St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School

St Andrew the Apostle School is an inclusive secondary school in Brunswick Park, Barnet, founded in 2013.

It is the first and only state-funded Greek Orthodox secondary school in Britain. The school is named after St Andrew the Apostle. It serves families from all backgrounds and the wider Greek and Cypriot community.

The Greek Orthodox element of the school is introduced to students through a chapel at the school and communal worship in assemblies.

The school has been established jointly by Russell Education Trust, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Classical Education Trust.

The students completed their first GCSEs in 2018 and the school was placed in the top 5% of the country

History
The school opened in September 2013 with its first cohort of Year 7 students and the founding headteacher, Robert Ahearn.

In October 2013, the school was visited by the then First lady of Cyprus, Andri Anastasiades where she delivered a speech.

In 2016, the school was reported to receive £18,507 in state funding for each of its 73 pupils, compared to a national average of £4,767 per local authority pupil, making it the highest amount of funding per pupil in England.

The school is regularly visited by Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain

Site
St Andrew the Apostle School has two sites, building 4 and 5. Building 5 is its first and main site, it was once a former college. Local sports amenities such as Bethune Park are used for physical education.

In 2018, an office block within the business park was converted into the second building for the school, named building 4. In February 2020, the department of education and the local council agreed to build a new purposeful school building within the business park.

In September 2022, the construction of the new school building commenced and is expected to be completed by September 2025.

In June 2023, the foundations of the new building were laid with the blessing of Archbishop Nikitas. Several other important guests were present including the school’s founding headteacher, Robert Ahearn and the borough’s MP, Theresa Villers.