Welcome to the SSAT class of… series. We’re looking back at the past 27 years and paying tribute to some of our longest-serving member schools. We hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane and feel free to add your own memories in the comments below or via social media (remember to use #SSATClassOf)!
The year that was 2008…
Spain win Euro 2008
Spain defeat Germany 1-0 on 29th June in Vienna to take home the Euro 2008 title. It is Spain’s second European Championship title, the other coming 44 years previously when they hosted the tournament in 1964.
Financial crisis
Considered by many economists to have been the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the 2008 global financial crisis leads to the downfall of a number of banks and financial institutions.
LHR T5 opened
London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 is opened on 27th March at a total cost of £4.2 billion. Operational issues lead to the cancellation of 34 British Airways flights during the opening day.
I Kissed a Girl
Katy Perry’s I Kissed a Girl is released on 28th April and goes on to become the year’s fourth-biggest selling single in the United Kingdom. As of January 2015, the song had sold 4.6 million copies in the United States alone.
Hamilton wins world championship
McLaren’s British driver Lewis Hamilton wins his first world title after finishing fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo on 2nd November.
Russell Brand suspended from BBC Radio 2
Russell Brand is suspended for 12 weeks without pay on 30th October after The Russell Brand Show host and his guest Jonathan Ross leave a number of voice messages on the voicemail of actor Andrew Sachs.
The Batman
Christopher Nolan’s superhero action film The Dark Knight is released on 24th July. With a stellar cast including Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman, it would go on to become the 25th-highest grossing film of all time.
SSAT class of 2008
Schools to have joined SSAT in 2008, and still be part of the network, include:
- The St Lawrence Academy
- Savio Salesian College
- Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School
- Pimlico Academy
- Beckfoot Upper Heaton
- St Paul’s Catholic College
- Maltings Academy
- Plashet School
- City of London Academy Islington
- The Hereford Academy
- Accrington Academy
- The City Academy, Hackney
- Chelsea Academy
- Heartlands Academy
- Castle View Enterprise Academy
- Red House Academy
- Nottingham University Samworth Academy
- The Wellington Academy
- West Lakes Academy
- The Broxbourne School
- Archbishop Sentamu Academy
- Richard Rose Morton Academy
- Richard Rose Central Academy
- Greensward Academy
- Open Academy
- Abraham Darby Academy
- JFS School
- The CTC Kingshurst Academy
- Longfield Academy
- Brooke Weston Academy
- Leeds West Academy
- Shenley Academy
- The Aylesbury Vale Academy
- Sir Robert Woodard Academy
