Tudor Grange Samworth Academy, A Church of England School, previously known as Samworth Enterprise Academy, is a school with Academy status located in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is a co-educational school for 3-16 year olds that specialises in Food, Business and Enterprise. The school was created on the site of the Mary Linwood Comprehensive School which closed in 1997. It opened in 2007 under the co-sponsorship of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and businessman Sir David Samworth, and incorporates a fully functioning church. The school became part of the Tudor Grange Academies Trust in January 2016.

Concerns and criticism

Inadequate rating and special measures

In September 2014, after poor

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

results, the original head Pat Dubas resigned, and a new interim head was appointed. An

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

report in June 2015, classified the school as "inadequate in almost all areas" and placing it into special measures. The school was rated "inadequate" again in October 2018.

Alleged malpractice

In July 2016, a whistleblower alleged that the members of staff had been engaging in malpractice by helping students during GCSE examinations and having access to examination papers prior to the start of public examinations. The claims are currently being investigated by the

Joint Council for Qualifications The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) is a community interest company acting as a single voice for the eight largest qualification providers in the United Kingdom offering GCSE, GCE, Scottish Highers and vocationally related qualifications ...

OFSTED Inspections

After a flurry of monitoring visits to confirm that the school was indeed moving in the right direction, in November 2021, OFSTED returned and carried out a full section 5 inspection finding that the school had rapidly improved in all areas to GOOD and is now categorised as a GOOD school. OFSTED noted that 'Leaders and staff build the school’s values of tolerance, unity, democracy, opportunity and respect (TUDOR) into all aspects of the school’s work. Pupils say that they are safe and happy at school. They are very well cared for by staff, who are proud to work at this school.'

References

External links