Pupils attending top rated secondary schools in Hammersmith and Fulham have drastically decreased this year.
The borough has taken the second biggest drop in London for pupils attending good or outstanding secondary schools since last year, with 19 per cent fewer 11 to 18-year-olds going to top-rated Ofsted schools.
A total of 81 per cent of the borough’s secondary aged children are at top state schools, compared to 100 per cent last year and all those in both Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster this year, the annual UK-wide Ofsted report revealed on Wednesday.
Hammersmith and Fulham comes in 55th equal in the UK for 2014 while Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster come in first equal, as Hammersmith and Fulham did last year.
The large drop comes after Hurlingham and Chelsea School, in Fulham, was placed in special measures last October and Phoenix High School , in Shepherd’s Bush, was rated as requiring improvement in November last year.
The council has defended its 10 secondary schools, saying it has some of the best in the country and its percentage of good and outstanding schools remains high compared to national figures.
A spokesman said: “Inspections are not the only way to judge a school’s success – parent satisfaction levels are high and our exam results are consistently excellent.
“This year, 76 per cent of pupils achieved A*-C grades at A-level.
“We are one of the smallest London boroughs with relatively few schools, so a change to any single Ofsted rating can have a disproportionate impact on statistics, however we take robust and rapid action wherever it is needed.
“Hurlingham and Chelsea School will benefit from becoming a United Learning Academy in January and from the planned introduction of a sixth form. We are also working closely with Phoenix High School to make sure all students are supported to realise their full potential.”
A further Ofsted report for Phoenix in February showed improvements were being made and recognised the teachers’ ‘passionate’ efforts to improve which ‘will take time’.
Hurlingham and Chelsea School has had three Ofsted visits since it was put into special measures and a November report said it is improving, but noted there are high staff vacancies and although the achievement gap between boys and girls and low achieving white British students and higher achieving students from other backgrounds is better, the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others has widened.
The percentage of pupils at top-rated primary schools in Hammersmith and Fulham decreased four per cent to 85 per cent from last year, meaning it is 56th equal in the country, while Kensington and Chelsea is seventh equal with 94 per cent (up 15 per cent) and Westminster is 15th equal with 91 per cent – up 12 per cent from last year.
Ofsted has four grades – outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.
