Mulberry Academy Shoreditch originated as
Mansford Secondary School, which was founded in 1896, and
Daniel Street School, founded in 1900. In the 1940s, the
Kray twins attended Daniel Street. In 1959, the two schools merged to create
Daneford School (a
portmanteau of Daniel and Mansford), a
secondary modern on Gosset Street. In 1965, Daneford acquired new buildings designed by
London County Council, and became a
single-sex school for boys. It acquired
comprehensive status in 1973. From the late 1970s, the area of East London around Daneford started experiencing increasing racial tensions, and
Bangladeshi students at Daneford experienced racist attacks. The Campaign Against Racism in Schools (CARS) was set up at Daneford, and teachers took part in demonstrations campaigning for the
Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) to adopt an anti-racist policy. In 1982, The Daneford Trust was founded at the school, a charity that facilitates youth overseas exchanges. In 1997, Daneford School became
Bethnal Green High School when it became
co-educational and started accepting female students. Shortly after, its name changed again to
Bethnal Green Technology College. In 2005, the school went into
special measures as a result of an
Ofsted inspection. The headteacher resigned and was replaced by an interim headteacher, Keith Holt. Mark Keary was appointed headteacher in June 2006 and in 2007 the school came out of special measures. Keary was praised by
Charles, Prince of Wales in a 2008 visit for the use of teachers from the
Teach First scheme in the school.
Adoption of academy status In 2010, the school benefitted from a £17 million refurbishment with money from the
Building Schools for the Future scheme. Controversially, in July 2011 the governors of the school voted to adopt
academy status. The decision was said to split the local
Labour Party group on
Tower Hamlets London Borough Council. The school became
Bethnal Green Academy in January 2012 and a
sixth form was opened in September that year. Bethnal Green Academy was rated 'Outstanding' in an Ofsted inspection in December 2012. In December 2014, a female pupil at the school,
Sharmeena Begum, left the UK to join the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In February 2015, three more female pupils known as the
Bethnal Green trio -
Shamima Begum, Amira Abase, and Kadiza Sultana - left via Turkey to join ISIL. Five further female pupils at the school were subject to a travel ban and were made
wards of court to prevent them leaving the country. Counter-extremism officers from the
Department for Education investigated the school. In order to shake off the negative associations, the school was renamed
Green Spring Academy Shoreditch in 2015. At the request of the
AQA and
Pearson exam boards, an independent investigation was launched into allegations of exam-fixing at the school. Its conclusion led to several staff, including the headteacher Mark Keary, being suspended in February 2017. Several teachers left following the disciplinary process. Keary launched an
Employment Tribunal claim in response, arguing wrongful dismissal and disability discrimination. In 2019, he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Teaching Regulation Agency. In September 2018, the school was transferred to the control of the Mulberry Schools Trust and renamed
Mulberry Academy Shoreditch. == Notable alumni ==