A Bromley school has been accredited with the World Class Schools Quality Mark.

Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley has joined the just over 140 schools in the UK recently accredited with the quality mark.

The accreditation is awarded by education charity World Class Schools Quality Mark, whose assessment framework assesses the students and not the school, for their demonstration of skills and competencies.

The premise for this accreditation is that if the school is truly world class, then its students should be able to demonstrate these skills in any context.

Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley is one of a handful of non-selective state schools awarded the mark in the 2022-23 academic year. 

Rebecca Hitchings, faculty director of sixth form at Harris Girls' Academy Bromley, said: “We are so proud of the students for their diligent hard work in proving that they are world class students.

“The process of identifying their world class characteristics, finding evidence and explaining to an external assessor every way they meet the extensive criteria required is incredibly challenging for some of our students as young as 12 years of age, and isn’t dissimilar to the process I went through to put together a portfolio for my post graduate diploma.

“The students' contribution to our wider school, their attitude towards being constant learners and improvers is a joy to see." 

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The accreditation follows a challenging assessment process in which students worked to identify and demonstrate their world class characteristics using the WCSQM character development framework as a benchmark.

The framework highlights characteristics across individual areas including leadership, community, learning and workplace for secondary students.

Over time students demonstrated how they had met each characteristic, either at school, at home or in their local community, uploading evidence and a summary for each completed characteristic via the WCSQM internet-based app, BeWorldClass.

Once a significant number of students are proving world class characteristics, WCSQM assesses the students’ completed portfolios via a student-led assessment process.  

WCSQM was established as a charity in 2018 accrediting students using a framework of skills and competencies young people need to flourish in an emerging global economy.

The charity’s mission is to level up opportunities so that every student can develop world class characteristics both in and out of the classroom, regardless of their circumstances or background, to help them achieve their potential.  

Miranda Perry, director at WCSQM, said: “At WCSQM we wholeheartedly believe it is the students that make a school, and a school that prioritises the development of world class characteristics in its students will always be world class.

“The skills and competencies these students have demonstrated will help them excel in any environment and make them ideal candidates for whichever further education/career pathway they choose to take.

“These are the world class citizens of the next generation, and we’re incredibly proud to award them for their achievements so far.”