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10/09/25

Remember to sign up via our website for one of our open events so we can show you what Harris Clapham has to offer. ⭐️Open Evening: Wed 8th Oct: 4pm - 6pm ⭐️Open Mornings: Tues 7th, Wed 8th and Thurs 9th Oct: 9:15am - 10am harrisclapham.org.uk/38/anno…  

05/09/25

What a fantastic first week back! It has been great to see students settling in, reconnecting, and diving into learning with energy and enthusiasm   

04/09/25

We are so excited to welcome prospective students and parents to our academy! Our banner is up and we can’t wait to show you what we have to offer. Open Evening: Wed 8th Oct: 4pm - 6pm Open Mornings: Tues 7th, Wed 8th and Thurs 9th Oct: 9:15am to 10am.  

03/09/25

The corridors are buzzing again — it is so good to have all our students back after the summer break. We're excited for the year ahead!   

02/09/25

What a fantastic first day with our new Year 7s – we’re so proud of how they’ve settled in and are looking forward to welcoming the rest of the school back tomorrow   

13/07/22

Brilliant to have our own police cadet unit on site! Our first intake of recruits are into week 12 of their training. Next intake in September!     

07/07/22

Fantastic trip to China Town for a meal (and to practise our language skills!) and then to the British Museum!   

04/07/22

Our Year 8 boys are south region Federation champions!

30/06/22

Official opening today! Very special event with superb speeches from our students in all three of the languages that they study! 

27/05/22

Great excitement as we set off for  this morning and an added bonus that we got to use the brand new  !

25/05/22

What a show!  our students had an amazing time!

25/05/22

Our students as language teachers! Thank you  for welcoming us and for allowing us to share our knowledge and enjoyment of learning Spanish and Chinese with you!   

25/05/22

Thank you to  for a very informative session with our students on road safety awareness. 

17/05/22

Our amazing students started their work with  two weeks ago and we are already in the top 100 schools!

13/05/22

Ten Clapham Credits cashed in for ice-cream today! 

13/05/22

Thank you  for a spectacular show this week - thoroughly enjoyed by staff and students alike! 

31/03/22

Huge congratulations to all our finalists and our first-ever winner of Clapham's Got Talent. You were all amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed admiring your skills and talents!

25/03/22

Great to see so many of our students taking up the offer of learning to play a musical instrument. Well done for modelling The Clapham Commitment and being both curious and tenacious! 

18/03/22

Very enriching Globe Theatre visit and workshop for our students this week to support them in their study of The Merchant of Venice.

18/03/22

Speaker building and gnocchi making in design technology for Year 8 today!

Harris Academies
All Academies in our Federation aim to transform the lives of the students they serve by bringing about rapid improvement in examination results, personal development and aspiration.

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Clapham

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Newham

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Wandsworth

Westminster

Literacy

It is important that children continue to read and communicate at home to maintain their literacy development and continue to progress.

This is an area where parental support can be really beneficial. Small steps can be helpful in developing reading ability, vocabulary and communication skills, all of which are vital for learning.

Reading

Although there can be many other distractions, daily reading for enjoyment has a strong positive impact on overall achievement. Here are some simple ways to encourage and support your child to keep reading at home:

  • Daily reading can be part of your lockdown routine, offering escapism and a sense of calm. ​Encourage your child to read for ten minutes a day.
  • Role model and read yourself, when you can, talking to your child about what you are reading.
  • Read together: We often think that older children like to read on their own, but there are many benefits to reading together. It can improve communication and strengthen bonds, as well as exposing them to a greater variety of books. Choose a book with a topic you or your child are interested in and take it in turns to read, stopping to discuss and ask questions.
  • Book talk: use books and digital reading to start conversations with your child. Here are some questions that could help:
  • What do you think the book will be about?
  • Can you tell me what’s happened so far?
  • What do you think will happen next?
  • Why do you think the character did…?
  • What do you think the author wants us to think?
  • How did you feel when…?
  • Can you think of a similar experience that you’ve had?
  • Who do you know who is like…?
  • How did the character change in this story?
  • What do you think are the most important things in this chapter/section?
  • Reading can be more than just books! Children can read about their interests online, read online or print magazines and newspapers and even listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Here are some great news sites for children:

Talking

Conversations support vocabulary development and communication, which in turn supports overall literacy.  So called ‘back and forth’ conversations, where you model turn taking and really listen to each other and discuss the world around you can be great for developing vocabulary and social skills.

  • Listen: when you can, try to listen carefully and with real interest when your child talks to you. Leave pauses to encourage them to say more.
  • Eat together whenever possible, and chat about everyday things. Let your son or daughter lead the topics of conversation.
  • Collaborate: If you like to cook together or to make things following instructions, discuss the meanings of any unfamiliar words you come across. 
  • Praise your child if they use an interesting or unusual word: ’Great choice of word!’ or ‘You just used a really interesting word’ or ‘I love that word!’
  • Watch TV together and talk about what you’re watching like the families on Gogglebox. Discuss any new words or things that you find interesting.
  • Solve problems together. Discuss and agree on your approach.
  • Play word games together. Pictionary, Taboo or charades can be played easily at home with just a piece of paper.

Bedrock

Bedrock is a brilliant online vocabulary development programme which increases students' engagement with reading, whilst directly teaching them academic vocabulary. Your child has a personal login, but if they have forgotten it, they should contact their English teacher. Encourage your child to undertake at least ten minutes a day.

https://app.bedrocklearning.org/

Resources to support literacy

If you have a subscription of Amazon prime, there is a great selection of free books, magazines and comics available.

Other Useful Resources

BBC Teach

You can use BBC Teach for free. Their website is home to thousands of free curriculum-mapped videos, arranged by age-group and subject. 

Find video resources linked to all subjects for 11-14 year olds here.

BBC Own It provides advice and guidance on studying from home, including online safety and a wealth of material on mental and physical health.

BBC Bitesize has a range of resources for all ages to support online learning.

BBC Grammar for 11-14 Year Olds.