Holland Park School downgraded substantially by Ofsted
(Picture: Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures)A school known as the “socialist Eton” was the only one in London to drop from “outstanding” to “failing” in the past year, new data reveals.
Ofsted downgraded Holland Park after inspecting it for the first time in eight years following rule changes meaning that outstanding schools were no longer exempt from inspection.
In total almost two thirds of previously outstanding London schools were downgraded after being inspected in the past year, it was revealed today.
But Holland Park in Kensington and Chelsea was the only one to drop from the top to the bottom after just one inspection. It is now rated inadequate.
The school’s reputation was battered after an investigation found a culture of “fear, favouritism and inequality”.
Former teachers and students claimed the school was a toxic working environment where bullying and intimidation was rife, and a row broke out over it joining multi-academy trust United Learning. Its latest Ofsted report said standards of pupils’ behaviour had “fallen considerably” and there was “disharmony in the community” due to mutual distrust between the governing body, a group of parents and the local authority.
Former education secretary Michael Gove changed the rules in 2012 so that schools judged “outstanding” were exempt from further regular inspection, to “free” them from its “burden”.
The exemption has now been lifted after Ofsted warned that more than 1,000 schools had not been inspected in at least 10 years. In London, 90 previously “outstanding” schools were inspected in the past year.
Just 21 remained outstanding, 61 were graded good, seven were graded as requires improvement and one — Holland Park — was graded inadequate”.
Pimlico Academy was downgraded to good, the second highest rating.
Tiffin Girls’ School remained outstanding, but Tiffin for boys in Kingston dropped to good. Ashcroft Technology Academy in Wandsworth was among the schools to retain its outstanding rating, as well as Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney, Rhodes Avenue Primary in Haringey and Queen Elizabeth’s School Barnet.
