Beccles Free School

Beccles Free School
Established 2012
Type Free school
Headteacher David Lees
Location Castle Hill
Beccles
Suffolk
NR34 7BQ
England
52°27′04″N 1°34′23″E / 52.451°N 1.573°E / 52.451; 1.573Coordinates: 52°27′04″N 1°34′23″E / 52.451°N 1.573°E / 52.451; 1.573
DfE URN 138274 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Students 295
Gender Coeducational
Ages 11–16
Website becclesfreeschool.org.uk

Beccles Free School is a coeducational secondary free school located in Beccles in the English county of Suffolk.

The school opened in September 2012, the first free school to open in the Waveney district. The school was first located at the site of the former Carlton Colville Primary School in Carlton Colville, however in 2014 it relocated to the former lower school site of Sir John Leman High School (formerly Beccles Middle School) in Beccles.[1] The school is operated by the Seckford Foundation Free Schools Trust, an educational charity based in Woodbridge.[2] The headteacher is David Lees.[3]

There was considerable opposition to the opening of Beccles Free School from local campaigners, head teachers and senior politicians, including the local Conservative Member of Parliament Peter Aldous.[4][5][6][7][8] The school attracted further controversy when it was revealed that only 68 pupils had enrolled at the school when it opened in September 2012, leading to accusations that the school was a waste of taxpayers money.[6] The school opened with 12 teachers employed[6] and had attempted to attract pupils with offers of free uniforms, school meals and iPod Touch devices.[5] As of January 2013 an additional 34 pupils had joined the school.[8]

In 2013 the Advertising Standards Authority upheld two complaints about the way in which the school had misrepresented the former roles of its then head teacher, John Lucas, and the results of an Ofsted health and safety check.[9] The school amended some literature as a result.[9]

Following an inspection of the school in May 2014 pupil achievement, teaching and leadership were rated "good" by Ofsted, with behavior of pupils "outstanding". The overall report rated the school as "good".[10] In May 2018 the a short inspection took place in which the school continued to be rated as "good".[10]

Academic performance

In August 2015 the school received its first set of GCSE results. Just 39% of pupils achieved the government benchmark 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths.[2][11][12][13] These results were below the government "floor" standard for schools and resulted in an external enquiry being launched by the Seckford Foundation.[2] The school described itself as "disappointed"[11] by the results which compared with 67% of pupils achieving the same results at the Sir John Leman High School, the main competitor for Beccles Free School.[11]

The 2016 GCSE results were again below the national average, with a Progress 8 score of -0.37. 47% of pupils earned grades A*-C in GCSE English and Maths.[14]

The 2017 GCSE results showed improvement and were above the national average, with a Progress 8 score of 0.44, eighth best in Suffolk out of 43 mainstream secondary schools. 64% of pupils achieved Grade 4 or above (equivalent to Grade C) in English and Maths.[15]

In 2018 the school received its highest GCSE results, with 67% of pupils achieving at least Grade 4 in English and Maths.[16]

References

  1. ↑ New permanent home for Beccles Free School, Beccles and Bungay Journal, 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  2. 1 2 3 Overall rise in GCSE results in Norfolk and Suffolk masks day of wide disparities between schools and districts, Beccles and Bungay journal, 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  3. ↑ Beccles Free School headteacher and deputy to step down at Easter, East Anglian Daily Times, 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  4. ↑ Beccles Free School gets 37 applications for next year, BBC news website, 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  5. 1 2 The expensive free schools no one needs, The Guardian, 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  6. 1 2 3 Beccles and Saxmundham free schools to open half-empty, BBC news website, 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  7. ↑ New chapter in Beccles Free School row, Eastern Daily Press, 2013-01-04. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  8. 1 2 Beccles Free School attracts 34 more students, BBC news website, 2013-01-08. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  9. 1 2 Advertising Standards Authority upholds complaint against free school trust, Eastern Daily Press, 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  10. 1 2 "Beccles Free School Inspection Report". Ofsted. 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  11. 1 2 3 GCSE results joy for Waveney Valley pupils, Beccles and Bungay Journal, 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  12. ↑ Free school disappoints with 28% GCSE rate Schoolsweek, 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  13. ↑ GCSE results round up: Grades up in Norfolk and Suffolk; record success for some schools; other schools fall below minimum standard, Eastern Daily Press, 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  14. ↑ https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/138274
  15. ↑ Stott, Matt. "Where does your school rank in revised 2017 GCSE results and Progress 8 in Suffolk?". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  16. ↑ "Beccles Free School celebrate GCSE results 2018 | Beccles Free School". Beccles Free School. 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
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