Feversham Primary Academy

Feversham Primary Academy, a state school in Bradford, UK, is an incredible story of transformation, perseverance, innovation, and unparalleled success, from a failing school in a deprived area in 2011 to a top 1% performer by 2019. The school's investment in specialist teachers, the arts, and a peer-driven professional development model has resulted in its stunning turnaround and its mark on the entire UK education system. Today, Feversham is a global leader in primary music education, a case study for the National Plan for Music Education, and a beacon of hope for schools around the world struggling to overcome adversity.

Located in one of the most deprived areas in the UK, with high levels of poverty and crime, and low levels of education and employment, Feversham Primary Academy achieved its remarkable transformation through a series of bold and innovative strategies. The school's new headteacher, Naveed Idrees OBE, began by investing in specialist teachers and giving them the autonomy to lead their areas with professional development and flexible working. He also implemented a peer-driven professional development model that empowered and motivated the staff.

Under the supervision of Jimmy Rotheram, the school’s music director, the school changed its approach to make the arts the bedrock of academic success. Increasing the hours of music and arts each week allowed every child to access a musical instrument and tuition throughout their time at the school. This approach helped to broaden the curriculum and foster a sense of inclusivity that had been previously lacking.

As a consequence, the investment in the arts helped to boost English and maths results, which had been the school's initial focus areas. By giving the students a creative outlet and a sense of purpose, the school was able to achieve outstanding academic outcomes across all areas.

Feversham's success has also been driven by the school's willingness to collaborate and share its pedagogy with a partnership of schools and organisations, and parts of its music and science curricula are used around the world. This has helped to spread the school's innovative ideas and practices, amplifying its impact and making it a global leader in primary music education.

If Feversham Primary Academy wins the World's Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity, the school intends to use the prize to continue building grassroots projects in the community, working to address the wider social issues that the community faces and collaborating with a cluster of schools, organisations and researchers to provide a model for sustainable and scalable grass-roots development. Feversham believes it can turn this small part of Bradford into a beacon of teaching excellence. The school will continue to invest in the development of its staff, empowering and motivating them to develop a colourful, arts-rich community of schools that support healthy, creative and successful lives.