Harris Federation Student Commission is a project which involves 70 students from all the Harris Academies are working together with teachers and leading educationalists in order to explore ways of further improving teaching and learning. This Commission is supported by NESTA and is part of a national project called Learning Futures. Year Structure Each year group of the Academy, students are divided into four faculties Arts Communications Maths & Commerce Science and PE. In each year group, there are now six tutor groups (there are sometimes 1 for some faculties) consisting of approximately 20-30 students. In each Year, the students are split into two groups x and y. There are sets for both groups. Sets: X1/Y1, X2/Y2, X3/Y3, and X4/Y4. The bands X and Y are not based on ability however the set you are in is based on your ability for example X1/Y1 are the top sets and X2/Y2 are the second top sets. The reason for having X and Y bands is due to the fact that not everyone is doing the same subject at once for example X might be doing Science and Y might be doing French. From September 2009 – all students started GCSEs in maths, science and English a year early, and from September 2009 all GCSEs are started in Year 9. Students get to choose their GCSE options in Year 8 and start doing the subjects they chose in Year 9: as with most English schools Maths, English and the three sciences are compulsory choices for students' GCSEs. Faculties There are four faculties at Harris City Academy Crystal Palace, identified by a colour typically displayed on the stripe of their students' ties. They are: Arts (green) Communications (blue) Maths & Commerce (red) Science & PE (yellow) The academy also has post-16 provision, which contains Year 12 and Year 13 students. The sixth form teaches a variety of subjects, and is also part of a Rugby training school in conjunction with Harlequins. Harris Federation The school was founded in 1990 as a City Technology College. In September 2007, Harris CTC was integrated into the Harris Federation. This Federation was set up by Lord Harris of Peckham and has been set up as a coalition of several secondary schools in Croydon, Merton and Southwark. In September 2013, the Harris Federation of South London Schools consisted of twenty-one schools. External links Harris City Academy Crystal Palace