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‘Landmark’ report into gifted and talented

‘landmark’ report into gifted and talented

29 January 2013

Maintained schools will come under further scrutiny as a "rapid response survey" of the teaching of the most able pupils is commissioned by Ofsted. Sir Michael Wilshaw ordered the report after league tables published on Thursday indicated that around 25% of secondary schools did not produce any pupils with A-level scores of at least AAB in the subjects required by the highest ranking universities.

The report is expected to draw comparisons between the achievement of pupils in the maintained sector and those in the independent and grammar school systems, with Michael Wilshaw arguing that it was ‘nonsense’ that four independent schools and one six form college in Cambridge send more pupils to Oxbridge than 2,000 state schools.

More than 50 secondary schools are expected to be visited as part of the investigation. However, all schools will need to ensure they can evidence that they are ‘pushing’ their most gifted and talented pupils towards academic success in the key curriculum subjects.

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