Michaela Community School


Michaela Community School is an 11–18 mixed, free secondary school and sixth form in Wembley, Greater London, England. It was established in September 2014 by Katharine Birbalsingh and a group of proposers including Suella Braverman. It is described as the 'strictest school in Britain' and has achieved among the best GCSE results in the nation among its first cohort of students.

History

Michaela Community School was established in September 2014 by Katharine Birbalsingh and a group of proposers including Suella Braverman in a converted office block. It opened with 120 Year 7 pupils and aims to have 840 by 2020, including a sixth form. It was named after Birbalsingh's former colleague Michaela Emanus.
A book titled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Teachers was published in 2016 and was written by teachers at the school. It describes Michaela's teaching methods. The school was rated as "outstanding" in all categories by Ofsted in May 2017. In 2018, it applied to the Department for Education to open a second free school in Stevenage, with a planned opening in 2023. It was approved in June 2019. A second book, Michaela: The Power of Culture, will be published in June 2020.

Policies

The emphasis of the school is on discipline and has a traditional style of teaching. There is a "zero tolerance" policy regarding poor behaviour; a "boot camp" week at the start of the year teaches the children the rules and the consequences of breaking them. A strict uniform code and no group work; children sit in rows and learn by rote, and walk in single file between classrooms. Staff at the school "tend to reject most of the accepted wisdoms of the 21st century."
Its pupils write several essays a year, achieve at least two years of progress in their reading in one year, memorise poems, and read five Shakespeare plays in three years. They are taught a "culture of kindness", which includes helping each other and their families, and offering adults their seats on buses and the Tube.

Academic profile

In its first set of GCSE results in August 2019, half of the pupils who sat exams got Grade 7 or above in at least five subjects and almost a quarter got Grade 7 or better in all their subjects. Overall 18% of entries received grade 9, the highest grade, compared to 4.5% nationwide. In maths, one entry in four achieved grade 9. The school's Progress 8 benchmark score placed it fifth nationally.
The school has received coverage for its policies and academic results. In September 2019, the school was cited by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson as "an example of a free school in a tough area that had achieved excellent results". In November, it was praised by Andreas Schleicher, coordinator of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment. In December, the school was selected by The Good Schools Guide as one of its "12 Schools of Christmas", describing it as "Not for the faint hearted, the cynical or the fragile. Strict, but with a warm heart beating below the surface, Michaela creates a safe, but stimulating environment, and the chance to fly".

Family lunch

Lunchtime consists of a "family lunch" of pescatarian dishes, where pupils sit at tables of six, plus one teacher or guest, and take responsibility for serving each other. They lay the table together, one pours the water, and another brings the food and serves it. Someone else serves dessert, and two pupils clear the table afterwards. Teachers eat with them, and the tables discuss what the children have learned that day, or a topic of the day such as the most inspirational person they have learned about in their history classes. After eating the pupils spend five minutes thanking someone, followed by two claps from the rest of the school. By teaching gratitude, the school believes it is teaching kindness and happiness.
The school charges £2.50 per day for a two-course lunch, as well as morning and afternoon snacks; families eligible for free school meals are reimbursed. Children are not allowed to bring food or drink to school, which includes snacks and chewing gum. There was criticism in July 2016 that the school had held pupils in "lunch isolation" because their parents had not paid the meal fees. Birbalsingh responded that the practice was part of the school's focus on personal responsibility, and that no child is left without lunch.

Notable staff