Our awards honour London state schools who succeed against the odds

Four of the most outstanding state schools in London have been honoured at the Evening Standard School Awards this week.

For the first time, the work of the most inspirational teacher in the capital was also recognised at the ceremony.

Education Secretary Justine Greening celebrated the pupils and teachers who achieved outstanding success against the odds and those with excellent exam results.

The Jack Petchey Foundation, which sponsored the awards, gave the schools cheques each worth £1,000 to mark their success.

Ms Greening said the awards, running since 1999, gave the chance to recognise the “amazing work” that goes on every day in schools around London.

She said: “As somebody who came through the state education system myself, the teachers here are some of the sorts of teachers who helped to absolutely transform my life.

“If you told me when I was any of your ages that I would be stood here as Secretary of State for Education I absolutely would not have believed that.

“What unlocks all of that potential that you have, and that any of us have, is the school that we get and the fantastic teachers who help us be this person we are inside, that might need a bit of nurturing and discovering.

"Teaching is an amazing profession we should really be celebrating.”

Mike Sheridan, head of Ofsted in London, added: “We know London schools do very well compared with those in the rest of the country, so the winners of these awards have been picked out from a group of schools with high standards.”

Forest Gate Community School was a winner for outstanding achievement in challenging circumstances. Head Simon Elliott put its success down to “raising the bar” with pupils and staff.

Ashmole Primary School in Lambeth also took home a prize. Head Adam Hickman said the “most nurturing” thing it could do was to make sure pupils could read when they went to secondary. Pupil Lazuli King, 10, added: “Our reading is really good. We had fun tests on the iPad but we don’t need to do them any more because we have all reached our reading goals.”

The winners of the academic achievement awards were Scotts Primary School in Havering and Harris Academy Battersea.

Harris principal Dr David Moody said: “It’s great to have school success but when you get the individual kids’ results in August, that’s when you punch the air.”

The inaugural Inspirational Teacher award went to Angelina di Passio, from Ricards Lodge High School in Wimbledon, who put her success down to the “huge enthusiasm” of her pupils.

Ms Greening revealed that her own most inspirational teacher growing up in Rotherham had written to her when she became Education Secretary, his letter starting “You probably won’t remember me …” She added: “But as all of you pupils will realise, none of us forget our most amazing teachers.”

Harris Academy Battersea, Wandsworth

Academic Excellence Award

With the highest score in London in the Progress 8 measure, it is one of the top three schools in England. As Battersea Park School, it was one of the worst performing in London and was in special measures before it became an academy. Under executive head Chris Tomlinson and head David Moody, its A* to C pass rate in English and maths has almost doubled — from 44 per cent to 80 per cent — since 2014.

Forest Gate Community School, Newham

Outstanding Achievement in Challenging Circumstances Award

The school, in a deprived part of east London, was the only secondary in the capital to go from an Ofsted “requires improvement” to “outstanding” in the last academic year. Inspectors said the school had been “transformed” by head Simon Elliott’s “exemplary” leadership. As a result, it is now in the top 13 per cent of all schools nationally with results “significantly” above average. Crucially, at a school where two thirds of pupils are pupil premium, disadvantaged pupils made “exceptionally” good progress.

Angelina di Passio, Ricards Lodge High School, Merton

The Jack Petchey Foundation Award for Inspirational Teacher of the Year

Ms di Passio, a history teacher, offers her pupils huge amounts of encouragement and support in life outside the classroom. She helped them stage their first ever model UN conference, advising them on researching their countries and resolutions. She supports students who have identified as LGBT+, setting up a fortnightly group and helping plan assemblies. She is also a caring and supportive form tutor.

Scotts Primary School, Havering

Academic Excellence Award

The only London primary to achieve 100 per cent of pupils at the expected standard, putting it at the top of the Evening Standard’s “top 10”. A large majority of head Jan Taylor’s pupils performed even better than expected. Scotts came third in reading progress in London this year. It has not been inspected by Ofsted since 2009, because it is an “outstanding” school, and for the last five years has been in the top 10 per cent of schools nationally. Over the last three years it has been ranked within the top five per cent and placed in the top 50 schools in the country.

Ashmole Primary School, Lambeth

Outstanding Achievement in Challenging Circumstances Award

This primary went from “requires improvement” to “outstanding” in two years. Head Adam Hickman said its dramatic shift in fortune was down to a change in culture, which is now “unapologetic” about its focus on reading, writing and maths. Ofsted witnessed “highly effective” teaching, with staff providing one-on-one and small group support both before and

after school. There was intense focus on the most disadvantaged pupils, resulting in “excellent” performance “much higher” than the national average.