Greater Expectations: Enabling Achievement for Disadvantaged Students

How can greater expectations lead to greater outcomes for schools and the students they teach?

The London Academy of Excellence (LAE), Newham, is one of the leading sixth-form schools in the UK. The LAE’s mission is to combat disadvantage by providing ambitious young people from lower-income homes with an education on a par with the best available in the independent sector.

In its first decade, the LAE sent over 1,300 students to Russell Group universities, over 200 to medical schools and more than 150 to Oxford or Cambridge. Most of those students were the first in their family to attend a university.

The authors sift through the school′s practices to reveal universal concepts and ideas that school leaders, in any context, can consider for their own schools. These ideas include:

• Understanding the curriculum as a source of social mobility
• Planning for high quality destinations from first contact with prospective students 
• Exploring challenge strategies to achieve academic excellence across subjects

The book culminates in a list of strategies that can drive greater expectations in any school. 

Alex Crossman is Headteacher and Ian Warwick is Chair of the Education Committee at the London Academy of Excellence.

Originally a teacher in inner city London for 20 years, Ian Warwick founded LG&T in 2003 as part of the groundbreaking London Challenge, which reported directly to the Prime Minister’s Office, and transformed education across the capital city. LG&T has directly worked with well over 5,000 schools and 11,000 teachers internationally and more than 150,000 educators worldwide have used our award winning high challenge e-learning materials. 

Ian co-wrote ‘Educating the More Able Student’ and ‘World Class’ in 2016 and two new books on ‘Redefining More Able Education’ written with Ray Speakman in 2018. He has recently completed a book on learning called Unfinished Perfection, which focuses on Leonardo Da Vinci and explores strategies for improving creativity and innovation. As well as writing dozens of articles and chapters in national and international journals and compendiums, he has also spoken at over 100 international conferences. He developed a suite of 450 hours of customised online learning materials for the Hong Kong Gifted Academy and for schools in Singapore. He has worked directly with networks of schools and universities in many countries across Europe and Africa, as well as the Middle and Far East, working with them to develop and embed tailored learning resources and professional development courses.

Ian is a founding member of the Innovation and Research Steering Group at Eton College, and a Governor at the London Academy of Excellence, with a national reputation as one of the UK’s leading state sixth form providers. He has established and led 10 highly successful independent state school partnerships across the UK. Ian also just finished a 3 year research project on ‘how to create cultures of excellence’ for the Mayor of London with a network of schools including Eton and Wellington Colleges, combined with a network of state schools across London.