Leeds school rated Outstanding in Ofsted turnaround

Every time in more than 20 years that Ofsted visited Oulton Academy in South Leeds, its inspectors rated it either Inadequate, the worst of the four possible outcomes, or Requires Improvement, the third worst.

GCSE results reflect this transformation. Last summer, it achieved a Progress 8 score of 0.52, “well above average”, according to the Government. This means each of its pupils achieved half a grade more on average in every GCSE subject they took than they had been expected to when they joined the school aged 11. In 2019, the last year GCSEs were taken before Covid, its score was -0.36 – meaning each pupil’s grade was a third lower on average in each GCSE than they had been expected to get.

Today’s report for Oulton is a far cry from life before Mr Higgins and Falcon. In 2018, the last time Ofsted inspected before this year, its report said “pupils, particularly boys, do not make consistently good progress across a wide range of subjects and year groups.” It said, “the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is too variable.” It also stated, “some teachers do not check pupils’ learning closely or use time effectively in lessons.

Mr Higgins said: “We got the basics right first – good behaviour, good attendance, a focus on English and maths, good teaching, punctuality, politeness. We also refused to accept excuses as to why the school wasn’t good, and we didn’t make any ourselves. The team have worked hard, instilled high expectations and refused to accept that Oulton could not be brilliant.

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