About Us
The borough of Kensington & Chelsea has the worst rate of income inequality in all London boroughs: 26% of children in the school’s catchment area (Notting Dale ward) live in poverty – this is over 7 times higher than its neighbouring ward (Norland) .
Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Children in relative low income households 2021/22
Our Mission
The KAA Intrepidus Trust (KIT) is a registered charity established by the governors of Kensington Aldridge Academy (KAA), a diverse inner-city secondary school in London’s North Kensington.
Our mission is to broaden the horizons and raise the aspirations of the circa 1,230 pupils at the school, through the development and funding of educational enrichments in sports, performing & creative arts, wellbeing and life skills.
Our story begins in 2017, when the school, which is situated adjacent to the Grenfell Tower, was caught up in the catastrophic fire that broke out in the tower on 14 June, taking the lives of 72 men, women and children.
Five of those individuals who tragically lost their lives were students of Kensington Aldridge Academy, and over sixty of our students had to be rehoused following the fire. The school itself was rapidly relocated to a temporary portacabin campus on Wormwood Scrubs (dubbed ‘the fastest school ever built’), until September 2018 when it was able to return to its building in Silchester Road.
The Trust was set up six months after the tragedy by three of the school’s governors: Lucy Morris, John Brown and Adam Balon.
Our Story
Our Objectives
“By supporting Kensington Aldridge Academy, we aim to enable as many young people as possible to enjoy the benefits of a rounded and ambitious education.”
The activities funded by KIT lie outside government requirements for funding, and would be extremely difficult to sustain without our support. Prior to our establishment, any enrichment programmes at the school were provided via limited resources and donated teacher time.
We work closely alongside the school to develop and finance an ambitious and varied programme of enrichment activities that deliver the following objectives:
Broaden horizons and aspirations, particularly among disadvantaged students
Promote physical health and well-being
Develop life-skills and confidence
Contribute positively to students’ engagement and attendance at school
We support the development of all students, with a particular focus on the most disadvantaged, including the who include the 52 per cent of students who are eligible for Free School Meals (double the national average)
In order to safeguard our programmes in the long-term we launched the KAA Intrepidus Trust Endowment Fund appeal in 2019. This will ensure that future generations of KAA students benefit from the same opportunities to enrich their education.
WATCH OUR FILM
Kensington Aldridge Academy
“Pupils receive an exceptional education at this school. Pupils flourish because the school has high academic ambitions for all pupils.“
“The school provides an array of opportunities to develop pupils’ character. Pupils engage in fundraising activities, support the local food bank and take part in a wide range of trips and clubs and the school is driven by its motto intrepidus: boldly encouraging pupils to take risks without fear.”
— Ofsted report, March 2024
Kensington Aldridge Academy (KAA) is a non-selective secondary academy of 1,230 students, established in 2014 and based in London’s North Kensington. Sponsored by Aldridge Education and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, KAA’s aim is to become one of the top academies in the country.
In December 2017 and again in March 2024, Ofsted rated KAA as outstanding in all five areas. This is all the more exceptional given its location in one of the most deprived and unequal boroughs in the country; its catchment area is in among the 10 per cent most deprived areas in England. Approximately 52 per cent of students at KAA are eligible for Free School Meals which is double the national average of 24.9%.
In this film, KAA Founding Principal David Benson explains how Kensington Aldridge Academy is enriched by the work of the Intrepidus Trust.
“Tavina has come home with a big smile on her face every day this week and can't stop talking about what she has been up to!”
Mum of a Year 7 pupil attending a holiday camp funded by the KAA Intrepidus Trust
Our Team
The Kensington Aldridge Academy Intrepidus Trust (KIT) is a registered charity number 1175920 established on 23 November 2017.
The Trust was set up by a group of the school’s governors, who all live and work locally. Day-to-day management is delegated to the Trust Director, who meets regularly with the Trustees to agree the strategy and activities of the Trust and to develop ideas and opportunities to benefit the school and its pupils.
Trust Director
Ros is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Intrepidus Trust as well as fundraising and programme development. Her background in the charity sector includes Former COO, Harrow Club (a local youth charity) and her current positions in charities are: Trustee and Co Secretary, Harrow Club; Secretary, Harrow Mission, and Trustee, The Grove Trust (a local grant giving charity).
In the commercial world, Ros is a Non-Executive Director, Ivent Ltd (a virtual events business). Previously she spent 35 years building businesses in the events sector including 10 years as Managing Director, International Events, Informa plc.
Programmes Manager
As part-time Programmes Manager, Sophie spots and develops opportunities and partnerships, and contributes to programme development, monitoring and evaluation. Sophie was previously class teacher at Lena Gardens Primary School, where she was variously responsible for Year 6, Upper Key Stage Two and leading on enrichments. She currently shares her time between KIT and as SENCO at Greenside Primary School where she works with pupils who have special educational needs. Sophie was born and raised in Notting Dale and is committed to drawing on her experience to have a positive impact in that community.
Lucy Morris
Chair of Trustees
Lucy has a background in education, social entrepreneurship and the arts and is a trustee of CHK Foundation, the Notgrove Trust and is also a member of the Financial Advisory Committee of Into University. In addition, Lucy mentors young artists and social entrepreneurs through the Patrons Programme, the School for Creative Start Ups and School for Social Entrepreneurs.
Lucy’s area of interest is delivering a real difference through giving, and having a greater impact through leveraging and scalability, in particular in the area of improving access to education for all.
Adam Balon
Trustee
Adam is one of the founders of Innocent Drinks and now runs JamJar Investments which helps entrepreneurs build successful businesses and have a net positive effect on the world around them. He is also Trustee of the Innocent Foundation, which tackles food poverty through their partnerships with charities around the world.
John Brown
Trustee
John has a background in publishing and marketing, and having set up the publishing company John Brown Media, he has since managed the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, been chairman of Wisden and launched Bob Books. He is chairman of the travel company Wild Frontiers, trustee of Camara Education, Frazzled Cafe and the School for Social Entrepreneurs and is also co-owner of The Watch House restaurant in Cornwall.
Gabriel Hull
Trustee
Gabriel is an investment analyst at Latitude Investment Management, a boutique investment firm running a global equity and multi-asset strategy. Previously he was a financials sector specialist at Highclere International Investors (an affiliate of Silchester Partners Group). He began his career as an equity research analyst at Fidelity International. Gabriel holds an MA in Classics from Oxford University.
Ross Dunning
Trustee
Ross is the Director of Performing and Creative Arts at Kensington Aldridge Academy. He joined KAA in August 2016 as Lead Teacher of Dance before being promoted to Head of Dance in 2017. Since joining KAA he has founded a thriving dance department which has gone on to achieve great success at GCSE and A Level as well as at national dance competitions.
Ross trained professionally as a dancer at Elmhurst Ballet School before completing a BA in Professional Practice (Dance) at Middlesex University. He then went onto complete his PGCE at the University of Exeter before starting his teaching career in London.
Shona Nichols
Trustee
Shona Nichols is the founder of Cadenz Ltd, a performance consultancy focused on driving impactful change. Throughout her career, she has held various senior leadership positions within the private, public, and charity sectors. Recently, she served six years as CEO of the Aldridge Foundation, a UK-registered charity which supports young people from disadvantaged and marginalised communities and was a Founding Member of KAA.
Prior to this role, Shona developed her skills in management and communications at Capita plc, a leading FTSE 100 outsourcing company, where she was a member of the Executive Committee overseeing Corporate Development and Communications.
Shona leverages her business and financial acumen, along with her communication and coaching abilities, to effectively support Cadenz’s clients and fulfil her trustee and non-executive responsibilities.
Our Supporters
VIEW MORE
Cairns Charitable Trust, Dowley Charitable Trust, Earls Court Development Company, Golden Bottle Trust, Henry Oldfield Trust, J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust, John Armitage Charitable Trust, Kirby Laing Foundation, Laurence Weeks, Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust, NDL Foundation, Queen Anne’s Gate Foundation, Rockcliffe Charitable Trust, Schroder Foundation, Tedworth Charitable Trust, Whitley Asset Management Ltd, Wyfold Charitable Trust