Rapid Action Plan created after Magdalen College Brackley placed in special measures
01/07/2025
The school aims to have special measures removed between December 2026 and May 2027
Parents and carers of children at Magdalen College School in Brackley have met with staff following a damning Ofsted report, which has resulted in the school being placed into special measures.
Following an inspection in April the school was found to be inadequate in three areas and needing improvement in two others. It had previously been rated “good” overall.
Ofsted noted “the school has failed to provide pupils with an acceptable standard of education” adding that “in class some pupils disrupt the learning of others” and “pupils frequently hear other pupils using discriminatory and derogatory language”.
The report also raised concerns over safety: “The school has not ensured pupils’ physical safety on site. Some areas remain unsafe, and pupils have gained access to them. Sometimes, staff leave pupils unsupervised in classrooms. The school has not taken appropriate action to secure the premises.”
Ofsted highlighted disadvantaged and SEND children particularly adversely affected and on lessons generally commented: “Pupils do not behave well in lessons because expectations are inconsistent.”
At the time of the inspection the school had 1,348 students registered.
In response to the report’s findings Magdalen College is implementing a Rapid Action Plan, which will be overseen by the Head Teacher Tom Hollis working with Craig Thomas and David Brown from EPA Trust.
Parents have been told that until December the focus will be bringing about swift and tangible improvements along with enabling a longer-term support plan to be constructed for December onwards.
The document notes an emphasis on demonstrating the school’s ability to meet the needs of all pupils, keep students safe and ensure high standards of behaviour, with an aim to have special measures removed between December 2026 and May 2027.
A spokesperson for Magdalen College School told Banbury FM the school leadership and governors took the judgement seriously and were committed to taking urgent and effective action to secure rapid and sustained improvements.
They said: “We fully accept Ofsted’s findings and understand the seriousness of the issues raised. While this is a disappointing outcome for our school community, it is also an opportunity for deep reflection and renewed focus. Our students deserve the very best, and we are absolutely committed to transforming the school and delivering the high-quality education every child deserves.
“Since the end of the inspection, we have been supported by colleagues from the EPA Trust, a Multi-Academy Trust comprising 11 Oxfordshire schools. This trust has recently taken Heyford Park School from a similar position to Ofsted ‘Good’. A ‘Rapid Action Plan’ has been written with support from EPA colleagues, including from Bartholomew School, Eynsham: an outstanding school with excellent outcomes at GCSE and A Level.
“We have acted immediately on the safeguarding concerns raised in the report and a follow-up audit was completed by the Local Authority. The only remaining issues are with security at the St John’s site. These will be addressed through site work over the summer, resulting in new gates and a new reception area on that site.
“We recognise that working in partnership with parents and families will be vital in improving our school. We are meeting regularly with parents to establish opportunities to collaborate in the next academic year and there will be follow up meetings to report on progress.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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Claire B On 02/07/2025 at 9:56 am
Sadly this school has let down far too many children over the years. It’s a wonder that they even achieved a ‘Good’ rating in 2020. They tried to offroll my daughter in 2019 when suffering with serious mental health worries (later diagnosed autistic) and tried to threaten me with fines if I didn’t change school or home educate. Other parents have faced similar issues when their child had special educational needs and/or health issues. How the current HT is hanging onto his job is beyond me – he’s part of the problem. He listens to no-one, staff, parents or pupils.