News | Schools


downsmail.co.uk School put in specialmeasures


HOLMESDALE School has been placed in specialmeasures follow- ing a damning Ofsted report. The report,whichwas published


just before the Snodland school broke up for Easter, listed the school as “inadequate” in each of its fivemain criteria. Among the chief concerns for in-


spectors was the level of safe- guarding, with improvements needed “as amatter of urgency” to recording attendance and follow- ing up on absent pupils and safe- guarding concerns.


Girls triumph


at stadium THE girls atWateringbury Primary School are proving a force to be reckonedwith on the football field, after just missing the chance to play at Wembley in their first sea- son. The year 6 squadwon the right to


wear the Maidstone United strip after victory at the Gallagher sta- dium in the National League Trust’s Under 11s Cup tie. Their triumph took the talented


youngsters through to the South East regional finals in Sutton, Sur- rey, where they faced stiff compe- tition from larger


schools.


Nevertheless, they notched up an- other victory in threematches, just missing the chance to play at the London stadiumthis time around. It was the first year The League


Trust tournament had been open to boys’ and girls’ teams. Wateringbury teacher Gary


Evans said: “For a one-form entry school, our teams proved to have an enormous talent. The girls served us very well and were on cloud nine after winning at the town’s Gallagher stadium. “Thiswas a great experience that


hasmade themambitious formore soccer success.”


Pupil absence


AYLESFORD School has the high- est absence rate in theMalling area with 7.3%, according to govern- ment figures. The statistics for absences in the


area for the 2016/17 school year have been released online. Holmesdale School was next on


the list for local schools,with an ab- sence rate of 6.4%,with theMalling School recording a return of 6.2%. Nationally, the absence rates


have dropped from the previous year to an average of 4.7%, mean- ing all three schools are above the national average.


20 Malling April 2018 Paul Cooper (right) receives his award froman RFU official Pupils earn praise in courtroombattles


LEGAL eagles from Aylesford School beat off tough courtroom adversaries – including local grammar schools – to come third in a mock trial competition. The Aylesford students – who


took on the roles of both the de- fence and prosecution – tri- umphed in the first case before finishing in the top three at the event, which was held at Chatham Magistrates Court. They even won praise from the


chairman of the bench. A spokesman for the non-selec-


tive school in Teapot Lane, Ayles- ford, said: “The students had put in hours of preparation to ensure that they were ready, but there were still some big day nerves as they waited for our first perform- ance in court. “They showed compassion and


integrity as they worked to un- derstand the context behind the legal cases they were asked to


prosecute and defend. “During the day, students acted


as both defence and prosecution teams facing tough competition. “Their preparation, courage


and self-discipline paid off as the students were victorious in their first case and came third overall. “They acted with such confi-


dence and professionalism that the lead magistrate compli- mented them on this when sum- ming up.”


Rugby coach award


THE head of rugby at Aylesford School has re- ceived one of only 10 national awards to recog- nise his work with the sport. The school has been developing two academies


for students, under the eye of Paul Cooper. Players are picked to take the field if they


demonstrate the strengths and values important to the school and the Rugby Football Union (RFU). A link has been established with a South


African professional team,with academy players having the opportunity to travel there for coach- ing when they reach the age of 16. Mr Cooper, pictured right, travelled to Twick-


enham to pick up his National Rugby Hero award froman RFU official. Aschool spokesman said: “We are really proud of this achievement.”


Malling April 2018 21


FABULOUS WORKTOPS AND DESIGNER DOORS Visit our showroom to see


For that complete make-over! It was also said that the school,


whose head teacher is Tina Bissett (pictured) had to improve the quality


teaching


of so


that pupils in all


year


groups, espe- cially those at either end of the spectrum,


make good progress, and thatman- agement and leadership needed to bemore effective.


The school, whose previous re-


port in 2014 saw it labelled as a good school,must also strive to im- prove attendance records and the opportunities on offer in their sixth-formprovision. The report states: “In accordance


with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief In- spector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education, and the persons respon- sible for leading,managing or gov-


erning the school are not demon- strating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. “An external review of the


school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken, in order to assess how this aspect of leader- ship and management may be im- proved and an external review of governance should be undertaken. “The school may not appoint


newly-qualified teachers.” The school in Malling Road,


Snodland, was approached for comment.


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