The UCL Academy - 2027 and Beyond

2027
and
Beyond
Providing a Transformational Education for Every Child
A five-year plan for the future of The UCL Academy
‘Learning to make a difference together’

Our mission is that students at The UCL
Academy experience an inspirational
world-class education built on a culture of
academic excellence, social responsibility
and a transformational curriculum. This work
is underpinned and inspired by the unique
partnership with our sponsor UCL. It is
important to us because we want:
Our students to leave the Academy with the tools,
experiences, values, knowledge and skills to fulfil their
potential and play their part as global citizens in the 21st
century.
Our staff to be committed to exploring, testing and reviewing
the most effective teaching and learning to ensure that
our pedagogy is the most impactful, innovative, and
transformational it can be.
Our curriculum to offer breadth, depth and balance for all
our learners so that they can go out into the world of work to
make a difference.
Our community to be inclusive, supportive, open-minded
and engaged and for us to continue to make the most of the
support of our sponsor UCL.
Over the last ten years, the Academy has established itself as
a forward looking, welcoming and ambitious school. Rooted
in serving our diverse local community, we have provided
hundreds of students with a transformational curriculum and
exceptional facilities that have instilled a culture of aspiration
and achievement. Supported and inspired by our sponsor
UCL, the values of excellence, collaboration, kindness and
diversity remain at the forefront of the work we do here.
The journey of the past ten years has been unique,
overcoming adversity, celebrating achievements and evolving
our practice. The next five years will build on the exceptional
work of our sponsor, governors, staff, students and parent
community in establishing our school. This paper provides
the five-year vision and framework that outlines how we will
work with the community, our sponsor and other partners in
achieving this vision.
Our 5 Priorities for 2022-2027
Broad, Ambitious and Impactful Curriculum
Outstanding Staff Body
Education of the Whole Child
Excellent Behaviour and Attitudes
Financial Stability and Partnership
Over the next five years, working alongside The Adelaide
Opportunities Foundation, we look forward to further
enriching the education and lives of all our students.
Professor Lucie Green
Chair of Governors
Robin Street
Co-Principal
Simon McBride
Co-Principal
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Our Values
5 Year Strategic Priorities
Excellence;
Collaboration;
Broad & balanced curriculum that educates the whole child;
Community (belonging & kindness).
Background
The Academy was founded in 2012 and this five-year strategy
is, therefore, the third in our history. Over the last ten years,
the Academy has established itself as a forward-looking,
welcoming and ambitious school. The priorities have been
drawn from consultation with all our stakeholders, current
students, parents, staff, governors and sponsors.
Context
Our five-year strategy is built on the founding vision for
the Academy and also reflects careful self-evaluation, the
changing context of education and a recognition of the
changing nature of the workplace.
This strategy outlines the ambitions we have for all our
students, staff and wider school community. Each year, our
School Development Plan reflects these five priority areas. The
framework also allows us to remain an institution built on the
principle of grounded innovation. Adapting the curriculum,
adjusting our pedagogy and responding to societal and
technological changes will be necessary in the rapidly
changing 21st century world.
At the heart of all that we do will be ensuring that the moral
purpose of our school is to provide an education that meets
the needs of all our students and remains aspirational, broad,
academically rigorous and relevant to the modern world.
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5 Year Strategic Priorities Broad, Ambitious and Impactful Curriculum
• Exceptional and unique experiences for all students provided by our
sponsor UCL
• Further evolution of our transformational, interdisciplinary curriculum
working with the world’s leading academics
“From the very first day I arrived
at the Academy, I was given the
opportunity to study all the core
subjects alongside Mandarin,
Engineering, Computer Science
and every single one of the Arts
subjects. At the time, I did not
appreciate the unique doors that
were being opened for me.”
UCL Academy Student, 2012-2019
The curriculum developed at the Academy since
we opened in 2012 is highly regarded as a broad,
ambitious and impactful curriculum. Teachers at
the Academy have exceptional subject knowledge
and expertise and are proud to deliver lessons
to our students that are academically rigorous,
leading to excellent outcomes. Our inclusive
curriculum has been designed to be relevant to
every single one of our students. It is broad in its
scope and impactful in ensuring the principles of
lifelong learning are embedded into our students’
minds. The facilities at the Academy provide
unique specialised spaces that ensure a modern
forward looking curriculum for students of all ages
is provided.
The priority for the next five years is to further build
on this curriculum, reviewing carefully, evolving
appropriately, and always maintaining a curriculum
inspired by the academic and interdisciplinary
principles of our sponsor UCL.
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5 Year Strategic Priorities Outstanding Staff Body
• All staff able to collaborate, innovate and engage in authentic research
• A shift in the paradigm of staff professional development built on our
partnership with our sponsor UCL
“Excellent training and
development of staff is in the DNA
of the UCL Academy. The vision
of the sponsor is for a school that
gives staff the space, resources,
and ambition to develop
themselves as exceptional
practitioners using research to
inform and improve their practice.
Subject specialism and pedagogic
expertise are equally important. It
is all underpinned by a pragmatic
and authentic approach to
research and innovation.”
Assistant Principal Teaching and Learning, 2022
Thanks to our unique partnership with UCL,
outstanding staff training and development is
fundamental to our staff’s experience at The UCL
Academy. Recruiting and retaining an outstanding
staff body is underpinned by a culture of staff-led
development and training that has always been a
core feature since the Academy opened in 2012.
Over the next five years, we will continue this work
committed to training and inspiring staff to not just
impact the lives of our students, but also in time to
move onto leadership roles in other schools and
thus influence education more widely.
With an already strong partnership with UCL, the
next five years will see us prioritising embedding
and building on further opportunities for staff
development, particularly in areas of well-being,
leadership development and our ongoing
innovative work on pedagogy and curriculum.
Through staff programmes such as 5 in 5, we aim
to work with UCL, Camden Learning and the DFE
to further improve professional development for all
staff inside and outside the classroom.
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Outstanding personal development inside and outside the classroom
5 Year Strategic Priorities Education of the Whole Child
“It is too easy for schools to
focus on just one aspect of a
child’s education. Educating the
whole child is about helping
young people develop personal
attributes that prepare them
for the modern world. The
Academy does this through a
curriculum inside and outside
the classroom that explicitly
focuses on a student’s personal
development, which is equally
important as a student
making the very best academic
progress.”
Co-Principal, 2022
Educating the whole child remains at the absolute
heart of the educational vision of The UCL
Academy. This principle has been systematically
built into the student experience at the Academy.
Interweaving personal development, an academic,
broad curriculum and an inclusive approach
to behaviour and attitudes, have resulted in
the education of the whole child being widely
recognised as a unique strength of the Academy.
The Academy’s approach to Self Directed
Learning provides all students with exceptional
opportunities outside of the classroom. Our
personal development curriculum maps out
student experiences across their whole Academy
career.
We want more and more students to benefit from
our scholarship and mentoring programs. In an
increasingly complex and challenging world, this
work remains as important as ever in supporting
our students to make their way through school and
beyond.
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Photo © James Tye Photography

A culture of respect and kindness across the whole academy community
5 Year Strategic Priorities Excellent Behaviour and Attitudes
“The Academy has always
been a welcoming school,
one that is open to students of
all backgrounds. The student
population is rooted in the local
community, but also represents
countries and cultures from
across the world. All students are
expected to be tolerant, kind, and
respectful of every member of staff
and fellow students. We celebrate
and recognise our diversity, and
understand that we must treat
others in the way we would
expect to be treated ourselves.”
Teaching Staff Member, 2020
Our students represent our vibrant, diverse
and urban local community. With over 60
home languages spoken and students always
collaborating and learning together, we are proud
of how our student body strives for excellent
behaviour and attitudes in and outside the
classroom. Students and families are ambassadors
for the Academy in the local area and we work with
everyone to ensure that relationships across the
community are positive, respectful and kind. Our
approach to personal development focuses not
only on the education of the whole child, but also
the physical and mental well-being of every single
student.
Our priority over the next five years is to ensure
that excellent behaviour and attitudes are
maintained as the day-to-day experiences felt by
all members of the Academy community. We will
ensure that all our staff and students are given
the resources, tools and guidance to develop our
young people so they are ready to take part in the
world as socially responsible citizens.
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5 Year Strategic Priorities Financial Stability and Partnership Development
• A fundraising program to support student enrichment opportunities
• Impactful strategic partnerships with local community and businesses
• Academy facilities established as a centre for the community
“Every child deserves the right to
an education supported by an
environment that inspires and
motivates them to achieve their
full potential. At the Academy,
we believe students should have
Encounters with Excellence. This
may be, for example, working
with unique partners like our
sponsor UCL, or through access
to world class facilities. These are
experiences we want every one of
our students to have.”
Assistant Principal Curriculum, 2023
The Academy has established itself as a popular
and well regarded school. Established in 2012
as a PFI school, the Academy is strongly secure
financially, and able to provide and support
students with a broad and balanced curriculum.
Over the next five years, the Academy’s priority
will be to not only maintain that stability but
to fundraise further to support the enrichment
opportunities we want all our students to
experience outside of the classroom. We have
already established impactful partnerships
that have provided hundreds of students with
exceptional opportunities. This has included
supporting 100s of students with overseas trips
abroad and giving many more the chance to work
with academics and undergraduates from UCL.
Not to mention our unique Self Directed Learning
(extra-curricular) programme.
Our priority is to build on this work to provide
additional funds for broader, more ambitious
strategic partnerships and capital programmes
focused on doing the very best for every single one
of our students.
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Supporting our Academy vision with time, opportunities or donations
Further Supporting Our Students and Staff
‘Working with The UCL Academy
community has been a privilege.
Supporting students through
mentoring and contributing
to the Academy’s ambitious
and inspiring provision has
been deeply rewarding
on so many levels.’’
Elizabeth Critchley, 2023
Make a Contribution
The Adelaide Opportunities Foundation has
recently been established to help The UCL
Academy provide further unique enrichment and
development opportunities for students and staff
at our school. Working closely with our sponsor
UCL and a range of partners, we have already been
able to support our students in so many ways.
The vision and ambition of our five-year strategy
will benefit greatly from further support, whether
it be time and expertise, unique opportunities or
financial donations. The Adelaide Opportunities
Foundation has been established to facilitate this
and we ask that anyone interested in helping,
contact the Academy to find out how they can help
our students and staff moving forward.
If you would like to find out more about how you can support The UCL Academy, please
contact us to learn about The Adelaide Opportunities Foundation by emailing the Director of
Development at: finance@uclacademy.co.uk
The Adelaide Opportunities Foundation,
Adelaide Road, NW3 3AQ
CALL 0207 435 2899
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“Whether you want to be a scientist,
artist or have any other career, The
UCL Academy is there to help inspire
you, give you the opportunity to
discover your passion and make
connections between the subjects
you study.”
Professor Lucie Green
Chair of Governors
Photo © James Tye Photography

The UCL Academy
Adelaide Road
London
NW3 3AQ
T: 020 7449 3080
@UCL_Academy
E: enquiries@uclacademy.co.uk