Two London schools have been named on the shortlist of the World’s Best School Prize.
Kingsford Community School in Newham and Avanti House Secondary school are now in the running to win a share of the $50,000 prize fund.
The annual global awards go to five schools in the five categories of community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives.
The award was launched by global education hub T4 Education in the wake of the pandemic to highlight the work of schools that are changing lives in both their classrooms and beyond their walls. The aim is to share their work more widely to improve education everywhere.
Kingsford Community School is on the shortlist in the ‘overcoming adversity’ category. More than 70 per cent of students at the school speak English as a second language and nearly half are on free school meals.
The school has been recognised for having high aspirations for its students, and for its work confronting knife crime.
A spokesman for the prize said: “Kingsford collaborates with various organisations to raise awareness about safety and provide students with opportunities through a comprehensive curriculum and engagement with external partners where social mobility and cultural and social capital are key features. This holistic approach fosters a safe, supportive learning environment, even in the face of community challenges.”
The school also has a compulsory Mandarin programme.
Avanti House Secondary School, a state Hindu secondary school in Stanmore, is on the shortlist in the supporting healthy lives category. The school teaches students about spiritual, mental and physical health as part of the daily curriculum in a bid to help them deal with the stress of exams.
A spokesman for the awards said: “This holistic approach, rooted in the school’s “Avanti Way”, fosters not only high academic standards but also promotes deep personal growth and communalresponsibility among its 1,190 students.”
The school incorporates traditional subjects alongside ethics, philosophy, yoga, and meditation.
Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said: “Unless we solve the urgent challenges global education faces – from learning gaps exacerbated by Covid to chronic underfunding and the growing teacher wellbeing, recruitment and retention crisis – we will have failed the next generation.
“Trailblazing London schools like Kingsford Community School and Avanti House Secondary School, which have cultivated a strong culture and aren’t afraid to innovate, show the difference that can be made to so many lives. Schools everywhere can now learn from their solutions, and it’s time governments do so as well.”
Joanne McCartney, London Deputy Mayor for Children and Families, said:“I am delighted that Kingsford Community School and Avanti House Secondary School have been nominated for these prestigious awards. Both schools are leading examples of what is great about London, with the teachers helping to create brighter and healthier futures for their students. These nominations are a testament to the hard work of the staff, students and communities of these remarkable schools.”
