[3] The chief executive officer is Sir Daniel Moynihan, a former principal of the Harris City Academy Crystal Palace.
[4] In July 2016, researchers at the Education Policy Institute found that "at primary level the Harris Federation is the highest performing school group in England – the improvement it has made is equivalent to pupils making around one and a half times more progress than average".
[5] Commenting on the new performance data, Schools Standards Minister, Nick Gibb, said that the Harris Federation is "leading the way" in delivering excellent results for its pupils.
[7] In 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 research by the Sutton Trust found that the Harris Federation was among "The best academy chains (for) having a transformational impact on pupils’ life chances".
[12] In summer 2018, the musician Stormzy, who attended a Harris Academy, returned to his old school to launch a scholarship scheme for black students at Cambridge university.
The aim of the sixth form, which received 1,000 applications for 250 places, is to help students from London's state schools access top universities.
The Harris Federation is the highest performing MAT in the country for pupil progress and EBACC qualifications for disadvantaged students.
[18] Ofsted said that teachers were proud to work at the academy, that morale was high and pupils of all abilities make "very strong progress".
[19] In 2021, Will.i.am visited Harris City Academy Crystal Palace to film The Blackprint a TV documentary exploring what it means to be black and British.
Describing the school as a “a place of black excellence”, he made a donation in order to fund new opportunities for students to study robotics.
[24] According to national news reports, standards of education at Harris Primary Academy Philip Lane quickly improved with the Federation's involvement.
In a letter sent to parents on Monday, 6 August 2018, the academy's chair of governors, described the investigation findings as “deeply regrettable and disappointing”.
The Standards and Testing Agency cancelled some of the results of former year six pupils at Harris Primary Academy Kent House over fears of “maladministration”.
The Anti-Academies Alliance put this high turnover down to poor working conditions, excessive workload and unreasonable pressure on teachers from senior leadership.
The UK Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) warned Harris, that schools that used the two plus three method would lose their "Outstanding status".
[39] In January 2020, Martyn Oliver, the then chief executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, told The Times that: "New Ofsted inspections favour middle-class kids.