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24/10/25

That’s great to hear. We hope everyone enjoyed eating their pizzas 😄

24/10/25

A massive thank you to  for the delicious pizzas for our Year 6 Half Term attendees 🍕🎉 We value your community outreach so much — the perfect way to end the week! 🙌💙

20/10/25

🥐 A huge THANK YOU to Gail’s brand-new    Beckenham branch for spoiling our Year 6s with delicious croissants this morning during half-term school! 🙌 It was unanimous: the BEST croissants ever! ⭐️🥇     

17/10/25

We’re delighted to welcome our annual  African Drumming sessions back at BG! 🥁🎶 Pupils are feeling the rhythm, learning, and celebrating culture & community. 🌍✨

16/10/25

🚀 What an inspiring afternoon! Year 5 Bamburgh were thrilled to meet Dr Alice Bunn OBE, Chief Exec of  & former  leader 🌍✨She spoke about life in space, showed a replica of Tim Peake’s suit, & shared amazing insights into the ISS 👩‍🚀🔭💫

16/10/25

Year 6 Bodiam had an inspiring art trip to the South Bank today! 🧑‍🎨🚌 Studying Stephen Wiltshire’s incredible cityscapes, pupils sketched London’s skyline with focus and attention to detail. 🏙️🖊️✨ So proud of their creativity!

15/10/25

Year 2 Hever Class have had a brilliant day at Hever Castle, their class namesake. The children loved visiting the childhood home of Anne Boleyn! 🏰👑There were grand rooms, portraits & suits of armour, and stories of Henry VIII which all brought the Tudors to life 🛡️📜

14/10/25

Year 3 Warwick Class are having a rock-solid day at the Horniman Museum 🏛️🚌 They've enjoyed a hands-on workshop, which brought our history topic to life: The Stone Age! 🪨🦴🔍

11/10/25

🪔🎨 We’re hosting a Diwali Art Exhibition on Fri 17th at Harris Primary Academy Beckenham Green! Bring in your beautiful Diwali-inspired art to display & celebrate together by Friday Morning. ✨📅

08/10/25

🏆 CHAMPIONS! Our Y5 & Y6 netball team won the Red Cluster competition at    vs Beckenham, Orpington & Shortlands! 🔴💪 Amazing teamwork, slick passing & brilliant defending from everyone 🙌So proud of you all!

07/10/25

Brilliant effort from our Year 3 & 4 netballers at Harris Primary Beckenham! 🏐💙 Mixed 5-a-side vs Beckenham, Shortlands & Orpington — we finished 3rd! 🥉 So proud of the teamwork & sportsmanship. Thanks to our hosts  ! 👏

06/10/25

Year 1 Windsor went on a Geography adventure in Beckenham! 🌿🗺️Wildlife-spotting in Kelsey Park 🦆🌳 and exploring the bustling high street 🛍️—learning about plants, animals & our local environment. Proud of our curious explorers! 💚

06/10/25

This morning, Reception Leeds cooked with Kiddy Cook! Inspired by Goldilocks & the Three Bears, children mixed, measured & tasted to make their own “just right” porridge bowls. Storytelling + life skills = delicious learning! 😋👏

06/10/25

Year 6 Bodiam geographers swapped urban Beckenham for rural Eynsford today! Map skills 🗺️, landmark spotting 📍, the River Darent 🏞️, and historic bridges 🌉 made geography come alive!

02/10/25

What a day at HPABG! 🌳 Reception were introduced to Forest School, then celebrated  with joyful dancing 💃🏾🕺🏿and rounded it off with calming yoga 🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️ — minds and bodies refreshed! ✨

02/10/25

Celebrating  with a vibrant Caribbean & African Dance Workshop in Reception Leeds Class! 🌍💃🏾🕺🏾🎶 Culture, community, and lots of joy! 🪘✨

02/10/25

Today’s lunch was extra special — a pupil-designed menu! 🧑‍🍳✨ Our School Council polled every class 🗳️ and the winner was… chicken burgers! 🐔🍔🎉 A massive thank you to our brilliant pupils and to Chef Dee!

01/10/25

Year 4 Pevensey had a brilliant day at the British Museum! 🏛️🇬🇷 Exploring Ancient Greece to deepen our History learning — from democracy ⚖️ and drama 🎭 to maths 📐 and myths 🏺, we can still see their legacy today. 📚✨

30/09/25

Year 5 Bamburgh blasted off at the Science Museum today! 🚀🧑‍🚀 From planets to orbits, our Earth & Space learning came to life. 🌍🪐🔭 So much curiosity, so many wow moments  ! ✨

26/09/25

🎉🏆 Huge congratulations to some of our amazing Year 3 Warwick class for shining at the 2025 ‘Chinese Bridge’ Mandarin Competition! 🇨🇳✨ Their performance wowed the judges and earned them a well-deserved award! 👏🌟

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Latest News

Posted on July 26th 2017

Harris Primary Academy Shortlands 'Outstanding'

Harris Primary Academy Shortlands in Bromley has been rated ‘outstanding’ in every category following its first ever Ofsted inspection.

Harris Primary Academy Shortlands is a new free school that the Harris Federation opened in 2014. The Ofsted report praised the positive attitudes of the pupils and the strong support of the school leaders and staff. Inspectors said:

“Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary. They are keen to answer challenging questions which teachers probe. They do not give up when work is made harder by their teachers.”

“Leaders have high expectations for the progress pupils should make across a wide range of subjects. They are relentless in pursuit of accelerated progress.”

“Teachers enable pupils to understand and respect one another’s views and opinions. This enables even the youngest children to consider and discuss sensitive issues.”

“Pupils behave with respect for one another and adults, fully living up to the values which the school promotes.”

“Pupils told inspectors that they appreciate the individual support which teachers offer them to develop their own writing.”

“Pupils in each year group make rapid progress, living up to leaders’ high expectations. As a result, the proportion of pupils on track to meet and exceed expected standards of attainment by the end of key stage 1 is higher than the 2016 national average in reading, writing and mathematics.”

Sam French, Executive Principal of Harris Primary Academy Shortlands, said:

We are delighted that Ofsted recognise the positivity and hard work that characterises our school. This ‘outstanding’ rating is a credit to our children and staff and I am incredibly proud we have achieved this in our first ever Ofsted inspection, in just three years since opening the school. I would like to thank and congratulate our wonderful pupils, parents and staff who make Harris Primary Academy Shortlands such a special place to learn.”

Click here to read the full report.