Basketball coaching leads to fewer exclusions at Brixton school

The number of exclusions at a Brixton school has dramatically dropped since the introduction of a basketball academy led by NBA star Luol Deng.

Deng, a player for the Miami Heat, sponsor’s the Evelyn Grace Academy’s basketball academy while Ronnie Barker, England’s most capped player, is the coach.

The school is the only academy in the UK to be associated with the NBA, and also has a international level netball coach, a nationally ranked sprinter and professional dancer teaching.

This increased focus on sport has been credited with a dramatic fall in exclusions, which dropped from six pupils being permanently excluded and 124 suspended in 2012/13, down to no exclusions and 26 suspensions so far this school year.

Simon Wingate, head of PE, told The Times: “We have been trying to build as many sports partnerships as possible. For every sport we have professionals and athletes of top quality.

"In the school, the pupils are really polite and open doors for people. It’s not a war zone. Sport helps them to leave all that behind. we’re a community hub.”