Top of the form - Warlingham Village Primary celebrates ‘outstanding’ inspection report

Staff, pupils and parents at Warlingham Village Primary School have been given the perfect end of year present after the school was declared ‘Outstanding in all areas’ following its latest Ofsted Inspection in June.

The achievement is all the more impressive as just three years ago the school was placed in special measures, but its response has been spectacular, with staff turning round the school’s performance to secure the highest possible rating significantly ahead of schedule.

Head teacher Geoff Green said he could not have been happier with the result. “This is a huge achievement for everyone associated with Warlingham Village Primary,” he explained. “Being put into special measures was a shock, so we vowed to turn things and set public goals of improvement, which we achieved within 18 months, as opposed to the two-year target we had set ourselves. That was massively encouraging, but to then leap up to Outstanding so quickly was way beyond anything we could have predicted.

“The staff here are so dedicated that I knew it was an achievable goal, but I didn’t think it would happen yet. Having that Outstanding label means so much – it’s a tribute to the standard of the teaching, the response of the children, and the development of the school as a whole, over the course of three years. It’s so satisfying to know that all that hard work has paid off.”

Mr Green also paid tribute to the contribution made by school parents, and promised them that the hard work for the benefit of their children would continue. “We’ve worked hard to get to this level, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be resting on our laurels,” he said. “Getting to the top is only half the battle, now we have to stay there. But everyone associated with Warlingham Village Primary can take great heart from the fact that this is one of the best schools in the county – and we’re going to do everything we can to keep it that way.”