A headteacher is beaming with pride for his staff and pupils after the school moved up in the Ofsted rankings.

St John Fisher Primary School in Littlemore was one of the few primary schools in the city with a ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted rating.

But now, after its latest inspection in June, the school has achieved a ‘good’ rating.

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Headteacher Paul Higgins said: “I feel very happy and proud with the rating we’ve achieved.

“The way all the staff worked last year, it’s what we deserved. The school has been improving for a long time and the children are amazing.

“They’re a real asset to our community and their families, and hopefully this is the beginning for us and we continue to progress.”

Mr Higgins joined the school in September last year – after 15 years of teaching in South London – when the school was still rated as ‘requires improvement’.

He added: “I’ve always worked in communities a bit like Blackbird Leys, and what I wanted to do when moving to Oxford was to find a school with a diverse community, and one that I could help.”

The school went through a catalogue of changes to achieve the new grade, including an overhaul of Maths and English frameworks and a stronger focus on experiential learning.

The school is run by the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1