PR Guild 'Excellence In Communications' Award Goes To City Academy Hackney

Online, November 30, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The Guild of Public Relations Practitioners (PR Guild) is pleased to announce that The City Academy, Hackney, a comprehensive co-educational school, sponsored by KPMG and The City of London Corporation, has been awarded the PR Guild Herald's Award. Kate Egglestone, Communications Manager at the Academy, was presented with the award by the Windsor Herald, Mr William Hunt, during the installation dinner of the new Master, Brian Moore, at Butchers' Hall.

The school was nominated for the award by the Court of the PR Guild. The school impressed the Court with its creative and successful communications campaign, which Kate Egglestone has been running since 2010, and in particular with the school's newsletter. The campaign focuses on getting parents more involved in their child's education through improved communication. These include an active Parent Staff Association, student planning diaries and regular newsletters. The new e-Portal and a text messaging system allow parents to monitor their child's attendance, behaviour and academic results.

The success of the campaign is underlined by the 2011 annual survey, which shows a 12% increase in parents who rated the Academy's communication 'good' or 'very good' and a 7% increase in those who rated its performance in 'encouraging and listening to parent views' as 'good' or 'very good' compared with 2010.
Brian Moore says: "I was very pleased our award was presented to The City Academy, Hackney. They have done an excellent job of communicating with parents and students and are an outstanding example of how relationships can be strengthened via well thought-through communication, making all the interested parties better informed about and more involved in the school. The court felt there was really no competition. The award was given specifically for the school's very high-quality publications: the monthly City Times, for students and parents, and the excellent community newsletter, aimed at local residents and feeder primary schools." He adds: "As a secondary education institution the Academy is very innovative in having a communications manager. It also has a clear strategy and a well thought-out approach to PR."

Says Kate Egglestone: "Ensuring that parents are able to fully engage with their child's secondary education can be difficult, so we place high importance on communicating key messages in a creative, honest and open way. It was a real honour for our school to accept the award from the PR Guild." She adds: "It is rewarding to see both parents and students take an active role in Academy life, and for parents to feel they are well informed."
The PR Guild gives the award each year to recognise and reward good communications on the part of a charity, a not-for-profit organisation, educational establishment or Livery Company, operating primarily within the City of London or closely associated with it.

Photographs from the event are available at http://www.facebook.com/PRGuild

Editorial contact:

City Academy:

Natalie David:

PA to the Principal:

Tel: 020 8525 5440

Email: natalie.david@thecityacademy.org

PR Guild:

Alla Lapidus

Moonlight Media

Tel: 020 7250 4770

Email: alla@moonlightmedia.co.uk

Notes to Editors

The City Academy, Hackney:

• The City Academy, Hackney, provides a high quality education for young people in Hackney, in a secure, supportive environment, raising their aspirations and standards of educational achievement, and building positive partnerships with local people and organisations.

• The City Academy, Hackney, is sponsored by KPMG and The City of London Corporation.

• The City Academy, Hackney, was judged by Ofsted in 2011 to be making outstanding progress.

• All academies receive one Ofsted monitoring inspection during the first two years of opening.

For more information visit http://www.thecityacademy.org/

The Guild of Public Relations Practitioners:
The Guild of Public Relations Practitioners was formed in June 2000, and is part of the modern City of London Livery movement, which is believed to have begun before 1066. The PR Guild was one of the first City of London Guilds to have been created in the 21st Century, and its aims are shared with the broader Livery movement: charitable works and promoting best professional practices, while upholding the unique spirit and values of the Guilds.

The Guilds, or mysteries, from the Latin 'misterium', meaning professional skill, flourished throughout Europe for many centuries, but the City of London Companies, now collectively known as the Livery, are unique in their longevity, number and diversity. 'Livery' refers to uniform clothing as a means of identification. 'Guild' derives from the Saxon word for payment, since membership of these fraternities was, and is, paid for.

Public Relations is an essential activity in the City of London and the UK is a world leader in this profession. The Guild aims to:

• Promote charitable endeavour, raising money and providing support for the Guild's Charitable Trust and other charities.

• Promote the value of public relations and propagate its use, especially in the City and for the benefit of the City of London.

• Develop support for education for both the younger and the more established public relations practitioners, including a mentoring scheme.

• Foster good fellowship and discussion in the profession.

Charities recently supported by the Guild include Hi Kent, DeafBlind UK, and SignHealth, as well as the children's charity Coram (as part of the Lord Mayor's Appeal 2011).

For more information visit http://www.prguild.org/home.html