‘A very sad day’: Colchester school receives damning Ofsted report amid ‘rape culture’ claims
Watch more from Charlie Frost
A school in Colchester has been rated inadequate by Ofsted, amid claims of sexual assault and harassment.
Frequently ranked amongst the best performing state schools in the UK, Colchester Royal Grammar School (CRGS) has come under scrutiny for what some former pupils called a ‘toxic rape culture’.
In a report seen by ITV Anglia, Ofsted inspectors found the school to be 'Inadequate' overall, only scoring 'Good' in quality of education and sixth form provision.
The inspection, which was carried out in May, found leadership and attitudes to be 'Inadequate'.
The report says issues are not recorded properly, some pupils do not know how to behave around others and leaders do not do enough to prevent discriminatory remarks.
Highlights from the report:
"Some pupils do not know how to behave around others."
"Some pupils do not know how to behave around others."
"The school does not prepare pupils well enough for life in modern Britain. Some pupils do not know how to behave around others. Some pupils treat others badly because of their protected characteristics. Leaders need to ensure all pupils learn how to interact well with people different from themselves and value each other equally."
"Leaders have failed to recognise or address a pervading culture in the school which does not promote equality and respect."
"Leaders have failed to recognise or address a pervading culture in the school which does not promote equality and respect."
"Leaders have failed to recognise or address a pervading culture in the school which does not promote equality and respect. Leaders have not considered carefully how girls in the sixth form will be integrated into the school and what challenges they might face. The school does not prepare boys well enough for this."
"Discriminatory remarks are too common among some pupils."
"Discriminatory remarks are too common among some pupils."
"While many pupils enjoy being at the school, many also feel people are treated badly because of their protected characteristics, such as their gender, race or sexual orientation. Discriminatory remarks are too common among some pupils. Leaders do not do enough to prevent or combat this."
"Many pupils, of both sexes, dislike and disapprove of the negative culture."
"Many pupils, of both sexes, dislike and disapprove of the negative culture."
"Many pupils, of both sexes, dislike and disapprove of the negative culture. However, they often do not report their concerns or experiences. There are several reasons for this."
"When issues are reported to adults, they are not recorded properly."
"When issues are reported to adults, they are not recorded properly."
"When issues are reported to adults, they are not recorded properly. The system for staff to report concerns is not rigorous. Incidents are only added to safeguarding records if a member of the safeguarding team determines that they should be. This makes it too easy to miss patterns which might indicate a pupil is at risk of harm."
Scarlett Mansfield, a former pupil at the school is now calling on the Head Teacher’s resignation, claiming that he ‘is failing students at every turn’.
One parent at the school said the Ofsted report ‘confirms what many of us feared’.
John Russell, the Headmaster at CRGS, said the report was ‘very difficult to read’ and it was a ‘sad day’ for the school.
“We have never shied away from the fact that we believe that there is always more that we can, and want, to do for our students. We continually strive to improve every aspect of life at CRGS, and we have worked hard to adopt best practice in creating an environment where our students can flourish.
While we feel that the strengths of the school are not fully reflected in the report, the Ofsted Framework is the measure against which all schools will be judged – and we listen to what the inspection team found, and continue to act upon that. Our focus has to be on driving forward improvements and building on our many strengths and successes.
Key to this will be continuing to enhance our culture where our students show greater respect for themselves and for others, and eliminating the use of derogatory and discriminatory language. To support this we will further develop effective reporting systems, particularly around how students raise any concerns that they may have.”