Mossbourne Community Academy, or MCA, is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

with academy status, located near

Hackney Downs Hackney Downs is a park and an area of historically common land in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney. The name is sometimes also used to apply to the neighbourhood around the park. Hackney Downs Park The Downs open space ...

off the A104 road, in the

Lower Clapton Clapton is a district of east London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and ori ...

area of the

London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...

in England.

Buildings

The school was first opened in 2004 on the site of the former

Hackney Downs School Hackney Downs School was an 11–16 boys, community comprehensive secondary school in Lower Clapton, Greater London, England. It was established in 1876 and closed in 1995. It has been replaced by the Mossbourne Community Academy. History ...

. The site had been purchased by Sir Clive Bourne who founded the school as one of the first " City Academies" in England. Bourne commissioned the

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners RSHP is a British architectural firm, founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007. The firm rebranded from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to simply RSHP on 30 Ju ...

to design the new school buildings, which cost £19,000,000

Description

The first principal of the school was

Michael Wilshaw Sir Michael Wilshaw (born 3 August 1946) was the Chief Inspector of Schools in England and head of Ofsted from 2012 until 2016. A teacher by profession, he is a former headteacher of St Bonaventure's and Mossbourne Community Academy, and was ...

, who left the school to become Chief Inspector of Schools In England and head of

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

in January 2012. The school opened a sixth form building in September 2009 which cost £7.7 million; they named it in memory of the late

Clive Bourne Sir Clive Bourne (27 September 1942 in Stoke Newington, London – 10 January 2007 in Nevis, West Indies) was a British businessman and philanthropist, particularly known for his work on city academies. Early life Clive Bourne was born i ...

as the "Sir Clive Sixth Form Centre". The school has a specialism in

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

. Since its opening Mossbourne Community Academy has been regularly cited as one of the top performing inner city schools in England, and used as an example of the success of the academy model for schools in general. , the head of the academy is Rebecca Warren.

Mossbourne Federation

In September 2014 the Mossbourne Federation was established. The Federation opened a sister school near Victoria Park, Hackney, Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy, which operates under similar policies to the original school. In September 2015 the Federation opened two primary schools, one near the site of the

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City devel ...

named Mossbourne Riverside Academy, and acquired the former Brooke Community School which is currently named Mossbourne Parkside Academy in

Safeguarding

In 2024, concerns were raised by parents and professionals about the school's treatment of children. This originally related to the linked academy Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy, but by December 2024 there were also allegations of emotional abuse of children at Mossbourne Community Academy. Hackney's independent child safeguarding commissioner intends to convene a multi-agency meeting to determine whether to undertake a child safeguarding practice review. The

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

said "These allegations are deeply distressing. ... We are working urgently with the local authority and the Mossbourne Federation to establish the facts and any necessary action".

Alumni

* Orla Hill, actress * Nahum Melvin-Lambert, who is a professional footballer and has played for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League ...

, studied at Mossbourne. * Precious Mustapha, actress

References

External links

Mossbourne Community Academy official website
{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Hackney Academies in the London Borough of Hackney Educational institutions established in 2004 2004 establishments in England Clapton, London Specialist music colleges in England