The Priory School

This is an ambitious academy at the heart of the local community. We support our students as they develop the confidence, work ethic and motivation they will need to thrive as adults.

In September 2016 we joined the Harris Federation, one of England’s most successful groups of academies. All of our academies have been rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by Ofsted.

In 2017, the Academy achieved its first set of results, with an estimated high Progress 8 score achieved. This means all students, no matter their starting point, make good or outstanding progress.

Harris Academy Orpington combines the traditional values of good manners, strong discipline and respect with excellent teaching. Our highly skilled and committed teachers inspire students to work hard and achieve their absolute best. Lessons are interesting and engaging and students are enthusiastic about learning.

Your son or daughter’s education and development is important to us. Our focus is to provide a quality learning experience both inside and outside the classroom. We promote excellence, opportunity and a ‘can do’ culture. Regardless of individual ability or background, we believe that by setting high standards, praising effort and with support and guidance, every child can excel.

Our academy is a member of the Harris Federation, a group of 44 primary and secondary academies in and around London educating some 30,000 young people. The Harris Federation Teaching School Alliance enables us not only to train and develop teachers and leaders in our own academies, but also to do so for other schools.
Each academy is led and run by its Principal and other senior leaders: we are deliberately a federation rather than a chain. What unites us is a culture that ensures the children and teenagers in our schools get an excellent education within a happy, caring and supportive environment.

As a result of this, all Harris academies so far to have been inspected by Ofsted have been rated either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ with the vast majority being Outstanding. Many of these academies replaced schools previously considered to have been failing.

The Harris Federation has been recognised as a top performer by education researchers at the Department for Education, Sutton Trust and Education Policy Institute as well as Watchsted and PwC.

We are a not-for-profit charity created by Lord Harris of Peckham. He and his family take an active interest in every Harris academy, supporting us financially and with their time.

We maintain a happy, driven and organised environment to help our students thrive. This section of our website details what life is like at Harris Academy Orpington.

We want our students to feel happy and welcome from day one.

Staff keep a very close eye on students, especially in the early days of their transition into secondary education. New Year 7s are guided through their first few days with fun team building activities to help them settle into life at the academy.

Parents are encouraged to get involved with their children’s education and to visit on a regular basis, whether for special events or to hear about their son or daughter’s progress. Reports are sent home every half term.

Daily homework ensures that students continue their education outside the classroom and establishes an ongoing momentum of study that makes it much easier when the time comes to revise for exams.

Harris Academy Orpington is dedicated to promoting the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Within lessons and through our programme of assemblies, drop down days, extra-curricular activities and school trips Harris Academy Orpington will

• Enable students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;
• Enable students to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;
• Encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely.
• Challenge opinions and behaviours in school that are contrary to the above fundamental British values.
• Enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England.
• Further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures.
• Encourage respect for other people
• Encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England.

• Understand and explain how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process;
• Appreciate that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety.
• Understand that there is a separation of power between the executive and the judiciary, and that while some public bodies such as the police and the army can be held to account through Parliament, others such as the courts maintain independence.
• Understand that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law.
• Show that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour.
• Understand the importance of identifying and combatting discrimination.