'Inadequate' £4.2 million free school to close 16 months after Tory schools minister cut ribbon
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A brand new £4.2 million ‘free school’ set up to train the sports stars of tomorrow is to close after being branded inadequate by Ofsted, just 16 months after its grand opening.
Tory School Standards Minister Nick Gibb toured Plymouth Studio School and cut the ribbon on the taxpayer-funded, state-of-the-art facility in December 2016.
But today the Department for Education today agreed “in principle” to shut the school down, at the request of the trust that runs it.
And the Mirror can reveal parents had already raised serious concerns about the school before Mr Gibb visited.
Mr Gibb, who visited the school with local Tory MP Johnny Mercer, is now the minister in charge of maintaining standards in education.
The decision to close the school will force dozens of children to move to another school part-way through their GCSE studies.
(Image: PENNY CROSS)
(Image: PAUL SLATER)
The school will be the 19th of its type to fold since they were introduced in 2010.
It follows a three-year “comedy of errors” with mishaps including staff leaving their jobs and students being locked in a classroom.
The Ofsted report, which has not yet been published, is understood to grade the school as inadequate, and identifies a string of teaching and safeguarding concerns.
The troubled school has had three headteachers since it first launched in temporary buildings in 2015.
It was officially opened in 2016, after building work was completed.
(Image: PENNY CROSS)
But concerns were raised within weeks of the new building opening, when a group of children were locked in a classroom for almost an hour after the door mechanisms failed.
Local councillors were concerned pupils could have been in danger in the event of a fire, because it does not have a sprinkler system.
One parent told the Plymouth Herald the school had been bedeviled by high staff turnover, including having three head teachers.
“It’s been a comedy of errors,” she said. “My child had six different maths teachers in a term-and-a-half.
“In 2015 I complained things were not right. It’s been calamitous from start to finish.
“I feel very bad for Year 10 students that are half way through GCSEs.
“And the DfE needs to make it clear what they are going to do to help children affected by this failing school, if they have poor exam results as a result of being at this school.”
Another parent wrote to the school after her daughter had been left in tears because she had been left so far behind in her GCSE studies as a result of the school's failings.
And emails seen by the Mirror reveal concerns were raised to Ofsted, the board of Governors and local councillors for months before Mr Gibb attended the school's 'grand opening' in December 2016.
Studio schools are a type of ‘free school’ which are taxpayer funded and designed to offer academic and vocational qualifications, but operate outside of direct local authority control.
Headteacher Mark Cahill said: “We are extremely sorry to be announcing this news, which we recognise will come as a disappointment to parents and pupils.
“Our primary concern now is the future wellbeing and best outcomes for our pupils.
“We are assured by the local authority that there are sufficient places in the city’s secondary schools to accommodate all Studio School pupils, and my staff will be working closely with the local authority, the Regional Schools Commissioner and others to ensure a smooth transition for all of our pupils to their new schools.
“Our focus for the rest of the year will continue to be on providing the very best teaching, learning and assessment we can for our pupils.”
The Mirror approached the Department for Education for comment, but they had not responded at the time of publication.