Judge rules that Thomas Telford School's controversial Ofsted grading will stand

Thomas Telford School in central Telford had challenged the education watchdog over the verdict of its inspection report which was published in July last year.

Ofsted had rated the school outstanding in every area apart from 'leadership and management', which was rated 'good'. The decision meant the school dropped to an overall 'good' rating from its previous 'outstanding' judgement.

The school, which takes in pupils from across Shropshire and Wolverhampton, challenged Ofsted through a Judicial Review, with the judge's ruling revealed earlier this month.

That ruling has now been shared with parents of pupils at Thomas Telford by the school's headmaster, Sir Kevin Satchwell.

In the message he said some of the school's complaints over the inspection were upheld – but the Judicial Review came down in favour of Ofsted over whether the grading stands.

The heart of the issue between Ofsted and the school was a dispute over the use of "codes to record attendance for behavioural issues" – with the school arguing it was not subject to normal school systems because of its status as a City of Technology College (CTC).

The inspector had initially suspected the school of 'gaming' the absence system – without understanding it did not have to follow the same rules as other schools.

Sir Kevin had criticised the inspectors for not understanding the school's status before starting the inspection – a matter also highlighted by the judge.