A Croydon secondary school has been shortlisted for Leadership Team of the Year at the National Schools Awards 2026.
Meridian High School, part of the GLF Schools trust, will find out whether it has won at a ceremony at the House of Lords on 4 December. The awards are run by the Institute of School Business Leadership and the Schools & Academies Show.
The school’s entry centres on two provisions it set up for pupils who need extra support. Pinnacle works with pupils who have literacy and language difficulties, neurodivergence or social, emotional and mental health needs.
Summit, which Meridian funds from its own budget, takes pupils whose behaviour signals an unmet need and supports them back into lessons rather than relying on sanctions.
Seven in ten pupils at the school are eligible for pupil premium funding and half are on the SEND register. Meridian says pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans attend at a rate almost 10% above the national average, and that the number staying away from school through anxiety has fallen.
The school holds Thrive Centre of Excellence status for a second time and has been designated a Centre of Excellence for Oracy by the charity Voice 21.
Pupils had told staff that collecting younger siblings and other commitments stopped them staying for after-school clubs, so the clubs were moved into the timetable.
Key Stage 3 pupils now take a personal development lesson every week, with the opportunity to experience three different clubs throughout an academic year. Options include musical theatre, song writing, chess and trampolining.
The school pays for a residential trip for Key Stage 3 pupils each year and says the number of school trips has risen from 15 a year to more than 40 over three years. More than 80% of pupils complete work experience through a careers programme run with the GLF Foundation and the Tasso Project.
According to the school’s entry, 49% of staff have been promoted since Amy Anderson became headteacher and nearly half have completed or are studying for a National Professional Qualification.
In staff surveys, the proportion saying their wellbeing is treated as a priority has risen from 60% to 98% over five years.
More than 25 schools have visited Meridian in the past three years to look at how Pinnacle and Summit work. This month the school began taking pupils from a nearby primary for specialist lessons in PE, food technology and Spanish.
Amy Anderson, Headteacher of Meridian High School, said: “A lot of our pupils face real barriers, and we decided a long time ago that those barriers were not going to decide what they achieve.
“Everything we have built came from asking what each child needs to do well here. Whatever happens in December, this one belongs to our staff, our pupils and our families.”
