Welcome to Harris Academy Wimbledon

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about Harris Academy Wimbledon.

We are an ‘Outstanding’ (Ofsted 2023) secondary academy, established in 2018 to provide an excellent education for children in Wimbledon. 

Two years after opening, we moved into our brand-new building which is modern, bright and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in every area of the curriculum. We are oversubscribed and fortunate to have an amazing level of support from the community with waiting lists for entry into every year group of our academy.

Our academy is an exceptional place to learn, providing an ambitious but happy and inclusive environment. As well as strong pastoral support, we offer an enriching extra-curricular programme with over 40 different activities that students can choose from each week.

As part of the Harris Federation, a highly successful group of academies in and around London, our students also benefit from wider opportunities and resources - ranging from support from the Federation’s highly-regarded team of specialist subject consultants to participation in initiatives such as Harris Experience which aims to prepare the most academically promising students for entry to the top universities in the UK.

We have high expectations of our students of all starting points and abilities. To this end, we offer a tailored learning experience so they can achieve their full potential, with students streamed according to ability. Students who need the most stretch and challenge are grouped together and follow a challenging academic curriculum, but we are ambitious for every kind of learner with provision that includes tutoring and small-group sessions for students who need extra support.  All of our classes are in a mixed setting which encourages our girls and boys to work collaboratively and develop mutual respect. 

We know that our students will leave us academically successful, but we also want them to be well-rounded individuals with a highly developed social conscience, ready to lead in their communities and beyond. Our motto is ‘make a difference’ and our students and staff give nothing except their very best in pursuit of making a difference to their lives and the lives of others around them. 

Three words are crucial to how we guide students to be able to ‘make a difference’: independence, integrity and resilience.

Independence means we support students to develop their skills and attributes so they have everything they need to succeed. We set challenging targets and raise aspirations so every single one of our students reaches their potential.   

Integrity means staff and students must be fair and truthful and have the courage to take the right action in every situation, even when no-one is looking.

Resilience means we give students the tools to recover from difficulties. We show students how taking risks and making mistakes is all part of the learning journey. We also show students how hard work brings success, and support them to persevere with all challenges.

Whether you are looking for a Year 7 place, a Sixth Form place or an occasional place somewhere in the middle, please do visit us on our open days and chat to our students and teachers about their experiences here. It really is a wonderful school and we would be delighted to welcome you.

Joanne Larizadeh
Principal