Islamic boys school with £12k per year fees slammed by Ofsted for leaving pupils ‘unprepared for life in modern Britain’

From My London

An Islamic boys boarding school that charges parents up to £12,000 per year has been slammed by Ofsted for leaving pupils ‘unprepared for life in modern Britain’. Students at Marathon Science School in South London had a ‘very poor’ understanding of other faiths and cultures, the schools watchdog said.

The Lewisham school, which teaches high school aged boys, was downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ following the inspection in May. Inspectors said children also had very little understanding of England’s main political parties and described their knowledge of key British values as ‘limited’.

An Ofsted report published on June 29 reads: “The personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum is especially poor. As a result, pupils’ knowledge and understanding of fundamental British values is limited. They are unprepared for life in modern Britain.

“Pupils have a very poor knowledge of even basic information including about other faiths and cultures, the main political parties in England, and the different characteristics that people have.”

Inspectors also criticised the school’s teaching of sex education, noting that required content wasn’t being taught. They branded careers advice at the school ‘weak’, describing it as neither suitable nor impartial.

Ofsted added that too many pupils at the school achieved poor GCSE grades. Government statistics show just 17 per cent of pupils achieved grade 5 (equivalent to the old grade C) or above at GCSE in English and maths. Nationally, the figure is 50 per cent of students and 47 per cent in the borough of Lewisham.

Behaviour was the only quality for which the school kept a ‘good’ rating. Marathon Science School was rated ‘inadequate’ for its quality of education, leadership and personal development of pupils.

The school on Evelyn Street was teaching 59 boys at the time of the inspection. The report said many pupils were of a Turkish background and spoke English as a second language.