School that transformed itself into a GCSE winner

The remarkable story of how one of London's worst schools has transformed itself into a star GCSE performer can be told today.

And the school is producing students such as 16-year-old Alison Berner, who achieved 11 A* grades. She will now enter the school's sixth form to pursue her ambition to become a doctor.

Their success comes despite this year's GCSE results, which appear to show a widening gap nationally between the best and the worst schools, raising fresh doubts about standards in state education. Figures show that while the proportion of top grades is rising, the overall pass rate is the same.

However, in some of the poorest areas of the country, a number of schools spectacularly buck that trend.

Robert Clack School once had a reputation as one of the worst schools in one of the poorest boroughs in the capital. The achievement of its pupils matched its reputation for indiscipline. For some, given the background of its pupils, that was only to be expected.

Current headteacher Paul Grant arrived in 1990, initially as head of humanities, with a determination to "open doors for working-class pupils".

Six years later he became head after a report brought the school within a whisker of being failed by Ofsted inspectors. Earlier this year, the school's transformation was officially recognised when Ofsted inspectors described it in their latest inspection as a "very good school" led by an "inspiring" head.

Now, parents are clamouring for places. When he became head, Paul Grant recognised that nothing could change while indiscipline remained rife.

In his first week, he sent 200 children home on fixed-term exclusions. And in his first year, permanent exclusions hit double figures. In the past five years, there have been just two.

Mr Grant said: "When children know what is expected, they respond."

Each one of those exclusions followed one-to-one meetings with the children's

parents. "They said to me, OK, if you're laying down the law like this, what's in it for our children? There had to be a carrot as well as a stick.

"That started with a new image for the school, including a school uniform, which there hadn't been before, and praise and support for children when they did well.

"Before, teachers had been working on their own. Some of them did well, but some were struggling. We decided to learn from the best and to make sure that what was happening in the best classrooms happened everywhere."

Achievement is not confined to the classroom. It has produced county championship-winning teams in rugby union, national champions in gymnastics and has introduced pupils to the fringes of county championship cricket.

Alison Berner is one of those children who have been given broader horizons. Today she acknowledged just how much she and others like her owe to the school.

She said: "The teachers at the school have been fantastic. They are always there for you and I've used the support they've offered."