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Honoured by the Standard: best state schools in London
Tim Ross07.05.09
Children and teachers gathered last night to celebrate the best of state education in London at the Evening Standard School Awards.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Ofsted's Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert paid tribute to the inspirational work of the four winning schools as they presented the awards at the Standard's headquarters in Kensington. Each school received a £2,000 prize.
Now in their 10th year, the awards honour the achievements of primary and secondary schools which provide an outstanding education, often in the face of severe challenges.
Two winners were recognised for their “outstanding achievement in challenging circumstances”. Robert Clack School in Dagenham is one of the largest in London, educating 2,000 pupils.
Gallery: See more pictures from the event here
Despite serving two of the poorest communities in the country, the school achieved the best A-level results in the borough and has been hailed by Ofsted as a shining example of how to raise standards in the poorest areas.
Children at Gateway Primary School in Lisson Grove come from immigrant families, with 95 per cent not speaking English as their first language. A quarter are from refugee families and more than half are entitled to free school meals. Drugs are a major problem on the neighbouring estate, yet last year 93 per cent of Gateway pupils passed their Sats in English, 96 per cent in maths and 98 per cent in science.
Two schools were honoured for achieving the very highest of academic standards. Boys at Queen Elizabeth's School in Barnet attained the best A-level and GCSE results in London, with 37 winning places at Oxford or Cambridge.
Headteacher John Marincowitz said boys receive an “academic diet that's appropriate for very able pupils.
“They need to be in an environment where they can mix with other clever boys and spark each other off,” he said. Newton Farm Nursery, First and Middle School in Harrow ensured all pupils passed their Sats last year, even though many did not speak English at home. The school is one of the few in England where there are no differences in achievements between boys and girls.
Headteacher Rekha Bhakoo put the success down to tracking pupils, “not only academically but how they are getting on socially — it is about the whole child,” she said.
Winners were chosen from a shortlist supplied by Ofsted, based on the schools rated as outstanding during the previous year. Mr Balls told pupils and teachers at the ceremony: “You are the outstanding schools of our capital and we are proud to salute your achievements.
“It is a great honour to be invited to see the Evening Standard celebrating the success and hard work of pupils, teachers and parents. Great education instils self-belief in children. That comes back to great teaching and leadership.”
Evening Standard Editor Geordie Greig said: “It is a proud moment for the paper to be able to honour these schools for their achievements.”
The winning Schools
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES
Gateway Primary, Lisson Grove
Authority: Westminster
Headteacher: Keith Duggan
Mixed community school with 625 pupils
Pupils achieved excellent Sats results, despite a quarter coming from refugee families and more than half from lowest-income homes. Drug crime plagues nearby estates but teachers ensure pupils master the basics of English and maths.
Ofsted says: “Gateway is an exceptional school' said a parent, echoing many. Pupils achieve outstandingly well.”
SECONDARY ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD
Queen Elizabeth's, Barnet
Authority: Barnet
Headteacher: John Marincowitz
Selective school for boys aged 11 to 18 with 1,469 pupils
An academic powerhouse founded in 1573, with a brilliant record of sending boys to Oxford and Cambridge. Regularly among the very best A-level and GCSE grades in the country.
Ofsted says: “Students flourish in a climate that ensures that they achieve their very best academically and personally. Excellence pervades all aspects of its work.”
SECONDARY OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Robert Clack, Dagenham
Authority: Barking and Dagenham
Headteacher: Paul Grant
Mixed comprehensive for ages 11 to 18 with 1,989 pupils
Achieved the best A-level results in the borough last year, despite serving 2,000 pupils from two of poorest wards in England. Head Paul Grant sent a strong message on discipline by suspending 300 pupils in his first week in charge.
Ofsted says: “Students enter with average standards; they make outstanding progress. Underpinning the school is the all-pervading atmosphere of respect.”
AWARD FOR PRIMARY ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Newton Farm Nursery, First and Middle, South Harrow
Authority: Harrow
Headteacher: Rekha Bhakoo
Mixed community school with 280 pupils
Achieved a remarkable 100 per cent pass rate in Sats last year. Many pupils do not speak English as their first language.
Ofsted says: “An outstanding school that provides a high quality education for its pupils. The vast majority of parents have nothing but praise for the school. Parents are right.”
Reader views (5)
I believe the reason many English children fail is because it is socially accepted for a child to get 'c's rather than 'A's. Teachers encourage students to get the bare minimum they need so that the school can boast a good student pass rate, and parents don't mind if the children are just passing beacause a pass is a pass. But most of these refugee children come from a background which discourages anything but the highest marks and labels anything else as failure. Most of these refugees also have a better understanding of how tough life is without education and work hard for fear of returning to the life they had before coming to this country.
- Khalid,14 Yrs Old,, London
Nick Nack Paddy Mac - Your comments are disgraceful!
With 95 per cent not speaking English as their first language. A quarter are from refugee families and more than half are entitled to free school meals". This is to be celebrated. The mere fact that these kids take education seriously and have applied themselves should be hailed as an example, and not used to further add fuel to the ridiculous argument on immigration. Quite how you feel english speaking kids suffer socially or culturally is beyond me. The mere fact that children who did not speak any english when they came here, and can now achieve the level of excellence they have, only demonstrates how little English children value and apply themselves to learning. I maintain that if you come from a country where you pay for education, you are more likely to embrace the opportunitites in England. Our children however, do not value the eduction system in this country, and I would suggest that it why they don't achieve quite so much at school. You should really keep your bigotted views to the confines of Kilburn.
- Maya, London
Many, many congratulations to these schools, especially Robert Clack, which has been giving a superb standard of education to children in Dagenham. London residents should be really proud of the way in which London schools have improved in recent years. Today's prizewinners are excellent examples of a much wider success story.
- John Dunford, Association of School and College Leaders, UK
"With 95 per cent not speaking English as their first language. A quarter are from refugee families and more than half are entitled to free school meals". This clearly shows the out of control levels of immigration into the capital. This must be reduced and restricted so English speaking kids do not suffer socially, culturally and do not have repurcussions in later years from this.
- Nack Nack Paddy Mac, kilburn, London UK
My children went to Gateway primary in Lisson Grove; many years ago; it was mostly English kids then; but it has always been a good school with high standards; once it was called Regents Park Grammar school etc; the children then, were older of course.
St Marylebone was quiet unique from the beginning; a small working class contingent area; surrounded by a much larger middle and upper class contingent area etc.
But in those days everyone was treated much the same by the old St Marylebone Borough Council; they never separated the rich from the poor if you went to the council for anything at all.
Then they amalgamated with the Westminster and Paddington Councils; which got far too large for any more personal touch with the people of the newly formed and over-sized Westminster City Council.
But the spirit of St Marylebone is still there with many of those living here; and Gateway is typical of that spirit of Old Marylebone.
One interesting fact that shows how well St Marylebone shone with the locals in the past; you had a long waiting list just to get a job emptying dustbins for the council; they looked after you that well; nobody I knew in those days ever wanted to work for Westminster Council; they were very poor employers, and they never appreciated their manual workers.
Well done Gateway; but then we locals know you always will do well.
- Mickyinlondon, london
