Sir John Cass Redcoat School

Sir John Cass's Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School and Sixth Form College is a Church of England voluntary aided school in Stepney, London. The last Ofsted report in October 2015 rated SJCR School as "Outstanding."

Sir John Cass's Foundation and Redcoat School
Address
Stepney Way London , E1 0RH England
Coordinates	51.5164°N 0.0439°W / 51.5164; -0.0439
Information
Type	Voluntary aided school
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England
Local authority	Tower Hamlets
Department for Education URN	100977 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Headteacher	Mr P Woods
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1830 (1366 Secondary 464 Sixthform)
Website	http://www.sjcr.net

History

Sir John Cass was born in the City of London in 1661 and, during his lifetime, served as both Alderman and Sheriff. He was also MP for the City and knighted in 1712. Sir John Cass was also a major figure in the early development of the Atlantic slave trade. [1]

In 1710 Cass set up a school for 50 boys and 40 girls and rented buildings in the churchyard of St Botolph-without-Aldgate. Intending to leave the vast majority of his property to the independent school (having already generously supported the parochial school), when he died in 1718 of a brain haemorrhage, Cass had only initialled three pages of his will. The incomplete will was contested, but was finally upheld by the Court of Chancery thirty years after his death. The charity school was managed by nine independent trustees named in the will, none of whom were ex-officio or nominated by external bodies. The school, which by this time had been forced to close, was re-opened, and the foundation established.

It was decided to separate primary and secondary school education, and a suitable site was found in Stepney.

The Red Coat School, Stepney, has had various names including Stepney Parish Day Schools, Stepney Church School and the Charity School in the Hamlet of Mile End Old Town. It was established in 1714 by voluntary subscription for the clothing and education of a limited number of boys born within Mile End Old Town. The school-house was built on Stepney Green (though the boys were separately housed in Mile End Road for some time).

Both the Sir John Cass and the Red Coat school merged to become the Sir John Cass's Foundation and Red Coat School, opening doors for the first time on 5 September 1966.

In November 2014 an Ofsted inspection downgraded the school to "inadequate" due to safeguarding issues,[2] after the inspection found that students from the sixth-form’s Islamic Society had shared links to extremist material on Facebook. The inspectors also found that the school segregated boys from girls outside of lessons, and felt that it failed to do enough to keep students safe from the risks posed by extremism. Other schools in Tower Hamlets were also inspected at the same time in wake of the Trojan Horse scandal.[3][4][5][6][7]

In September 2016, SJCR School celebrated fifty years in education. All alumni (ex-pupils and ex-staff) were invited to join in the celebrations.

In June 2020, during the global George Floyd protests, it was announced the school would be changing its name to remove the reference to Sir John Cass due to his connections with the slave trade, and that a new name would be selected after a consultation with students, staff, governors and parents.[8][9]

Catchment

The school admits pupils aged 11 to 18, with approximately 1400 students in the main school and 720 in the sixth form. Although the school is run by the Church of England, ninety percent of its pupils come from ethnic Bangladeshi, mainly Muslim backgrounds.

Ofsted Ratings

As of January 2020 the school has undergone four full inspections and had four additional visits from Ofsted.[10]

Past Ofsted ratings

Year of Inspection	Grade	Link to full inspection report
2005 (first inspection)	Good	[11]
2008	Outstanding	[12]
2014	Inadequate	[13]
2015	Outstanding	[14]

Results

2015

GCSE Results 2015

• 141 pupils achieved 5 A*–C grades, including English and Maths (75%)
• 83% of pupils achieved 5+ A*–C grade GCSEs (or equivalent)
• 49% of pupils achieved the English Baccalaureate
• 87% of pupils made at least expected progress in English
• 84% of pupils made at least expected progress in Maths
• 154 pupils achieved an A*–C in English (83%)
• 164 pupils achieved an A*–C in Maths (85%)
• 30 pupils achieved 8 or more A*/A grades including 10 pupils with over 11 A*/A grades
• 65 pupils achieve 3 or more A*/A grades (35%)

Key Stage 5 Results – 2015

• Academic Qualifications
  • Average point score per academic entry 220.3
  • Average point score per academic student (full-time equivalent) 791.41
• Vocational Qualifications
  • Average point score per vocational entry 256.8
  • Average point score per vocational student (full-time equivalent) 821

Uniform

The school uniform is a white shirt or blouse, with mid-grey trousers or skirt and a navy pullover or cardigan. Tie colours correspond to the year of the student. All students must wear full and correct uniform for school, school occasions and PE and Drama lessons.

References

1. "London slavery statue removed from outside museum". BBC News. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
2. "School report Sir John Cass's Foundation and Red Coat Church of England Secondary School". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
3. Dunne, John. "East London school not protecting pupils from extremism, says Ofsted". Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
4. Holness, Margaret (21 November 2014). "Sir John Cass: C of E school acts fast to counter 'extremism' charge". Church Times. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
5. "Church of England school taken aback by Ofsted rating amid extremism row". The Guardian. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
6. Nye, Philip (21 November 2014). "Outstanding Tower Hamlets school downgraded over 'extremism' failings". Schools Week. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
7. "Extremism Fears Over Leading State School". Sky News. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
8. King, Jon. "Sir John Cass's Foundation and Redcoat school in Stepney Green to change its name over slave trader link". East London Advertiser. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
9. "Statement from the Governing Body-17-06-2020/". Sjcr.net. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
10. "Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School URN: 100977". Ofsted. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
11. "07 February 2005 Full inspection". Ofsted. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
12. "21 May 2008 Full inspection: Outstanding". Ofsted. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
13. "09 October 2014 Full inspection: Inadequate". Ofsted. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
14. "07 October 2015 Full inspection: Outstanding". Ofsted. Retrieved 24 July 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Department for Children, Schools and Families – EduBase2 – Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School
• Ofsted reports on Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School
• Directgov – School Profile