Harris City Academy Crystal Palace

About Harris City Academy Crystal Palace

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace opened as Harris CTC in 1990 and converted to an Academy in September 2007. The Academy is a mixed school for 1,300 students aged 11-18 recruiting students from Croydon, Bromley, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth. The Academy has twice been judged to be outstanding by Ofsted, with the most recent inspection judging the school to be outstanding in every aspect. Student progress is in the top 3% nationally.

We are an ambitious school, delivering a high quality education for each one of our students. At Harris City Academy Crystal Palace we aim to prepare young people for an ever-changing world that values self-confident, well-educated and enterprising people.

Our vision is simple - ‘All Can Achieve’.  Students are at the centre of everything we do and we aim to give all the necessary foundations for success by helping students develop the skills and attributes that will provide them with real life-chances.

Students are expected to work hard and to achieve their individual best academically, to develop skills relevant to the 21st Century and to develop the self-confidence and sense of purpose necessary for success in a highly competitive global society. Harris City Academy Crystal Palace provides a safe, yet challenging environment where students can succeed and excel, and by having the highest of expectations all can truly achieve.  

Academy Ethos:

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace has a long established, distinctive and positive ethos which guides our work and the education of our students. Preparation for adult life underpins our Academy aims and the well developed culture which is established across all aspects and functions of the Academy. We are committed to the success of each of our students and this is reflected through the Academy's values and aims to deliver:

• Exam success - we want our students to get the best possible qualifications
• Challenge, relevance and engagement - we want our students to be fully involved in their learning
• Appropriate skills for living, for work and for happiness
• Active citizens
• Self-identity and a feeling of self-worth
• Opportunities and experiences that ignite our students
• Healthy habits that are embedded for life

Why work at Harris City Academy Crystal Palace? 

• A long established and highly successful school: one of the most oversubscribed in the country and the top school in Croydon at Attainment 8 2017 
• As a Teaching School, we are able to offer all teachers an extensive programme of first class professional development and a vibrant learning community giving all the opportunities to excel. 
• All the advantages of a successful academy group, including a strong central team of support, teaching and leadership staff 
• Generous Harris rewards and benefits package 

CPD and Teaching Development opportunities 

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace Teaching School has been an established part of the Harris Teaching School Alliance for a number of years, delivering a varied library of subject specialist, leadership and safeguarding courses. The programmes available at the Teaching School site are  designed to enrich and upskill teachers of all leadership levels.  Led by informed, specialist practitioners from a host of teaching and industry rich backgrounds, Harris City Academy Crystal Palace Teaching School provides a multitude of opportunity to both internal and external applicants.