The UK is known for having some of the best schools on the planet, but many of them are private and cost a very pretty penny. Getting a gold-standard education doesn’t necessarily require tens of thousands of pounds, though. There are lots of state schools going truly above and beyond to improve the lives and prospects of their students.
Every year since the pandemic, T4 Education has run its World’s Best School awards, celebrating inspirational institutions that ‘[transform] lives inside their classrooms and far beyond’. Now it has named its 2024 nominees across five categories: Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives. And there are five British schools in the running — four of which are state schools.
There are two British schools in the Overcoming Adversity category: Venturers’ Academy in Bristol and Kingsford Community School in Beckton, London (you can read about that one in more detail here).
The Bristolian academy was selected for transforming the lives of autistic children and teenagers, from kindergarten age through to secondary school. T4 also praised it for supporting students who face community challenges like drugs and knife crime and promoting personal growth through ‘Extreme Classroom’ expeditions to places like Svalbard and Rift Valley in East Africa.
Avanti House Secondary School, a Hindu secondary school in Stanmore, London, was nominated for ‘supporting healthy lives’, offering yoga, philosophy, meditation and ethics classes alongside the normal curriculum.
Also in that category is Lydiard Park Academy in Swindon. Lydiard has a demographic that spans 32 different languages and many needing special support. Its mission is ‘centred on early intervention and a supportive environment to address educational barriers related to mental health issues’.
Grange School, an independent school in Thatcham, Berkshire has been shortlisted for the ‘innovation’ award for empowering students with autism. T4 said that the school is ‘at the forefront of special education, dedicated to transforming the lives of children with autism with innovative learning environments like a working farm and a student-operated coffee shop’.
Each category winner will receive a prize to help them continue their transformational work. You can vote for your favourite school online here now.
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