Head teacher Andy Crofts has blamed his school's worst-ever GCSE results on his 'very weak' students

A head teacher has blamed his school's worst-ever GCSE results on his 'difficult mix' of 'very, very, very weak' students including many asylum seekers.

Andy Crofts, from the Quest Academy, said he would 'challenge anyone to do any better' with the students because they were 'never going to get there', regardless of the school.

Only 31 per cent of students left the Croydon school last year with at least five A* to C grades, including English and maths, compared with the government's minimum expectation of 40 per cent.

Of those attending the school, more than 40 per cent do not speak English as a first language while many are asylum seekers who have moved to the area after fleeing warzones.

Mr Crofts said: 'They were exceptionally weak. They were very, very, very weak and I would challenge anyone - be it in Croydon or beyond - to do any better with them.'

He added the year group had been a 'very difficult mix with very low ability'. There had been 'a lot of uncertainty' about the school when parents were choosing, meaning very few selected Quest as their first choice, he said.

'Given their starting points they did better than expected,' he said. 'If we had the same cohort as other schools then our attainment would be a lot better.

'What we've prided ourselves on is we've increased the progress we make every year since we took over.'

The results were the lowest at the school since it was reopened as an academy in 2010 in place of Selsdon High. It is run by The Coloma Trust, set up by Coloma Convent Girls' School.

In its latest Ofsted report, published in June 2013, the school was classed as 'good'.

It said more than half the pupils are eligible for free school meals while a 'higher-than-average' proportion are eligible for extra government funding because of low primary school results.

Mr Crofts said the majority of students belong to minority ethnic backgrounds, while some are asylum-seeking children who arrive in Year 11 with the reading and writing ability of a five or six-year-old.

'They were never going to get there with any school in the country. So, I wouldn't accept the figures show we're not doing a good job,' he said.

'Can these pupils go and do their A levels? No they can't. But are they able to go on to other courses and develop their education and therefore their life chances? Yes, of course.'

He added: 'These results do not mean they don't have the opportunity to thrive and succeed like everyone else.'

In response to his comments, a Hungarian student wrote an open letter to her former principle listing a catalogue of failings at the 'very poorly directed' school.

Andy Crofts, from the Quest Academy in Croydon, said he would 'challenge anyone to do any better' with the students because they were 'never going to get there', regardless of the school. He is pictured with Mrs Martin, the head of Coloma Convent School

In its latest Ofsted report, published in June 2013, the school (pictured) was classed as 'good'. It said more than half the pupils are eligible for free school meals while 40 per cent do not speak English as a first language

When Tamara Szalai came to Britain in Year 7 she could not speak English, but she achieved four As, including English and science, as well as a B in maths.

Her letter alleges that lessons were scrapped and reintroduced and that art students were told by one teacher they were performing well when their grades were below a C.

She wrote: 'It hurts us students that our hard work through all the chaos has been ignored and insulted. Not the majority, but many students received acceptable grades considering the conditions they had to learn in.

'Overall I am ashamed to have attended such a school where the students are blamed for a chaotic learning environment that Ofsted failed to see.

'We are insulted as "very, very, very, weak" students when we tried our hardest to get help from teachers who just weren't bothered.'

Mr Crofts said his current crop of Year 11 students are significantly more able and he expected more than half to leave with at least five good GCSEs.

'OUR HARD WORK HAS BEEN IGNORED AND INSULTED': YEAR 11 PENS OPEN LETTER TO HEAD TEACHER WHO SLAMMED STUDENTS AS 'WEAK' This is the full open letter written by student Tamara Szalai to Mr Crofts, as published in the Croydon Advertiser: I am writing to inform you of the true situation The Quest Academy is currently in. Mr Crofts is highly concerned about the image of the Quest Academy. This is understandable, because behind the scenes it is a very poorly directed school. I, unfortunately, had to spend five years there receiving little education the system could offer. I am one of the students who could not speak English in Year 7. However, at the end of Year 11 I achieved four A's including English and science, achieved a B for maths and had a grade average of 6.2 which, at my college, makes me a 'gifted and talented' pupil. Most students were bright in my year. However teachers coming and leaving, not knowing where their classes had left off, ruined the education of many. For example, art students were informed they were meeting their targets by one teacher then the next teacher told them they were below a C. In Year 11 there is little time to improve. A student who was predicted to achieve an A* just scraped a B, and another one who was predicted a B sadly failed with a D. It was similar with other departments at the school. We had one day of doing only ICT work each month and we had no ICT lessons in our timetables. These ICT days were not thoroughly explained to us and we didn't understand why they took the lesson away from our timetables. The work was not explained and many students, such as myself, struggled to understand the requirements for the tasks. Later on, in Year 10, Mr Crofts put the lesson back into our timetables. However, it was too late, as we were very behind. I have managed to pass my BTEC course with a merit, but it required many after school sessions and commitment to catch up on a year's lost work. Certain teachers could not mark exams and coursework properly which made pupils wonder why they were employed in the first place. A health and social care teacher predicted many pieces of coursework would achieve As. However, when everyone received their results, they barely scraped a C. How is a student meant to do well, when the teacher doesn't let them know they need to improve? Many teachers, who I personally viewed as highly capable, left the school because they did not agree with the way it was led and directed. Those who stayed were put under a lot of pressure to manage all the classes left without a teacher. For example, the school had one French teacher, who had to teach all GCSE French classes and the years below. How is one teacher meant to be able to stay organised and prepare for all their classes alone? Another problem is organisation. In June last year students were forced to stay after school and finish coursework that should have been finished in Year 9, but has been ignored by the teachers. Mr Crofts wants to hide these facts behind false statistics of pupils not speaking English and having a five-year-old child's ability to read and write. It hurts us students that our hard work through all the chaos has been ignored and insulted. Not the majority, but many students received acceptable grades considering the conditions they had to learn in. Overall I am ashamed to have attended such a school where the students are blamed for a chaotic learning environment that Ofsted failed to see. We are insulted as "very, very, very, weak" students when we tried our hardest to get help from teachers who just weren't bothered. I have discussed Mr Crofts' comments with previous students and their responses include "We didn't get the help we needed" and "The teachers are bad" I want to defend all the people who have been insulted, disparaged and trivialised by Mr Crofts. I hope the people who read the principal's comments will read this letter too. Advertisement



