My name is Emily Smith, and I am running the London Marathon in aid of my school; Harris Academy Tottenham. I am proud to be the Head of Primary and have been working for Harris Federation for over 10 years. As I embark on my 8th Marathon, I am excited to raise funds for our amazing school in order to support children, families and staff.

Harris Academy Tottenham is part of the Harris Federation, a charity with over 25 years’ experience, responsible for the education of one in 40 children in London: over 40,000 students. We have a relentless drive to improve the life chances of our students, and donor support has been and will continue to be crucial in helping our students to succeed.

Harris Academy Tottenham is situated in Tottenham Hale, in the borough of Haringey. The Academy was founded following the turmoil of the 2011 riots, and our moral imperative to do the very best by our young people underpins all that we do; we have ‘an unwavering belief in the potential of every student.’ The Academy and Federation share a strategic aim; to diminish the disadvantage gap through high quality educational provision that expands horizons.

Haringey is the 4th most deprived borough in London and there are many issues alongside this which affect our pupils and their families each and every day. These include: more than 2,600 households in Haringey living in temporary accommodation (statutory homeless); the borough having the 8th highest rate of domestic abuse with injury in London and amongst the highest rates of serious violence due to knife crime in capital.

The Primary phase serves an ethnically and socially diverse North London community. 43.5% of students have English as an additional language, with 29 different languages spoken in the phase. 29.8% of children are eligible for Free School Meals. 13.8% of children have Special Educational Needs.

Where will your money go?

• £10 would pay for a school trip for a child whose family require financial support.

• £70 would pay for a set of uniform for a child whose family require financial support.

• £200 would pay for new art resources to develop the children’s love for painting and drawing, especially those who do not have these resources at home.

• £400 would pay for a facilitator to deliver enrichment activities to children for a half term.

• £700 would pay for a pupil at risk of exploitation to receive bespoke mentoring for 1 term.

Our end goal is to build an outside learning hub, which can be used for a variety of things including socialising, counselling sessions, mentoring and so much more! The hub would cost approximately £20,000 and would transform the learning experience of pupils in our care.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and if you are able to, for donating to our fantastic school.