Sir John Cass Redcoat School

Sir John Cass was born in the City of London in 1661 and, during his lifetime, served as both Alderman and Sheriff. He was also MP for the City and knighted in 1712.

In 1710 Cass set up a school for 50 boys and 40 girls and rented buildings in the churchyard of St Botolph-without-Aldgate. Intending to leave the vast majority of his property to the independent school (having already generously supported the parochial school), when he died in 1718 of a brain haemorrhage, Cass had only initialled three pages of his will. The incomplete will was contested, but was finally upheld by the Court of Chancery thirty years after his death. The charity school was managed by nine independent trustees named in the will, none of whom were ex-officio or nominated by external bodies. The school, which by this time had been forced to close, was re-opened, and the foundation established.

It was decided to separate primary and secondary school education, and a suitable site was found in Stepney.

The Red Coat School, Stepney, has had various names including Stepney Parish Day Schools, Stepney Church School and the Charity School in the Hamlet of Mile End Old Town. It was established in 1714 by voluntary subscription for the clothing and education of a limited number of boys born within Mile End Old Town. The school-house was built on Stepney Green (though the boys were separately housed in Mile End Road for some time).

Both the Sir John Cass and the Red Coat school merged to become the Sir John Cass's Foundation and Red Coat School, opening doors for the first time on 5 September 1966.

In September 2016, SJCR School celebrated fifty years in education. All alumni (ex-pupils and ex-staff) were invited to join in the celebrations.

In June 2020, during the global George Floyd protests, it was announced the school would be changing its name to remove the reference to Sir John Cass due to his connections with the slave trade, and that a new name would be selected after a consultation with students, staff, governors and parents.[1][2]

The school admits pupils aged 11 to 18, with approximately 1400 students in the main school and 720 in the sixth form. Although the school is run by the Church of England, ninety percent of its pupils come from ethnic Bangladeshi, mainly Muslim backgrounds.

A 2015 inspection by Ofsted declared the school outstanding.

Senior Leadership Team

• Mr Paul Woods – Headteacher
• Ms Leena Hussain – Deputy Headteacher (Head of Sixth Form)
• Mr Ben Siaw – Deputy Headteacher
• Ms Shereka James – Deputy Headteacher
• Mr Iain Cameron – Assistant Headteacher
• Mr Neil Jones – Assistant Headteacher
• Ms Marielle Dow – Assistant Headteacher
• Ms Shiulee Begum – Assistant Headteacher
• Ms Claire Dacre-Singh – Assistant Headteacher (maternity)
• Ms Nazira Begum Uddin (acting assistant head teacher)
• Mr Elliot Green – Assistant Headteacher
• Ms Gina Katme – Assistant Headteacher (Sixth Form) (maternity)
• Ms Candice Miller (acting assistant headteacher)
• Ms Katherine Rowley-Conwy – Assistant Headteacher (Sixth Form)
• Ms Nichola Ahmed – School Business Manager[3]

Heads of Departments

• Ms Susan Harewood/ Mr James Knight – Head of English
• Mr Abdul Alim – Head of Science
• Mr Shahel Uddin  – Head of Mathematics
• Mr Abdul Jalil – Head of Computer Science/ICT
• Ms Sam White – Head of Modern Foreign Languages (acting)
• Mr Ciaran Cusack – Head of Geography
• Mr James Davis – Head of History
• Mr Mike Coles – Head of RE
• Mr Matthew Brotherhood – Head of Art and Design Technology
• Ms Fran Cervi – Head of Drama
• Mr Craig Holder – Head of Music
• Mr James Trueman – Head of PE
• Mr Jahidur Rahman – Head of Business & Economics (acting)
• Ms Shirin Begum – Head of Social Sciences (acting)
• Mr Gordon Perrett – SENDCo[3]

Heads of Year

• Mr Uddin Shams– Head of Year 7
• Ms Mazada Begum – Head of Year 8
• Mr Vicky Jech – Head of Year 9
• Mr Jerry Spillane – Head of Year 10
• Ms Samantha White – Head of Year 11

All students must wear full and correct uniform for school, school occasions and PE and Drama lessons.

• Official website
• Department for Children, Schools and Families – EduBase2 – Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School
• Ofsted reports on Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School
• Directgov – School Profile