Top class results for Camden girls school
CAMDEN School for Girls has maintained its position at the top of the class after impressing education inspectors once again
Ben McPartland
CAMDEN School for Girls has maintained its position at the top of the class after impressing education inspectors once again.
Staff at the secondary in Sandall Road in Kentish Town were celebrating after being given an 'outstanding' rating - the highest score possible - when Ofsted inspectors visited in December.
The inspectors did not hold back their praise for a school whose alumni include actresses Emma Thompson and Arabella Weir.
The report said: "Camden School for Girls rightly deserves the outstanding reputation it has among parents and in the community. It is a truly comprehensive and inclusive school where staff and students are valued equally and, as a result, develop a deep sense of loyalty and pride.
"Excellence in students' achievements is not merely confined to academic progress but can be seen in their creativity, social awareness and confidence."
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The report made good reading for governors and the school's headteacher Anne Canning
She said: "We had hoped to get outstanding but we did have a certain amount of modesty about it.
"The report is terribly encouraging and it is down to the talented staff and a really good and interested student body and I think the inspectors picked up on that.
"The kids are really interested in learning and are proud to be part of the school. Now we have to keep going, this has given us enormous confidence."
Camden School for Girls has a banded admissions policy, meaning it accepts an equal percentage of pupils from four different ability ranges.
Its reputation attracts pupils from across London and leaves its admissions officers swamped with applications each year.
In their report inspectors reserved praise for the school's 'rich and personalised' curriculum for 'raising students' aspirations and broadening their experiences'.
Ms Canning said: "We try to tutor the curriculum to individual needs. We know the kids well and offer them options to match their interests."
Camden School for Girls is a specialist music college and is voluntary aided meaning the governors have greater independence from the government than in other state secondaries.
Ms Canning believes this has contributed to their success.
She said: "The governors are very secure in their vision of the school's future and they realise we don't have to succumb to the latest fashion in education. We have a very able and supportive governing body."
ben.mcpartland@hamhigh.co.uk
