by Andrew Clarke

Last updated at 11:23, Thursday, 15 March 2012

ST Benedict’s School is to be placed in special educational measures after weaknesses were revealed in a recent government inspection.

head: Mrs Ann Brook

The Whitehaven school, which has 1,340 pupils on its roll, has been told that it must improve following a routine Oftsed visit at the end of February.

Although St Benedict’s is yet to receive the official judgement, the indications are that it will be placed in special measures when it does, meaning that the school will be monitored closely in the coming months to ensure its improvement.

It may receive up to five monitoring inspections over the next two years following the inspection that placed it in special measures.

A statement from the school’s board of governors reads: “The school has recently been inspected and until the report is published by Her Majesty’s inspectors, the governors are not in a position to comment.”

St Benedict’s isn’t the first senior school in Copeland to receive a poor Ofsted report in recent years.

In 2007, Millom School was placed in special measures after failing an Ofsted inspection, and its improvements resulted in the sanctions being removed 18 months later. And in November 2007, Whitehaven School was given a ‘notice to improve’ and it made sufficient strides for the label to be removed in February 2009.

First published at 11:09, Thursday, 15 March 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk