The Harris Group

Once again, our secondary Academies have achieved a superb set of GCSE results.  The 2025 Year 11 cohort were amongst the most unsettled in a generation; they missed sitting their SATs in Year 6 due to the Covid pandemic and endured a disrupted start to their secondary education.

Today our Harris students have proved that through hard work, determination and drive, it is possible to exceed their own goals and achieve their very best.

Several Academies are celebrating an excellent set of results including Harris Academies Wimbledon, Sutton, Bromley and Chafford Hundred who saw over two-thirds of students achieve at least a grade 5 in English and maths combined.  This is significantly higher than the 2024 national average of 45%.

Closing the Gap

We are particularly proud of the positive impact an education at a Harris Academy has had on students from disadvantaged backgrounds.  In this year’s Year 11 cohort, almost 40% of students come from London’s poorest communities, yet today’s GCSE results prove that socio-economic disadvantage does not have to define their future.

Today disadvantaged students in Harris Academies have achieved results that put them almost level with – and in many cases above – the national average for all students.  Across the Federation, we are pleased to report that the attainment gap is effectively closed.

For our socio-economically disadvantaged students, the average Attainment 8 score – which is calculated by totalling the GCSE scores of students in eight key subjects – is 44.  This is just 1.9 points below the 2024 national average for all students.  Nationally, in 2024, socio-economically disadvantaged pupils scored only 34.6 – meaning Harris students are a full ten points ahead of their peers across England.

Likewise, this year, 58% of Harris socio-economically disadvantaged students achieved a grade 4 or higher in English and maths, compared with 43% nationally in 2024.  This is the equivalent of 300 more young people leaving school with the gateway qualifications they need.

When looking at our English Baccalaureate (EBacc) results, Harris socio-economically disadvantaged students scored 13.0 which is almost identical to the national average for all students in 2024 (13.4) and far above the national disadvantaged average (9.9).

These results show that students from disadvantaged backgrounds at Harris are not just passing exams; they are thriving in rigorous academic subjects that give them the strongest progression routes.

Today we are celebrating some stand-out achievements by students who have overcome significant challenges whilst preparing for their GCSEs.  These include:

• Ike from Harris Academy Greenwich who lost his mum a few years ago.  Ike worked incredibly hard and participated in a number of musical performances at the Academy.  Today he has achieved eight GCSEs including six grade 8s;
• Daria from Harris Academy Peckham who fled Ukraine and arrived in the UK with limited English but a desire to succeed. Today she has achieved seven GCSEs including a grade 8 in English language and grade 6s in English literature and maths;
• Shin-Kai from Harris Academy Wimbledon who has had to move home several times over the past couple of years.  Thanks in part to the stability and consistency provided by his school, he has achieved a string of grade 8s and 9s.

We’re also pleased to be celebrating the exceptional achievements of those students who achieved grade 9s across all their subjects including Hetty at Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley, Harrison at Harris Academy Greenwich and Mawadda at Harris Academy Purley.

Congratulations to all our students.  We are thrilled that so many have enrolled in one of our Federation Sixth Forms and we look forward to seeing them emulate last week’s A level successes.  Thank you to our fantastic staff who have inspired, supported and guided our students enabling them to achieve their very best and successfully embark on the next stage of their education.