DRAPERS' ACADEMY: THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR

We held our final Governors' meeting of the first year of Drapers' Academy on 12 July.  Still lots of challenges but we all thought that not only were we making progress but the future looked most promising.

After the holidays the highlights of next term will be:

The largest entry for some time for the school on the site with some 110 children entering Year 7.  This is over twenty up on last year.

Work starting in setting up the exciting sixth form that will open in September 2012. 

A topping out ceremony for the new buildings within the next eight weeks.  This is a major step forward with the project.  The shape and size of the building will become increasingly evident over the next few months.

Selling the Academy to the local community for Year 7 and sixth form entry in September 2012 in the Autumn schools round.

Lots of improvements to the curriculum, including more music teaching for Year 7s.

Matthew Slater, the Principal, and his team have put in a huge amount of work this year and the results of this will become increasingly evident over the next few terms.

Now it is time for the staff and pupils to have a well-earned break and my best wishes to Year 11 leavers who were, unfortunately, the only year group at the Academy not to benefit from our new sixth form..

DRAPERS' ACADEMY FIRST ANNUAL SPORTS AWARDS EVENING: 7 JULY

Tessa Sanderson CBE who won a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with a record throw 69.56m.

The Drapers' Academy held its first Sports Awards ceremony on Thursday evening and we were delighted that Tessa Sanderson CBE was able to present the prizes.  Tessa runs The Tessa Sanderson Foundation and Academy in nearby Newham.  It is a charity to help youngsters who are disabled and non-disabled achieve their goals and create opportunities.  For more details go to http://tsfa.co.uk/

She is a highly inspirational speaker and gave an edge of the seat description on the way she won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles against the top competition, including Fatima Whitbread, with an Olympic record throw that proved to be unbeatable. She brought her gold medal along to prove she had won! She also gave a frank account of her desire to succeed, despite coming from a relatively disadvantaged background.

Although the principal purpose of the Academy is not sport focused we are keen to see children enjoy sport.  This year facilities have been somewhat limited as the grounds are being completely dug up and remodelled.  However from late 2012 some excellent facilities will become available across the Academy's twenty-two acre site.

There are some promising sportsmen and women and my congratulations go to Year 8 Boys who won the London School's hockey and the Year 11 boys won the seven-a-side football category in the same competition.  And to pick out a few names of the best: Frederick Bamgbelu (New school record for 300m and relay), Nicola Coutts (New school record for 200m and High Jump) and Joe Moss, David Oni and Gracian Wojciechowski who formed part of the record beating boys' relay team.

A great evening with lots of spirit in evidence.  My congratulations to the PE Faculty for setting all this up  Finally, it was especially good that at the end of the evening the Academy Sports Personality Award was officially renamed the Mayes Cup.  Susan Mayes is retiring after many years at the Academy, and its predecessor schools, teaching PE and in wider leadership roles.  She has given much of her career to help Harold Hill children.  She has also been a strong supporter of the Academy from its earliest stages and this has been of great help.  The name change was a well kept secret and came as a complete, but pleasant, surprise to Susan.

WENT THE DAY WELL?- HELP FOR HEROES RECITAL: 29 JUNE

Two extraordinarily enterprising sixth formers at St Paul's School: Alex Bridle and Tom Jackson have set up a most dynamic fundraising programme for Help for Heroes using the line from John Maxwell Edmonds' (1875-1958) World War One poem of the same name as their inspiration.  For more details go to  http://wentthedaywell.co.uk/

Tom has a younger brother, Harry, who is a Chorister at St Paul's - in fact he is the Drapers' Chorister.  This family connection led to many hundreds attending a recital held in the cathedral that featured the choristers and Simon Johnson the cathedral organist.  There was a beautiful programme of music ranging from 7th Century plainsong, through Handel and including twentieth century works by Benjamin Britten and John Rutter (born 1945). 

But the highlight was undoubtedly the first performance of Ben Parry's setting of Edmonds' Went the Day Well.  It is a most interesting piece very beautifully constructed and certainly requiring careful listening a number of times to appreciate fully.  Ben had met Alex and Tom when he taught at St Paul's School.  For more details of this interesting and clearly inspirational composer, conductor, teacher and performer go to http://www.benparry.org/

Most fundraisers would think that setting up a recital evening with the Duchess of Gloucester as principal guest as well as a large number of City well-wishers, including the Lord Lieutenant of London - Sir David Brewer, would be resting on their well-earned laurels.  But they are driven by their cause and were shortly about to embark on a sponsored cycle ride from John o' Groats to Land's End. Totally impressive.

Incidentally in a brief meeting with the Duchess of Gloucester she recalled her recent visit to Drapers' Academy and was still clearly impressed with the changes the Principal, Matthew Slater, and his team were already achieving in the relatively short time the Academy has been open.

Do support Went the Day Well if you can.

GUILDHALL EDUCATION LUNCH: 23 JUNE

Michael Gove MP, 'a whirlwind of ideas all delivered with perfect lucidity.'

To give this lunch its full title it was 'To Mark the Continuing Importance of Education to the City and the Nation.'  It was hosted by the Lord Mayor and included a very wide cross-section of guests: CEOs of the big City-based companies, Livery Companies with a major involvement in education, heads of major schools with a City or Livery link, representatives from a wide variety of educational charities as well as representatives from the civic City.  Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Education, was the principal guest and speaker.   David Levin, headmaster City of London School and currently Chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference - the first time a head of the City of London School has held this appointment - also spoke.

Michael Gove continues to be a whirlwind of ideas all delivered with perfect lucidity. His particular theme at the lunch was that the independent sector must do more to help raise standards in the less well performing maintained schools.  In fact the Livery Companies do a lot already and the Mercers and Haberdashers were singled out in the Economist's Bagehot column on 25 June as being leaders in this field.  The Drapers do not run education on the scale of either of these fellow members of the Great XII.  Nevertheless even though our Drapers' Academy is not quite a year old we are already beginning to see links develop with Bancroft's School as well as with other Drapers' schools and universities further away.  

Those who have read this blog from its start last summer will recall that Michael Gove, in his first few weeks in office, certainly caused us considerable disquiet when it appeared that he might cancel the Drapers' Academy new buildings.  At that time he was not particularly popular - a measured understatement - with the Academy project team.  But this is now all behind us.  I do not agree with everything he says but his robust and consistent championing of good education for everyone and the action he is taking to achieve it has been of considerable help in our work at the Academy over the past year.

HRH DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER VISITS DRAPERS' ACADEMY: 4 MAY

On Tuesday afternoon Drapers' Academy was visited by HRH Duchess of Gloucester for a short visit.  However in the fifty minutes or so that she was at the Academy she managed to meet or at least be seen by almost every member of the school.

The visit started in the Dining Room where the Senior Management Team, Head Boy and Head Girl and other members of staff were served tea by Year 10 Domestic Science pupils from a beautifully laid out table.  The Duchess was so impressed she asked for a 'doggy bag' to be made up so that she could take it away.

She then moved up to the Library.  As she reached the first floor she was able to look out at the new building which is now rapidly taking shape.  In the Library there was a science class in progress finding out about our Solar System.

Then it was back in to the Hall where a dance using motifs from the Mexican Dance of the Dead was performed: not at all as gruesome as it sounds and the skull masks were extraordinarily varied and suffused with nice touches of black humour.  There was then a fashion show and further short performances.

It was then time for HRH to leave and she walked out to Settle Road along a path lined with Years 7 and 8 (11 to 13 year olds).

Throughout the sun had shone, everyone the Duchess spoke to was most clear and impressive and were all good ambassadors of the Academy.  A lot of work had gone into the visit but it had gone off perfectly.  Everyone at the Academy could look back on a day which marked another key milestone in the progress of the school.

If you want to see more pictures and comment go to http://www.drapersacademy.com/ there are some really good photographs; including the one below.

As HRH Duchess of Gloucester left the Academy Years 7 and 8 lined the path leading to Settle Road.  For full portfolio go to http://www.drapersacademy.com/

BREAKFAST MEETING AT QUEEN MARY: 8 APRIL



I rather like this bird's eye view of the main campus.  It shows the huge amount of development that has taken place on the site over the last twenty years.   The original part of the site, shown as Queen's Building, is illustrated as the People's Palace at the foot of this blog. 

Friday morning started with the now traditional, I think it has been going in some form or other for fifteen years, breakfast with Queen Mary, University of London. In recent years it has taken place at Queen Mary's main campus on the Mile End Road.

The Company's links with the College go right back to its foundations.  In fact the core of the site is the original location of the Francis Bancroft school and almshouses founded in 1736.  The almshouses have long gone but the school still flourishes a bit further up the Central Line in Woodford.

The Drapers' team included the Master and Wardens and the two members of the Queen Mary Council that are nominated by the Company.  Liveryman Jocelin Harris is Vice-president of the Council and chairs the Finance and General Purposes Committee and Master Warden Anthony Walker is Chair of QMSU Services Ltd the trading business of the university.  Jocelin's father, Past Master Martin Harris, was a much respected President of Council for many years.

Professor Simon Gaskell and three vice principals, Professors Susan Dilly, Philip Ogden and Morag Shiach hosted us on behalf of Queen Mary.  Our links are even more intertwined these days as we are jointly sponsoring Drapers' Academy, Morag Shiach, Susan Dilly and myself are all governors.

We had a most useful review of issues of joint concern and then had an opportunity to visit the new history building - name has yet to be revealed - that now creates an impressive facade along the Mile End Road.


The original People's Palace. The Company donated a significant sum towards initial building costs of the technical wing of the Palace and contributed for many years towards the running costs of the institution.



DRAPERS' ACADEMY NEW-BUILD, THE BIG CRANE ARRIVES

The crane is huge though dwarfed by the new Academy site.  The buildings themselves will cover an area of about threequarters of a hectare (let's call it an acre and a half!)  In the foreground the foundation slab of the new building can be seen.  This picture was taken in mid-March. 

This is such a good picture that I have copied it from the Drapers' Academy website.  It is of the huge crane that is now erected on site and will start to put the framework of the new buildings together like a Meccano set. 

Kier are now making very rapid progress and the good weather is certainly helping them keep up to schedule.  I am sure there will be a lot of interesting developments over the next few weeks. Also I must put on record that I am most impressed with the way that Kier are managing the site in a way that is almost completely unobtrusive to its neighbours.

For more information on the new-build and Drapers' Academy go to the website http://www.drapersacademy.com/ 

MATTHEW SLATER, PRINCIPAL DRAPERS' ACADEMY STARTS BLOG

Matthew Slater, Principal Drapers' Academy

At the last Drapers' Academy Governors meeting on 29 March Matthew Slater, Principal of the Academy, announced that he had started a blog.  This blog either appears as Principal Slater or Views from the Hill and can be accessed through the Drapers' Academy website.  Go to www.drapersacademy.com

Incidentally the Drapers' Academy website - which is linked to this blog - is developing very well and worth a look if you have a moment

EDUCATION DINNER: 17 MARCH

The March Court Dinner is traditionally one that commemorates the Company's education links.  These, as regular readers of this blog will know, are very wide ranging.  They involve some twenty five organisations and range from Oxford and Cambridge colleges to an infant school, the Thomas Russell Infant School at Barton-under-Needwood in Staffordshire.  A consequence is that the guest list is very eclectic including chairs of governors, heads, Drapers' governors, Drapers' scholars and fellows as well as head boys and head girls of our various schools.

A record number of one hundred and twenty five attended.  This increase was partially due to the fact that Drapers' Academy is now established.  Incidentally Matthew Slater, the Principal, and others were made most welcome.

One pleasant coincidence is that Professor Michael Moriarty, the husband of Professor Morag Schiach, a vice-principal at Queen Mary and also vice chair of Drapers' Academy, has recently been appointed to the Drapers' Chair of French at Cambridge University.

Our principal guest was Lord Adonis.   When he was leading the academy programme in the last government he gave considerable support to the Company in the early stages in the development of Drapers' Academy. Andrew is a man of considerable interests and energy.  After providing a huge energy in setting keeping the momentum going with the academy movement he then went on to spend a very innovative time in the Department for Transport, latterly as secretary of state, where he was particularly active in promoting the growth of railways including publishing proposals for increased electrification and the building of a high speed railway north of London, known as High Speed 2. 

As I mentioned in my speech a minister who can claim one sucessful initiative that has bought real bebnefit is unusual but to achieve success in two fields, in this case education and transport, is exceptional. Andrew Adonis gave a great speech combining his hallmarks of a lightness of touch and a passionate commitment to improving education.

MASTERS' CHARITY: HAROLD HILL INITIATIVES: PART ONE GETTING STARTED

Each year, as all the Drapers reading this blog will know, the Master selects a charity he wishes the Company to support.  The charity acquires four benefits from this: a significant cash grant from the Company of £10,000, charitable donations by members of the Company - members of the Company are notably generous and a very considerable sum is given, a fund-raising event in the Hall at cost and, of course, further publicity for the charity.

This year I have selected a charity that is not yet a charity.  It is called Harold Hill Initiatives.  As it name makes clear it is focused on getting a number of projects started on Harold Hill.  This is where the Drapers' Academy opened in September 2010 (see a considerable number of earlier posts) is located.

Harold Hill is a former London County Council overspill estate built some sixty years ago.  The estate is  attractively laid out and much of it has  matured well. However it is remote - right on the edge of the green belt - and employment prospects are not good.  Many on the estate are now into a second generation of being dependent on welfare.  This is reflected by the fact that the two wards on the 'Hill' are the poorest in London Borough of Havering and well inside the bottom 10% nationally.  With state-spending cutbacks this is about to become a bigger issue.

Interestingly, although there are a large number of charities working in the inner city -see for instance the next post on the Drapers' City Foyer at Bethnal Green - there are virtually none active on the outer rim of London.

However a very active local group on the 'Hill' including Rev Russell Moul, the parish priest of St Paul's, are in the process of setting up a local charitable enterprise provisionally called the Diamond Trust.  Quite by chance Liveryman David Monro is providing legal on advice on this. This charity will be established within the next six months.  Meanwhile Harold Hill Initiatives can get the work started.

The big advantage of a local charity is that its reaction time can be very quick and can best understand local priorities.  Also volunteer support means that cost overheads are negligible.  We have a number of ideas that can get going immediately.  These include the establishment of a 'Listening Post' where people with problems can receive confidential support and advice and a micro-loan operation to provide finance to get young adults started in setting up their own businesses.

The charitable side of Harold Hill Initiatives will be overseen by Andy Mellows, our Head of Charities, and Stephen Beeson, Director of Finance at Drapers' Academy, will also help out.

More reports follow.

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: KING'S WOOD NORTH BLOCK IS DEMOLISHED: 1 FEBRUARY



Looking south-east from Settle Road, King's Wood North Block is virtually gone.  Work on the foundations of the new Drapers' Academy buildings starts shortly

Past Master James Devereux, the Drapers' Academy governor leading on the newbuild, sent me a view of the North Building site taken while he was visiting the school on Tuesday.

A demolition site may not be the picture with the greatest amount of interest to the casual reader of this blog.  But to those who have been following the story of the Academy new-build from the time that Michael Gove called in the project for review in July last year, only weeks before contract sign-off - now called Gove Tuesday in the academy movement, this view of a cleared site marks the end of the beginning. 

The Great Crested Newt

Work will now start on creating the foundations and structure of the new buildings.  There will also be a huge earth moving project to landscape the site to create better playing fields and ground source heat pump system to give the Academy a large measure of energy self-sufficiency. With the latter works we have to look after our Great Crested Newts and make sure they come to no harm.  A colony of this increasingly rare species lives on the edge of the playing fields. In the words of the law it is an offence to, 'Intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct access to any structure or place used for shelter or protection by a Great Crested Newt.'  To avoid this will require some very complicated earth moving activity.  But compared with other problems we have faced I am sure this is manageable.

Just over four terms, and under seventeen months, before the new buildings are open.

ST JOHN AMBULANCE: A NEW DRAPER AFFILIATION

Nicholas Anstee, the last Lord Mayor, suggested that livery companies might wish to adopt St John Ambulance Cadet Units, see www.sja.org.uk/ for further information.  Because of our increasing involvement with the Harold Hill community it has been agreed that the Company's name be linked to to the Harold Hill Division. Also the division will be more closely associated with Drapers' Academy.

Freeman Jeremy Bromfield MBE, who is exceptionally well known to generations of Bancroftians as he was at the school from 1978 until recently - and still hasn't really left - will act a Company liaison.

Incidentally, he is also working on a new version of the history of Bancroft's School.  This follows on from the late liveryman Kevin Wing's book of some thirty years ago.  He is aiming to publish in time for the school's 275th anniversary in 2012.   Quite a challenge but I am sure Jeremy will rise to it.

Past Master Stephen Foakes, who among many other voluntary commitments, is St John Ambulance Area President for North East London, has been keeping a close watch on the project.

To complete the picture his son, liveryman Tom Foakes, is curator of the recently opened Museum of the Order of St John in Clerkenwell.  It has started well.  Go and see www.museumstjohn.org.uk/ where you may wish to note the very positive review by the Evening Standard of earlier this month.

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: END OF THE FIRST TERM

We have now come to the end of the first term of Drapers' Academy.  It has been a busy, demanding but successful fourteen weeks. 

Matthew Slater and his team have rapidly and effectively introduced new standards of discipline and self-respect.  Work has started on further developing teaching quality to make sure every child has the best chance to do well academically.   New staff have generally settled in well, although one or two found it a lot more stretching than they imagined.

On the last Friday of the term (17 December) Year Eleven visited the Hall.  The journey down from Harold Hill was much disrupted by a sudden snowfall, that even after a fortnight of similar incidents still brought the A12 to a standstill.  It was a truncated visit but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

A very good start but next year will probably be the most challenging as the new-build starts and the pressure of GCSEs for the current Year Elevens mounts.

Incidentally the website is being rapidly improved so visit http://www.drapersacademy.com/ if you want to follow progress.

INFORMAL LIVERY DINNER 10 NOVEMBER

The Livery of the Company is approximately 300 strong and is its senior members.  By ancient custom the Livery comes together to dine at the Hall on a number occasions each year.  The other ancient custom where the Livery in its robes - hence the name - paraded through the streets of London on notable festival days has long disappered into history.

There are now three Livery Dinners in the Company year that starts in late July. Two are major events: one in April where the Company entertains the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs.  Although with 108 livery companies and relentless overseas travel commitments we do not always entertain the Lord Mayor these days.  The other is the Election Dinner in July: see some of my earliest posts.

The third is a more low key affair.  Guests are not invited and the Livery dine rather more informally and with a lot less ceremony. This year's Informal Livery Dinner took place on Wednesday 10 November.

The after dinner speeches are also very curtailed and principally include a 'state of the nation' review by the Master of the Company. 

This year I thought I could be particularly positive. 

Drapers' Academy has opened.  Work on the new school buildings is at last underway.  Now we are started there is an opportunity for the Livery and Freedom of the Company to become engaged in a number of ways.  We need to share our success and experience with the Harold Hill community. 

Despite the unsettled and unsettling times our investment portfolio is doing very well and our assets are back at the highest levels we have seen over the last few decades.  A great deal of credit goes to Past Master John Padovan and the Investments Committee - I shall do a post on this vital group shortly - aided by our Director Finance, David Sumner, and Company Secretary, Priya Ponnaiyah.

Finally, I noted that the Almshouse Review Committee, under the leadership of Past Master Graham Zellick, is beginning to define the issues that need to be addressed to make progress.

In response Past Master David Addis, only recently and safely back from the southern Sudan where he was setting up a radio station, gave a most generous vote of thanks.  Its content was such that, as the saying goes, only my mothere would recognise the person described.

It is a pleasant position to be in to report such positive developments and, despite a difficult economic situation the Company is in a position to move forward in so many areas.

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: HALF WAY THROUGH THE FIRST TERM

North Building with only a few weeks to go before demolition.  Keir's temporary fencing line will be replaced by something a lot more permanent over the next few days.  Framed by trees in autumnal hues the building looks almost attractive - it is alleged to have won an award in 1952.  But times move on and this building has served its purpose over the last sixty years and will be replaced by something very much better.

The Temporary Science blocks.  They may look a bit basic externally but the do the job and are really well fitted-out inside.

I caught the 'Red-Eye to Romford' from Liverpool Street at 6.30am on 2 November to be at Drapers' Academy in time for morning assembly and discussions with Matthew Slater, the Principal, and Stephen Beeson, Director of Finance, so that I could get back in time for the Sir William Boreman's Foundation meeting at 11.00am (see next post).

Things are moving very fast at the Academy.  The team Matthew leads have put in a huge amount of effort to enrich teaching and establish the basic standards of behaviour are are essential building blocks on which to base academic and personal improvement.  I was really impressed with the progress being made.  I think a really great story is starting.

The temporary accommodation providing both great new science classrooms and a girls changing room where the showers actually work are ready to go.  Late connection to the new electric sub-station is a few days away and while I was there the standby generator was failing lamentably and setting off all sorts of carbon momoxide warnings.  But by Friday this should be a thing of the past.

Kier has temporarily fenced off the North Building site and the huge grounds around the Academy are now a lot smaller.

Drapers' Academy has got off to a good start and by the first half-term a lot has been achieved.  But there is huge amount still do on a whole range of issues: raising academic standards, giving every child at the Academy the best chance possible and creating a new school in outstanding buildings.  Big challenges but everyone seems up for it.

BARTS AND THE LONDON SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY: ST LUKES TIDE SERVICE OF DEDICATION 26 OCTOBER

Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry is part of Queen Mary University of London (see www.smd.qmul.ac.uk/ for more information).  Its charitable trust has made a particularly generous offer to Drapers' Academy concerning the potential award of a fully funded medical and dental scholarship in 2014, of which more in a moment.




The highy atmospheric interior of
St Barts the Great

On Tuesday evening the School held its annual St Luke's-tide Service of Dedication in the magnificent church of St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield.  For more details go to www.greatstbarts.com/ The current church is the surviving part of a twelfth century monastery and, despite the depredations of the centuries, still projects an atmosphere of its deep past.

The service complemented this.  The faculty of the school entered the church in their academic gowns and predominant colours of dark blue and claret as the autumn evening drew in gave some small sense as to what the atmosphere would have been like before the Reformation when the building was part of the great Augustinian abbey that occupied the site.

After the service there the commemorative William Harvey dinner followed at Butchers' Hall nearby.  Harvey (1578-1657) was Physician at St Bartholomew's Hospital from1609.  He was one of the great medical pioneers, in particular identifying the true purpose of the heart.  In parallel with William Lambarde, see other posts, he was in a group of Englishmen at the time who used careful observation and analysis to redefine our understanding of the world around us. 

Also to return to the Barts and the London School for Medicine and Dentistry and the new Drapers' Academy.  As co-sponsor of the academy Queen Mary University of London has a programme where under- and post-graduates visit the school and the medical and dental faculties play a part in this. 

Additionally Barts and the London Trust have recently created a medical and dental scholarship that will fully fund a place for five years.  This is awarded once every three years and in 2014 they have said that Drapers' Academy will be given first opportunity to produce a suitable candidate for the award.  This will be a huge challenge for our newly created sixth form.  However if we can get a student from Harold Hill into one of the country's leading medical schools this will be a great achievement for both the individual and the wider community.

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: VISIT TO KEW GARDENS 13 OCTOBER

A view of the famous pagoda at Kew.  We have a great landscaping opportunity at Drapers' Academy, in part to revive a 190 year old landscaping scheme by Humphry Repton (1752-1818).  But this pagoda is probably just a little too ambitious for our budget.

A group of us working on Drapers' Academy, including representatives from Kier, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Cormac Fanning from the Academy, visited Kew Gardens yesterday to discuss how we are going to plant and operate the biome that will play a big part in stimulating the science syllabus as well as being an arresting part of the building's design.

The biome, a two storey glass box with a 1000 square foot footprint, will be built on the south side of the science block and be visible immediately on entering the Academy.  It will be in three segments.  The centre will contain a full size tree, on the eastern side there will be an enclosed arid, hot environment and on the west side, alongside the main corridor, we had originally intended to create a wet tropical environment but after discussion with Kew yesterday we will probably creater a slightly cooler space but one that will grow temperate plants that do would not survive outside in England.  We are creating probably the largest biome at any school in Britain (but I recognise that such records can be easily broken) and a facility that will have a huge ranges of uses.

Discussions with the Kew team, who were really helpful and enthusiastic, were very fruitful, no pun intended, and we came away with lots of ideas and a much clearer idea of the timing and nature of of the various decision points in during the Academy building programme.

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The Kew Gardens team have a great knowledge of the sort of plants that appeal to children and carnivorous plants are right at the top of the list.  This is a Pitcher Plan. It is designed so that  insects fall into the plant into a broth of very powerful enzymes and are digested.  Interesting the little lid on top is not not designed to trap the insect but rather to stop rain entering inside the stem and diluting the strength of the liquids inside. Also the Kew Gardens team told us that after some school visits they have to remove a variety of objects that have been fed to the Venus Fly Traps, rubbers, rulers and sweet wrappers are some of the more commonly found untasty objects. 

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: NEW BUILD CONTRACT SIGNED AND OPEN EVENING 4 OCTOBER

I went to Drapers' Academy on Monday evening to sign the contract  relating to the new buildings for Drapers' Academy and also to be present at the second open evening for the Academy for those wanting to come to enter for September 2011 - more of this in a moment.

Although the actual contracts had been signed last week this was the symbolic conclusion of a complex process that had, as they say, 'gone to the wire.'  The contract is quite complicated in that London Borough of Havering, using a Partnerships for Schools  framework, contract with Kier to build the new academy and once completed it is handed over to us.

Unfortunately the five week delay in July/August (see a number of previous tense blogs about this period) made for a very tight timetable.  Especially as the framework agreement under which we are procuring the academy has been replaced with a different arrangement.  Our framework agreement expired on 30 September so if we had not signed the contract by then it would have been back to start the whole process over again.  Nothing like a bit of presure to raise the tension.

Inevitably there were the last minute hitches as documents had to go through a four way shuttle in various permutations between Partnerships for Schools, Kier, London Borough of Havering and ourselves.  Patrick Thompson at Havering's legal department and Stephen Beeson, Director of Finance Drapers' Academy, both did a really great job to ensure that the machinery was unjammed on the number of occasions when yet another last-minute difficulty had arisen.  At 4.30pm on 30 September, with only seven and a half hours to go, everything was in order and the new-build is now a certainty.  Work begins in earnest on site after half term.


Handing over the pen to Professor Mike Watkinson.  From the left: Professor Mike Watkinson, myself, the Mayor of Havering
Photograph by David Tomlinson



All dressed up with a contract to sign.  Professor Mike Watkinson, myself and the Mayor of Havering taking turns to sign the ceremonial new-build contract.
Photograph by David Tomlinson

At the beginning of the Open Evening we held a small ceremony where the Mayor of Havering, Councillor Pamela Light, Professor Mike Watkinson - incidentally congratulations on his academic elevation of three days ago - one of the Queen Mary governors and myself signed a contract before a large crowd of Harold Hill residents.  As can be seen from the photographs we decided this auspicious occasion was one for full ceremonial dress.  Andrew Ireland, Director of Children's Services Havering, and David Tomlinson, Director Future Schools, Havering who have both done so much to support the project were also present.

Matthew Slater, the Principal, then moved on to the main purpose of the evening which was to present the Academy.  This was primarily for children, and their families, who are thinking of entering next September, but it was clear that the evening had attracted wider interest.  Matthew gave a robust and powerful talk about the Academy vision and two Year 10s (14-15 year olds) gave very positive and confident responses to his questions about such diverse issues as teaching methods, discipline and uniform.  A large number of staff had come in to demonstrate various subjects and the kitchens were open to demonstrate the revised menu.  The prefects also did a great job as guides.

It was a big change from last year.  At that time we had no Principal, or any other staff, no deal signed to establish the Academy and no absolute certainty of new buildings.  What a difference a year makes!

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: YEAR 7 VISIT TO THE HALL 1 OCTOBER

Friday saw the first visit of a Drapers' Academy year group to the Hall.  This takes up a custom that most of the Drapers' schools, particularly those closer to London, arrange an annual visit for their entry year class to see the Hall and learn something about the Company's history, traditions and current work.

As many will recall Friday was a particularly wet day and the Drapers' Academy visitors got a little disorientated in the maze of alleys that surround the Hall.  Eventally a bedtraggled, but still remarkably cheerful bunch of eleven year olds, led by Mr Cormac Fanning, Assistant Vice Principal in charge of Year 7s (11 to 12 year olds who are just starting off in the Academy), entered the Hall having toured Copthall Avenue, Throgmorton Avenue - a near miss- Austin Friars and Old Broad Street.

I am the only one not waving and not sure why!  Lunch in the Court Dining Room.
Photgraph by Penny Fussell

They were met by me in full regalia and quickly ushered upstairs to the Court Dining Room for a fish and chip lunch.  Alastair Ross, the Clerk and Penny Fussell, the Archivist, also acted as hosts.

As I have mentioned before, see my post on London Open House of 23 September, it is all too easy for those of us involved with the Hall on a day to day basis and aware of the maintenance tasks and so on, to lose sight of the fact that it is a magnificent building.  The Year 7's were a great bunch of enthusiatic eleven year olds and there was a torrent of questions. 

'Did I have to pay to keep the Hall going?' - fortunately not.

'How much did the chandeliers - Pavlenko's portrait of HM the Queen - and many other things in the room - cost?'  - I havev to admit to have made up a few sums based on the formula 'a lot.'

Was the portrait of Sir Ernest Pooley me?'  - He may be distinguished but I hope I do not look quite as old.

The fish and chips provided by Jon Perkins, and his team went down extremely well and the prospect of tables getting extra portions of chips in turn was very popular.

The meal ended and Penny Fussell showed the children round the Hall then it was back on the coaches waiting at London Wall and back to Harold Hill.  It was a great day and during the rest of the term Years 8 to 11 will also pay a visit.  It was the start of a great tradition.

Drapers' Academy year 7s heading off up Throgmorton Avenue and through the Drapers' gates to meet the coach at London Wall.  It is raining and the new Drapers' Gardens block looks most attractive with its pallette of greys that works very well in London.
Photograph by Penny Fussell

DRAPERS' ACADEMY OPENING 7 SEPTEMBER PART II 'START OF AN AMAZING EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY

The Romford Recorder's 10 September report on the afternoon opening party.  Text is below for clarity

'Grand opening: Drapers Academy

The curtain was finally raised on the Draper's Academy this week heralding a new beginning for education in Harold Hill.

An open day welcomed hundreds of parents and pupils on Tuesday to mark the official first day of school.

Head teacher Matthew Slater said he hopes it signals the "start of an amazing educational journey".

On the site of the old Kings Wood, it is the first academy to open in Havering, which is a joint venture by the Drapers' Company and Queen Mary University.

Mr Slater said: "The aim is to make Drapers' Academy the first choice school for all the families in Harold Hill, and to do that we need to provide first-class education for our pupils and generations of pupils to come."

All involved breathed a huge sigh of relief earlier this year when it was announced that a £27 million rebuilding project planned to be finished in 2012 would not fall victim to government cuts.

Staff staged the open day attended by the Metropolitan Police, Army, firefighters, local dignitaries, families and featured a performance by X-Factor singer Rachel Adedeji.

The current number of pupils for the senior school is 500 but that is expected to rise to more than 1,100 including a sixth form.

Mr Slater added: "We are encouraged to be risk-takers but our education system is about traditional values, respect and discipline.'

Rachel Adedeji was a really popular star and her performance went down really well.  The launch of the blue and yellow ballooons (the colours of both Quen Mary and the Drapers' Company and now the Drapers' Academy) was most impressive.