WALTHAMSTOW: Ofsted gives secondary school "good" rating (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

A Walthamstow school rated "good" by Ofsted

11:51am Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Waltham Forest News By Sarah May Hayes

A SECONDARY school that was the first in the borough to be inspected under tough new criteria was rated “good” by education watchdog Ofsted.

Willowfield Humanities College, in Clifton Avenue, Walthamstow, was visited by inspectors on February 2. They reported that behaviour in and out of the classroom was companionable and considerate. They also commented upon “the culture of mutual respect and support amongst its exceptionally diverse community”.

The school was the first in Waltham Forest to be reviewed under new criteria that was introduced in January, which Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove announced would make it much tougher to achieve good grades.

The school, which has a specialist status for English and humanities subjects, was also praised for meeting government standards for pupils gaining five A to C grades or above in GCSE’s for three years in a row. Science was singled out as particularly successful for the lively “hands on” learning that students take part in, although the report also noted that there was potential to improve overall.

Head teacher John Hemingway said that he was very pleased with the outcome, particularly because of the rigorous challenge of the new OfSTED regime. He said: “We are very proud of our school and the report captures all the things that we think makes this a good place to learn. We were very disappointed that Willowfield was not rebuilt because Building Schools for the Future was cancelled, but this report is further proof of our belief that good schools are more than buildings.”