Several high schools have lost their outstanding status following Ofsted's decision to revisit all top performing schools. The regulator said more than 80 percent of visits resulted in a downgrading.
Levenshulme High School and Wright Robinson College were the only Manchester secondary schools inspected following the removal of the exemption to retain their outstanding status.
One school downgraded was King David High School in Crumpsall, which dropped to the lowest rating after Ofsted highlighted 'discriminatory' arrangements due to issues with how some pupils were unable to mix socially.
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The school did not respond to a request for comment, but chair of governors Joshua Rowe wrote to parents in March disputing the findings, which were described as 'preposterous' and 'absurd'.
The Radclyffe School in Chadderton also saw its outstanding status lost, dropping to requires improvement with Ofsted saying that 'not all pupils achieve as well as they should'. The school declined to comment on the grading, and St Patrick's RC School in Eccles did not respond after it dropped to a good rating.
Other schools in the north west were also hit with downgrades, with Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School being bumped down to inadequate after a scathing Ofsted report described the school as being plagued by racism, homophobia, and misogyny.
Five primary schools across Manchester also saw their Ofsted grades fall from outstanding, with Well Green Primary School, Brooklands Primary School, Mills Hill Primary School and Our Lady of the Rosary RC Primary School all dropping to good.
Great Moor Infant School was lowered to requires improvement, with all the schools falling below outstanding in early years provision, quality of education and leadership and management.
Up until 2020, schools rated as outstanding by Ofsted would only be inspected if there were specific concerns about the school, with the regulator now reviewing these judgements following this exemption being removed.
The watchdog prioritised schools that had gone the most time without inspection - including some as long as 15 years - and found that most schools were still judged to be good, but that 17 percent required improvement and four percent were rated as inadequate.
The report from Ofsted highlighted that many schools will have 'experienced significant change' since their previous inspections, with Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman saying: "Regular inspection gives parents confidence in the quality of their child’s school."
The total amount of outstanding primary and secondary schools across the country has now dropped from 3,900 to 3,400 following this latest raft of inspections.
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