He said: “The City’s sponsorship will secure the stable future of this outstanding sixth form school.
“The new sponsor will help us to continue to raise expectations, attainment, and deliver enriching experiences for our pupils which is crucial to the continued success of Newham Collegiate Sixth Form.”
