Colchester school has 'hostile environment of racism and sexism'
The Royal Grammar School has been criticised by Ofsted inspectors
A top school in Colchester is about to go from outstanding to inadequate.
That's according to reports today.
The i Newspaper says its exclusively seen Colchester Royal Grammar's latest Ofsted report.
It reportedly describes 'a hostile environment of racism and sexism' at the school, with pupils often too scared or unsure about reporting abuse.
Leaders have been criticised, the paper says, for not doing enough to tackle the issues, with pupils feeling a culture change is needed at the Royal Grammar, rather than cases being dealt with one by one.
The School told Greatest Hits Radio that they will act on comments from Ofsted, adding that they never shy away from doing more for students.
John Russell, Headmaster at CRGS, said:
“Our school demands the very best of our students and ourselves, and the Ofsted inspection is a very difficult report to read.
“We have never shied away from the fact that we believe that there is always more that we can, and want, to do for our students. We continually strive to improve every aspect of life at CRGS, and we have worked hard to adopt best practice in creating an environment where our students can flourish.
"Inspectors rightly saw the quality of education and our students’ attitudes to learning as being a real strength, but during their inspection they raised concerns about issues such as the delivery of PSHE curriculum, and some aspects of wider behaviour.
“These areas are important, and their findings about these aspects are known as “limiting judgements” - meaning that they dictate the overall grade. We did not show our strengths in some of those limiting judgements. As such, the overall grade was significantly impacted.
“Therefore, while we feel that the strengths of the school are not fully reflected in the report, the Ofsted Framework is the measure against which all schools will be judged – and we listen to what the inspection team found, and continue to act upon that. Our focus has to be on driving forward improvements and building on our many strengths and successes.
“Key to this will be continuing to enhance our culture where our students show greater respect for themselves and for others, and eliminating the use of derogatory and discriminatory language. To support this we will further develop effective reporting systems, particularly around how students raise any concerns that they may have.
“While this is a very sad day for our school, it does not mean that we are not proud of all that our staff and students achieve. Our students show impressive qualities, and we will continue to work with pace and purpose to support them and enhance the culture of the school.
“Going forward, there will be further discussions about what this outcome means for CRGS. We are working with the Department for Education and Regional Schools Commissioner to discuss the increased focus that the school will be under, and how we continue to move forward for our community.”
The new report is yet to go live on Ofsted's website, with the school still listed as 'Outstanding'.