A secondary school where pupils are ‘unhappy’ and bullying is ‘commonplace’ has been placed in special measures following a damning inspection.
Waterhead Academy in Oldham has received the lowest possible rating of ‘inadequate’ following an inspection by Ofsted, which downgraded it from its 2019 rating of ‘requires improvement’. The watchdog slammed the education provided at the high school and said the 1,358 pupils on its roll had been ‘failed for far too long’.
The acting principal of Waterhead Academy, James Wilson, who took up the role earlier this month, said they are already working to create ‘positive change’. Ofsted also found students at the Huddersfield Road secondary regularly truant and are sometimes exposed to ‘foul and abusive language’, name-calling and racist and homophobic language.
