Our Impact

Over the past year our work has focused primarily on building up the support we provide to William Ellis pupils, and how we can help create opportunities that enhance and enrich the education so wonderfully developed by the school itself.

Our work must be considered within the wider context of the borough. As of July 2026 the school has 771 pupils on its roll, of whom 57.5% are eligible for free school meals with 71% coming from global majority ethnic backgrounds. At the same time, around 40% of secondary-aged pupils in Camden attend independent schools. Our work plays an important role in helping bridge the gap in access that the wealth inequality of the borough creates. On this page we account for what we have done to help achieve this.

Boyhood:

• From the Boys: 16 Year 10 pupils spent their work experience at Middlesex University's MDX Studios, learning to interview, record and edit, then made five podcast episodes on growing up male in Camden today. This covers topics including pressure to perform, behaviour, online influence and masculinity

• Reach: This project aims to build a greater understanding of our pupils within our community, as well as contributing to important national conversations. BBC London, the Ham & High, and the Barnet Post all covered the project, the pupils and team are presenting the project at the national Boys’ Impact Conference, and we will be hosting a launch event for it in October 2026

• Collaborations: Alongside the work with Middlesex University, we have built relationships with organisations such as Football Beyond Borders and Future Men, helping create opportunities within school to explore core questions around what it is to be a man and much more.
  

  Community:

• October 2025: 140+ alumni, parents and supporters attended An Evening with Alastair Campbell; six pupils interviewed him directly, and were noted for their “empathy, humour and tenacity.”

• Alumni involvement: The numbers of alumni donating to the school, through initiatives like the Rather Use Than Fame Club, has grown substantially. Alumni have also led a number of sessions for pupils, and taking part in career interviews and other projects.

• New connections: Additional funded staff time is deepening a pupil relationship with residents at Wellesley Road Care Home; pupils also performed at the Camden Youth Dance Festival with additional staff time funded to build a genuine buzz around it, and help finetune performances

• Football Beyond Borders: We have funded a new partnership, starting this September, with a charity that has already supported thousands of young people nationally, particularly those at risk of disengaging from school.
  
  Entrepreneurial Skills:

• Building agency: Funding projects such as the Rights Respecting School Ambassadors has created opportunities for pupils influencing decisions taken within the school. Projects such as “From the Boys” helps platform their voices and experiences externally, and we have worked extensively with the careers team to build better work experience opportunities.

• Practical skills: This year's Staff Innovation Fund gave a teacher Raspberry Pi kits to teach practical business set-up alongside coding — the newest of our three priorities, and the one with the most still to build.
  
  
  You can read our first annual review here.