Tottenham Hotspur looking to open London academy

Tottenham Hotspur football club is reportedly looking to open an academy in London with a leading independent school.

The club has teamed up with Highgate School and plans to launch a sixth form in North London, in a building currently occupied by the Tottenham University Technical College.

The school will apparently follow the model of the London Academy of Excellence in Stratford, being academically selective and prioritising local children and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Highgate will provide some level of staffing and expertise to help run the school, which will be known as London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET), while Tottenham Hotspur will provide financial support.

Adam Pettitt, head of Highgate School, said: “Although Highgate School is situated in an affluent area of London, some of the least affluent and most challenged parts of the whole city are on our doorstep. With LAET, we want to enable bright, local children, especially those with disadvantaged backgrounds, to access a high-calibre academic education and first-rate preparation for university and employment.

“We want to create opportunity at the heart of Tottenham, in what is the most stunning educational building. This kind of collaboration is our way of being both a charity, which fundamentally we are, whilst remaining true to our educational ethos”.