David Hoare’s remarks had provoked a backlash on island, but he said he was only expressing concern about school standards

The Ofsted chair, David Hoare, has been forced to apologise after he described the Isle of Wight as a poor ghetto that suffers from inbreeding.



Hoare, a former City banker, said the island was blighted by a “mass of crime, drug problems, huge unemployment” and underperforming schools.

His extraordinary comments provoked a strong backlash from people on the Isle of Wight, where the council leader, Jonathan Bacon, condemned them as “an insult to the proud and hardworking Isle of Wight community”.

Ofsted also moved swiftly to distance itself from its chairman, insisting that Hoare’s views “do not reflect the views of Ofsted or the chief inspector [of schools]”.

In an interview with the Times Educational Supplement, he said: “They think of it as holiday land. But it is shocking. It’s a ghetto. There has been inbreeding.

“Seven state schools were all less than good. There is a mass of crime, drug problems, huge unemployment.”

Hoare later apologised for his remarks, insisting he had only intended to show his concern about school standards on the island.

“I apologise for any upset or offence that I may have caused by the comments I made about the Isle of Wight at the recent Teach First conference,” he said.

“My intention was to highlight how concerned I am about the unacceptably poor performance of schools on the Isle of Wight over many years and how this is damaging the prospects of young people who live on the island. Those who know me will realise that I am passionate about improving outcomes for children from our most disadvantaged communities and [that] my comments were made in this context.

“It is important that we draw attention to low educational standards, especially among low-income white British communities in our coastal areas, so that collective action is taken to improve the situation. Indeed, I welcome the efforts that are being made, supported by Hampshire county council, to improve school performance on the island.”

Speaking to TES, Hoare said coastal towns were often ignored in terms of poverty and educational underperformance. “I have a house overlooking the Isle of Wight and often over a dinner party, someone will ask ‘How is education?’” he said.

“I say: ‘Fantastic, I love doing what I am doing. We’re really going to make a difference.’ But I say: ‘We’re living seven miles away from the second-worst local authority when it comes to secondary education and the third worst when it comes to primary education.’

“And I say: ‘Where is it? Portsmouth? No. Chichester? No. Bognor? No. We’re seven miles away and you don’t know we have a ghetto seven miles away.’ British, white, poor, living on the Isle of Wight.

“Most people go there for sailing for two weeks a year. There’s a sailing club that is one of the best in the world, where there’s champagne.

“But just within inches, there are people who live in a ghetto and we’ve allowed it to happen.”

Bacon described Hoare’s comments as ill-judged.

“The Isle of Wight is working hard to raise the aspirations and attainment of our young people – something which Ofsted itself has recognised, not least in assessing our school improvement services as being effective,” he said.

The councillor acknowledged that the island had some significant challenges in terms of its education standards but said the council had made good progress, despite a long-term reduction in government funding.

He offered a personal invitation to Hoare to visit the island. “I am sure that David would want to take every opportunity to clarify his position in respect of his views on island residents, and I would be delighted if he were able to do this on a visit to the Isle of Wight, which I would be happy to host.”

John Pugh, the Liberal Democrat education spokesman, said: “To blame poor performance by the island’s schools on inbreeding is both insulting and ignorant.

“Many coastal communities have excellent schools and those that don’t are not helped by the sort of unenlightened attitude that would have been challenged even in Victorian times.

“If the best Mr Hoare can do is bring saloon bar comments to complex educational problems you have to wonder how he ended up as chair of Ofsted.”

Joy Ballard, the headteacher at Ryde academy on the island, said she hoped none of her pupils read the comments attributed to Hoare.



“I’m shocked that someone in such a senior position appears to be placing the blame for schools’ underperformance on the characteristics of the people who live here,” she said. “If he said this, his comments are extremely damaging, thoughtless and cruel.”

Ballard joined the school last September after transforming the fortunes of Willows high school in Cardiff, which was featured in the Channel 4 series Educating Cardiff.

“I’ve been working on the island since September and absolutely believe that its potential is enormous. Although there are pockets of deprivation, as there are in many towns across the country, the children who live here have been underachieving because of poor standards in schools and the low expectations of them,” she said.

“Many of these children already have low aspirations and a lack of belief in themselves. I hope none of my pupils read his comments.”