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| Islington Arts and Media School | |
|---|---|
| Name | Islington Arts and Media School |
| Established | 1999 |
| Type | Foundation school |
| City | London |
| Country | England |
| Local authority | Islington |
Islington Arts and Media School is a secondary school and sixth form in the London Borough of Islington with a specialist focus on creative disciplines and vocational pathways. The school serves students from diverse areas including Finsbury Park, Angel, Highbury, Camden, Hackney, Hackney Wick, King's Cross and Pentonville, and collaborates with cultural institutions across central London. It has been involved with arts partners and local authorities, shaping practical training and community engagement.
Founded in 1999 during a period of educational initiatives under the London Borough of Islington, the school opened amid redevelopment projects involving the Islington Council, the Office for Standards in Education, and local arts organizations. Early partnerships involved the Almeida Theatre, the Roundhouse, the Barbican Centre, the National Theatre, the British Film Institute, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, while strategic links reached City Hall, the Greater London Authority, the Department for Education, and Arts Council England. Over time governance evolved with input from the London Borough of Islington, Ofsted inspections referencing benchmarks set by the Department for Education, and collaborations with University College London, Goldsmiths, the University of the Arts London, City, University of London, and Queen Mary University of London.
The campus occupies a site near St Luke's and the Regents Canal, replacing older school buildings with purpose-built facilities. Performance spaces include a theatre outfitted for partnerships with the Almeida Theatre, the National Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, Sadler's Wells, and the Young Vic. Media suites have editing suites aligned with practices at the British Film Institute, Channel 4, the BBC, Sky, ITV, and Pinewood Studios. Visual arts studios feature equipment comparable to that found at the Royal Academy of Arts, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Somerset House, while music rooms accommodate ensembles in the style of the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Royal Opera House, and the Royal College of Music.
The curricular model blends GCSE, A-level, and BTEC pathways, drawing on exam frameworks from AQA, Edexcel, OCR, and Pearson. Core subjects align with standards promoted by the Department for Education and Ofsted alongside specialist courses modeled after units from the Royal Society of Arts, the British Council, the Arts Council England, and the Institute of Physics where applicable. Cross-curricular projects have linked syllabuses to modules used by the University of the Arts London, Goldsmiths, University College London, Imperial College London, and King's College London, while vocational options mirror apprenticeships associated with the National Careers Service, Creative Skillset, ScreenSkills, and the Federation of Entertainment Unions.
Specialist programs cover drama, film, music, visual arts, dance, photography, journalism, and digital media, often delivered in partnership with the British Film Institute, the BBC, Channel 4, Sky Arts, the Roundhouse, the National Theatre, the Almeida Theatre, the Young Vic, the Barbican Centre, and Sadler's Wells. Projects have featured masterclasses with alumni from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the Royal College of Music, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Central Saint Martins, and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and collaborative commissions with Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Somerset House, the Design Museum, and the British Museum. Technical training engages industry bodies such as ScreenSkills, Creative Skillset, the Musicians' Union, Equity, and the Writers' Guild.
Extracurricular options include ensembles, drama productions, film clubs, photography collectives, journalism workshops, dance troupes, debating societies, and community arts outreach with partners like the Roundhouse, the Almeida Theatre, the National Theatre, the BBC, Channel 4, and the British Film Institute. Sports and wellbeing activities connect students to local clubs and trusts including Islington Boat Club, London Youth, Sporting Equals, Arsenal Foundation, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, and local leisure centres. Student governance and leadership initiatives have mirrored models from the UK Youth Parliament, Young Enterprise, Duke of Edinburgh's Award, and National Citizen Service, while charity partnerships have included Shelter, Crisis, Mind, and Comic Relief.
Admissions follow criteria administered by the London Borough of Islington and the school's governing body, with priority arrangements for catchment areas covering Angel, Highbury, Finsbury Park, Camden Town, King's Cross, Holloway, and Pentonville. Allocation procedures reference the School Admissions Code, the Department for Education, Ofsted guidance, and local authority coordinated admissions, with oversubscription criteria comparable to other London schools such as City of London Academy, St Marylebone School, Central Foundation Boys' School, and Holloway School. Sixth form entry requires specified attainment at GCSE and performance in portfolio or audition processes akin to selections at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and institutions within the University of the Arts London.
Alumni and visiting staff have included practitioners and professionals associated with the BBC, Channel 4, Sky, the British Film Institute, the National Theatre, the Almeida Theatre, the Young Vic, Sadler's Wells, the Roundhouse, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Central Saint Martins, Goldsmiths, University College London, and the Royal College of Music. Figures linked by collaboration or teaching include directors, actors, musicians, journalists, photographers, filmmakers, choreographers, producers, and curators who later worked with institutions such as the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Barbican Centre, Pinewood Studios, Warner Bros., Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Category:Secondary schools in the London Borough of Islington