Back up, teachers!

According to this year’s Ofsted report the Regis School produced results that have shown less improvement and remain significantly below average.

The future regeneration of Bognor Regis depends upon the success of well-educated pupils from our Regis School, and for too long this school (and its forerunner, Bognor Regis Community College) has been bumbling along at the bottom of the league table with no one apparently willing or able to make a difference to the results at the school.

If Ditcham Park School near Petersfield can achieve a 100% pass rate in seven GCSE subjects including English and maths, surely it is not asking too much to expect the Regis School to obtain a pass rate nearer to the national average of 55% in five subjects, including English and maths, instead of the 38% achieved this year?

The new Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw said in a recent newspaper article that ‘schools are being failed by obviously incapable teachers who get away with doing the bare minimum’, and a previous chief inspector also reported that there were ‘15,000 incompetent teachers’ in the system.

Although teaching is a noble profession, some teachers are letting it down and the problem of ‘coasting’ teachers has to be addressed. The great majority of teachers are very professional people who do their best but in any large organisation there are going to be some that are not very good.

It is important to tell the truth that head teachers should challenge staff that are not up to standard, who are coasting, hopelessly ineffective and incompetent and are letting the children down.

I am an eternal optimist and for the sake of my grandchildren I am sure the Regis School, with strong and effective leadership, can improve to achieve academic excellence, closing the attainment gap with the best schools.

Derek Trotman

Ellasdale Road,

Bognor