Our School House Groups
At Co-op Academy New Islington, we have sorted every child into one of four houses. These are used to provide opportunities for inter-school competitions, leadership roles and as a framework for our positive behaviour policy.
For each house, we have chosen a figurehead that has made a significant positive contribution to the rich history of Manchester. We feel that these figures represent our community and embody the values that govern our academy, providing our children with key role models who have helped shape the local area.
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was a key leader of the Suffragette movement that played a crucial role in winning women the right to vote in 1918.
Born in Moss Side in 1858, she organised protests, delivered speeches and campaigned for years against injustice. In 1999, Time Magazine named her as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.
If you would like to learn more about her amazing life, information can be found in the links below.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zh7kdxs#zxy2m39
Elouise Edwards
Elouise Edwards was a community activist and civil rights campaigner.
She was born in British Guiana in 1932 and moved to Manchester in the 1960s, becoming known for her campaigns to fight racial discrimination and to develop community services in Manchester.
She began her career as a kitchen worker at the Manchester University refectory and later at the Piccadilly Gardens Hotel but later moved on to championing and leading a wide range of housing projects, women's networking groups, medical assistance programs, and art and cultural programs
If you would like to learn more about her amazing life, information can be found in the links below.
https://manchesterarchiveplus.wordpress.com/2024/03/05/saluting-our-sisters-elouise-edwards/
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/the-life-mama-elouise-edwards
Alan Turing
Alan Turing was a mathematician and computer scientist who played a key role in the invention of the computer and served as a significant figure in Britain’s victory in World War 2, in which his machines helped crack German military codes.
Born in London, much of Turing’s work in computer science took place at Manchester University.
Known as the “Father of Computer Science”, Turing's work was not recognised during his lifetime due to the persecution he faced for being a gay man during a time when this was illegal.
If you would like to learn more about his amazing life, information can be found in the links below.
https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/alan-turing-in-manchester
Lemn Sissay
Lemn Sissay is an award-winning author and broadcaster born in Wigan in 1967. He released his first book of poetry in 1988 at the age of 21, and since the age of 24 he has been a full-time writer and broadcaster, performing internationally. Sissay served as the chancellor of the University of Manchester from 2015 to 2022.
He has often spoken about his own experience of growing up in the UK’s care system, providing inspirational advocacy for children in care so we can work towards a system where “All care stories should be successful ones”.
If you would like to learn more about his amazing life, information can be found in the links below.