Izzy Jones at the school in Highgate Road

A HEADTEACHER has said she is frustrated by a new Ofsted report that has downgraded its rating, despite some of the best exam results in its history.

William Ellis School in Highgate was ranked as “requires improvement” by officials after a visit in May. It had previously been rated as “good”.

The school in Highgate Road was criticised for the quality of its education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management.

Inspectors flagged problems with derogatory language being used by pupils at the all-boys school.

Under the new assessment framework, which was introduced in 2019, half of the school’s grade is based on the quality of education.

The “sequencing of the curriculum and ‘uneven’ learning for pupils” triggered alarms for inspectors; however, the school went on to get some of its best ever GCSE results last month.

The school becomes the third secondary school in Camden to be downgraded in inspections after pupils’ returned to school after Covid lockdowns. UCL Academy in Swiss Cottage has been told it “requires improvement” and Camden School for Girls has been demoted to “good” from “outstanding”.

William Ellis headteacher Izzy Jones said: “I think we have come on leaps and bounds since 2017, when we last had an inspection. We have just had an excellent set of exam results, some of the best in our history, particularly in English. And that shows the strength and depth of our curriculum development which has been done in school.”

She added: “That doesn’t mean we don’t want to improve. We have got a report that could be more helpful in terms of clarity and we have got improvement points we have acted to address already. They are consistent with our direction of travel as a school.”

Ms Jones said that closures during the pandemic and disruption to pupils’ lives could be the cause of behavioural issues, and added she was disappointed that work done around misogyny and period poverty had been ignored.

In its report Ofsted inspectors had said some pupils did not trust teachers to help them if they were bullied.

“Some feel unable to share concerns with staff and others reported feeling worried about behaviour around the school, including the use of derogatory language,” the report said. “Leaders have not ensured that all staff apply the behaviour policy consistently.”

Ms Jones said: “We know that during periods of closure, those who attended school or were at home would have experienced more changes to routine and pressures than young people usually experience. We know that school and its boundaries gives them a sense of security and purpose, and that some struggled to adapt back to this after they returned.”

Changes to behaviour policies include a near-ban on mobile phone usage, returning to pre-Covid uniform rules and reinforcing expectations and appropriateness of language inside and outside school.

A monitoring visit will take place again by Ofsted before the end of this academic year, and inspectors will return to the school for a full inspection before 2025.