St. Aidan’s Church of England High School has received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted, six months after being rated ‘inadequate’.

The inadequate rating came as a shock to many staff and parents, as the school had previously been graded ‘outstanding’.

When a school is rated inadequate it has to wait up to three years before another full inspection and is subject to regular monitoring visits to check on progress.

But after the first monitoring visit at St Aidan’s in May, inspectors felt the rating “was not a fair reflection of the school” and returned two days later for a full three-day inspection.

In the previous report, published in January, the school was rated ‘good’ in all areas except leadership and management, which was rated ‘inadequate’ and meant it automatically achieved the same overall outcome.

It was highly critical of the school’s safeguarding policies and said pupils were “at risk of harm”. However, the new report said the school has “robust systems in place” for safeguarding.

It praised leaders for “swiftly” addressing the concerns raised in the prior report.

The report added:

“Staff know the signs that suggest a pupil may be at risk of harm. Adults promptly report any concerns they have. Leaders take swift action to ensure that pupils are safe.

“Where necessary, leaders refer concerns to appropriate external agencies.”

Nurturing environment

The secondary school has over 2,500 pupils, which includes those in a shared sixth form with St John Fisher Catholic High School.

The report said the sixth form provision was ‘outstanding’ and pupils “demonstrate a real love of learning”.

The new Ofsted report also gave an ‘outstanding’ rating to behaviour and attitudes at St Aidan’s, calling it a “happy school with a positive and nurturing environment where pupils flourish.”

It added:

“Pupils enjoy their lessons and value teachers’ knowledge and enthusiasm for their subject. Leaders have established clear routines that result in calm lessons. This enables pupils to focus on their work. They are keen to succeed.”

Quality of education and personal development were rated ‘good’.

The report said:

The school’s response

Chris Ives, the school’s acting headteacher, said:

“This is an outcome that we think is a much fairer reflection of our school. In saying that, it is important to stress that changes have been made since the initial inspection outcome. We have collectively worked tirelessly to ensure that our approaches mirror what is required under the Ofsted framework.

“We have always believed in what we do and how we do it, and the process we have been through ensures that is fully in line with every expectation that is placed on us.”

Jo Wicks, chair of governors, said:

“After a period where we hadn’t been inspected in 15 years, to have three inspections in the matter of months has been challenging.

“There have, however, been real positives through this journey. The support we have had from our immediate community has been heartening, and the impact it has had on our school is immeasurable. Our staff have been unbelievably focused and determined to do their very best to ensure our school got the grading it deserved. The Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust has given their unwavering and constructive support.

“Most importantly, our students have not let this distract them from achieving their own goals and thriving as individuals. They continue to impress with their generosity of spirit and sharpness of their aspiration.

“We are truly delighted that we can end the year so positively and hope that we can build on the recent success when Ofsted next visit us to secure an outstanding judgement overall.”

Ofsted inspectors were back at St. Aidan’s Church of England High School for their first monitoring visit last week, following the school’s ‘inadequate’ report this year.

The report was published in January and was highly critical of the school’s leadership and management. It said pupils are “at risk of harm” due to its safeguarding measures.

The school was rated ‘good’ in four of the five areas assessed during September’s two-day visit. These were: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and sixth form provision.

But its ‘inadequate’ grading for leadership and management meant it automatically achieved the same overall outcome.

Read more:

• St Aidan’s new 3G pitch set to be open until 8pm
• St Aidan’s ‘inadequate’ rating prompts debate over its handling of bullying

Schools that receive an ‘inadequate’ rating are subject to regular monitoring visits by inspectors to check on progress.

A full inspection will take place within 30 months of the last report.

A St Aidan’s spokesperson said the school will provide more information about the visit before the end of term, but it was a “very positive experience” overall.

They said:

“As a result of our most recently published Ofsted inspection report, St Aidan’s is subject to monitoring visits to assess progress against our statement of action.

“We were pleased to welcome Ofsted back for the first of their monitoring visits recently. While this was a very positive experience we are unable, as is standard practice, to share any further details at this stage. We are hopeful that we will be able to provide more information before the end of term.

“We would also like to pass on our thanks and gratitude to our staff, children and young people, parents and carers, and all stakeholders, for their on-going support in making St Aidan’s the very special place that it is.”

St Aidan’s Church of England High School’s new floodlit artificial sports pitch is set to open from 6pm to 8pm for community clubs to use.

The school has launched a consultation on when the FIFA-approved pitch can be hired, as well as the type of floodlights that will be built.

Last January councillors gave the school permission to build the pitch, despite the council’s own report recommending refusal.

Some nearby residents had complained that the 15-metre high floodlights would cause light pollution to their homes and the Stray.

However, the application attracted a huge amount of support from Harrogate residents, with some hailing “people power” for helping to influence councillors’ decisions.

Hours of use

The consultation document proposes the pitch will be available from 6pm to 8pm from Monday to Friday.

On Saturdays, it would be available for hire from 9am to 5pm and on Sundays from 10am to 2pm.

During school holidays, the pitch would be available to be booked from 9am to 4pm.

It says prices will be similar to other council-run facilities in the Harrogate area.

Read more:

• Sensory garden for visually impaired to open in Harrogate

• Ripon gran, 81, misses family moment due to council van in disabled parking bay

The school will employ its own staff to manage and operate the facility and a committee will review its hours of use every year.

There has been a lack of 3G pitches available in Harrogate since Harrogate Town were forced to remove theirs following promotion to the English Football League two years ago.

Former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls was quizzed by students about politics and life with a stammer during a visit to Harrogate’s Ashville College.

Mr Balls visited last week at the invitation of sixth former Thomas Grattoni-May, who is an advocate for stammering children and youth panel member of the charity Action for Stammering Children.

The former politician and TV personality, who is vice president of the charity, spent half an hour chatting to pupils about their studies, interests and aspirations.

Students from St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate and All Saints Roman Catholic School in York also attended and were able to take part in a question and answer session.

Read more:

• Ripon man who helped Ukrainian refugees set for hero’s return
• Harrogate schoolchildren hold peace walk for Ukraine

Thomas Grattoni-May, Ed Balls and Leanne Norton, head of sixth form at Ashville College.

Leanne Norton, assistant head of sixth form at Ashville College, said:

“He showed a real interest in our learning support department and how the team helps pupils like Thomas throughout their school life, and prepares them for the next stage in their careers, be it further education or into the workplace.

“It was also a fantastic opportunity for our pupils, plus those from St Aidan’s and All Saints, to hear from a former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer about his own personal experiences. In the audience were our own Year 11s who have opted to study our brand new government and politics A Level in the 2022-23 academic year, so this was a great insight into what a life in government can be like from someone who has experienced it first-hand.”

Thomas Grattoni-May said:

“I am incredibly grateful to Mr Balls for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit Ashville and to help promote Action for Stammering Children. He is a superb advocate for the charity, and it was fabulous having him here.”

A concert will take place at Ripon Cathedral in April to mark the 30th anniversary of St Aidan’s Chamber Choir.

Ex-members of the choir, including Cathy Roberts, former director of music at St Aidan’s, who founded the choir in 1992, and Greg Beardsell, a founder member of the choir and now a professional conductor and TV presenter, have agreed to attend.

The concert, on April 2, will bring together all three of the school choirs, the symphony orchestra and a ‘choir of choirs’ made up of former members.

St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate has about 2,000 students. Its chamber choir is one of its best loved and prestigious musical ensembles.

Read More:

• St Aidan’s school in Harrogate rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted
• St Aidan’s ‘absolutely delighted’ at pitch approval

The school said in a statement:

“We would like to invite the wider St Aidan’s community to participate as singers or players in the community chorus and orchestra for some massed items, including Haydn’s The Heavens are Telling.

The event is open to all parents, carers, staff, students and anyone else with a St Aidan’s connection.

To be part of the event, or for further details, email music@staidans.co.uk with the subject CC30.

The release of Ofsted‘s report giving St Aidan’s an ‘inadequate’ rating prompted heavy debate on social media with some agreeing the school needed to improve and others defending it.

The inspection led the Harrogate high school to drop from ‘outstanding’, which it received at its previous inspection in 2006, to the lowest of four possible ratings.

Parents, locals and former students took to social media to give their views on the report’s findings.

Claims bullying wasn’t dealt with proactively 

One comment that was raised by multiple people was bullying at the school, some claimed it often wasn’t dealt with effectively.

One former student, Caitlin Nicole Chang, attended the school between 2004-2011 and said:

“Whilst I am saddened to learn St Aiden’s has been rated inadequate, I was not surprised that the school was let down by its safeguarding measures.

“I was severely bullied and racially abused by one girl whilst at St Aiden’s. When I reported this to the head of year, she got banned from our form room, however the school continued to put me in the same classes as her for a large majority of my subjects. Where was the safeguarding there? Unfortunately, the bullying did not stop, I called her a racist. The head of year said “you can’t just go around accusing people of racism”. Here I was, a young girl, crying for being racially abused, and getting told off for calling the girl who was racist towards me, a racist. I believe if I went to the headteacher, something would have been done.”

This was echoed by another former student, Max Prudames, he said:

“I’m not surprised by St Aidans Ofsted report. Many of my friends and I dealt with bullying during our entire time there and nothing was done about it. It also felt like since many of the bullies took part in representing the school in sports, nothing was done against them since it was ruin the schools image.”

In the report, released yesterday, Ofsted said all pupils inspectors spoke to said bullying was dealt with but on a survey some parents and pupils disagreed.

Read more:

• St Aidan’s school in Harrogate rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted
• Harrogate competitive festival returns seeking new competitors

A “fantastic school”

However, not all people agreed with the ‘inadequate’ rating. Josephine Mary said the rating would not stop her sending her child to school there:

“The school is a calm, safe and supportive place. They have great support for those with extra needs and have massively supported deaf children in the past. I believe that as Ofsted haven’t been for many years nearly 15 years that the school has had not as much practice in keeping up with records and with the Ofsted requirements.”

Mo Burn agreed adding her granddaughter was enjoying her time at St Aidans:

“My granddaughter has been doing her A-Levels at this school and I think it is a fantastic school. Every school has its faults and problems. She has had fantastic results and the support, care and understanding she has had from her teachers was first class.”

A pre-inquest review hearing was held yesterday into the death of a 16-year-old schoolboy from Harrogate.

Benjamin Nelson-Roux, a student at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died in Harrogate on April 8 last year.

The North Yorkshire Coroner’s Office, which is holding the investigation, heard that Benjamin was found dead by his mother while staying at a Harrogate hostel.

Benjamin’s parents, Kate and Barry, attended yesterday’s hearing. It was revealed they had instructed their solicitor, Ciara Bartlam, of Ison Harrison, to state that mental health was a contributing factor to their son’s death alongside drug misuse.

In a letter published after their son’s death, the parents had written about how their “funny, clever, caring” son had endured a “heart breaking struggle with mental health problems which he tried to fix with substance misuse”.

The inquest will examine the multi-agency response to providing Benjamin with the right support.

Read more:

• Fund set up in memory of Harrogate musician Aaron Bertenshaw
• Parents’ tribute to Harrogate girl on acne drug who took her life

Solicitors and representative from the various agencies involved, which include North Yorkshire County Council, North Yorkshire Police, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust  will now forward written submissions to the coroner before the inquest officially opens.

Jon Heath, the lead coroner, adjourned the hearing until another pre-inquest review hearing in January.

At the next hearing, the coroner will decide if further witnesses need to be called before the inquest opens.

The heartbroken parents of a Harrogate schoolgirl who was on an acne drug when she took her life paid tribute to her at an inquest today.

Annabel Wright, 15, was found dead in her room on the evening of May 1, 2019. Her parents discovered her body.

Harrogate District Hospital had prescribed the schoolgirl, who attended St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate, the drug Roaccutane, also known as isotretinoin, to treat her acne.

Giving evidence at an inquest in Northallerton today, Helen and Simon Wright said Annabel was a happy child with no history of depression.

Ms Wright said:

“Annabel was the brightest child. She was easy going, happy and she never had any issues. She enjoyed school and had a great set of friends there.

“I believe that Roaccutane led to her suicide. Normal, happy people like Annabel don’t just commit suicide without any signs or anything leading up to it.”

Concerns about drug’s link to suicide

The inquest heard that in January 2019 Annabel had self-harmed. Mr and Ms Wright discussed the incident with their daughter but did not mention it to the doctor, as they did not think it was linked to her medication.

When Annabel was first prescribed Roaccutane in October 2018, Ms Wright raised concerns about the drug after reading articles online linking it with suicide.

The doctor told Ms Wright she believed there was no causal link between the drug and increased risk of suicide.

Mr Wright said of his daughter:

“She was perfect. We adored Annabel and she adored us, we were a close-knit family.

“My wife and mother-in-law had taken our son out to a young farmers’ club on the day that Annabel died.

“I came home from work late at around 8pm and went to see Annabel in her room when we had a chat about the Spanish exam she took that morning.”

Mr Wright later went downstairs for dinner. When the rest of his family got back they went to check once again on Annabel.

Mr Wright found his daughter’s body and called for an ambulance, which took Annabel to hospital in Harrogate where she later died.

Read more:

• Ripon Racecourse to reopen as vaccine centre
• Harrogate motorists encouraged to ditch car on Fridays

Parents say risk should have been made clearer

Mr and Ms Wright both said they believed Roaccutane was the cause of Annabel’s suicide and blamed the hospital for not making the risks clearer.

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to respond to the Wrights’ claims.

Dr Jacqueline Andrews, executive medical director at the trust, said:

“We wish to offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Annabel Wright.

“Following Annabel’s tragic death, the trust commenced an investigation and our findings have been shared with Annabel’s family and HM Coroner.

“Until the inquest has concluded we are unable to comment further.”

The inquest into Annabel Wright’s death continues.

Samaritans are available 365 days a year for people in need of support. You can call them free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

A group of parents of St Aidan’s Church of England High School pupils will form a ‘human chain’ outside the school tomorrow to protest against giving covid vaccines to children aged 12-15.

Children will be able to get their first shot of coronavirus vaccine from next week, the government has confirmed. It says this will reduce the chances of children getting covid and reduce the spread of the virus.

However, a group of Harrogate mums and dads angered by the move will hold a demonstration tomorrow. At least 10 parents are expected to take part in the protest on Oatlands Drive at 10.30am.

One of the parents, Laura Brett, told the Stray Ferret that giving vaccines to schoolchildren was “100% not worth the risk” and she hoped the protest would send a message to government.

She said:

“We need to do something. It’s like a bad dream. The narrative the government gives us doesn’t make sense.

“Vaccinating children on school grounds feels totally unethical. It’s a disgrace.”

Read More: 

• Knaresborough vaccine site moves to offer 1,500 jabs a day
• Harrogate law firm leads legal challenge over child vaccines

Another parent, Alexandra Campbell, told the Stray Ferret she was taking part in the protest because she doesn’t believe the vaccine will benefit children.

She added:

“The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation have not recommended it for children but the government are ignoring this and doing it anyway. No one knows the long-term effects so why on earth would anyone want to put this in children’s bodies.

“This should be about choice, not pressure, virtue signalling or guilt.”

The Stray Ferret contacted St Aidan’s but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The first pupils across the Harrogate district have been receiving covid tests as schools prepare for a return to classroom-only teaching.

Harrogate Grammar, Harrogate High, St John Fisher and St Aidan’s schools in Harrogate, as well as Outwood Academy in Ripon, have all begun offering tests to their students this week.

Each will complete the first round of testing of all pupils by the middle of next week, after which the second and third rounds will be offered.

Harrogate Grammar School began its testing programme with its 600 sixth formers today, before working its way down the year groups in the first half of next week. Headteacher Neil Renton said:

“The testing today is going really well. We’ve got 10 testing bays in action and we’re testing 100 students every hour.

“We’re starting with year 12 and 13 students because our sixth form is so large – about 600 students. We wanted to make sure things were working, because if we didn’t get this right we would have to re-think our testing for next week.”

Fortunately, Mr Renton said, the trial had run smoothly, with a high percentage of parents giving consent for testing to take place. He praised the efforts of 30 members of staff who had been trained up to help students to follow the right procedures, led by business operations manager Tom Stephens.

Read more:

• Parents volunteer to help Ripon school with covid tests
• Nine out of 10 get first choice secondary schools in North Yorkshire

Asked about the impact of testing on schools’ ability to keep students in classrooms, Mr Renton said:

“The way I’m seeing it is it’s an additional measure we didn’t have before. I know there’s a huge debate about the efficacy of testing, but it’s what we’ve been asked to do and if it finds and breaks transmission of a couple of asymptomatic cases, it has been worth doing.”

At St Aidan’s, years 7, 11 and 13 have been tested yesterday and today, before returning to in-person lessons on Monday. Years 10 and 12 will be tested on Monday, year 8 on Tuesday and year 9 on Wednesday, each then coming back to the classroom the following day.

Like most of the district’s schools, St Aidan’s is also repurposing existing facilities to accommodate a temporary testing centre. A spokesperson for the school said:

“The 16 bay testing facility is situated in Constance Green Hall, usually the home to assemblies, theatrical productions, proms and fantastic musical performances all year round.

“The in-school arrangements for the return of students will be similar to the measures we had in place in the autumn term, with year group bubbles, staggered lesson times, lunches, arrival and departure times, but with the addition of further control measures including the wearing of face coverings in lessons.”

To ease any anxiety about the testing process, both St Aidan’s and Harrogate Grammar School have created virtual tours of their facilities for students.

Ripon Grammar School’s sports hall set up ready for covid testing from Monday

Meanwhile, St John Fisher tested its year 11 and 13 pupils yesterday ready for them to return to school on Monday, when years 10 and 12 will be tested, followed by lower year groups through the week.

Harrogate High School has offered tests to years 10 and 11 today, with the remaining students being tested on Monday.

At both Boroughbridge High School and Outwood Academy Ripon, testing is being carried out before students return to the classroom by the middle of next week. Similarly, Ripon Grammar School begins testing on Monday and all year groups will be back in school by the end of the week.

After three rounds of tests, students across the country will be given home tests to use twice a week. The aim is to identify asymptomatic cases of covid before it can be spread to more pupils, helping to reduce the need for isolating and to keep more students in schools.