A top London primary school has had its Sats results scrapped amid allegations that children were helped during their exams.
Year 6 pupils at Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Primary School in Putney had their test results annulled over “maladministration” following an investigation by the Department for Education last year.
Headteacher Deirdre McDonald stepped down in December, shortly after parents had been told about the results. A spokesman said this was “completely unrelated” to the ruling by the Standards and Testing Agency.
The school, which was attended by Nick Clegg’s eldest son Antonio, was the top performing primary in Wandsworth last year and is ranked among London’s best state schools.
In 2018, it was one of only nine state primaries in London to score 100 per cent pass rates for reading, writing and maths Sats. But in a letter to parents, seen by the Standard, the school said: “Following an investigation … the KS2 [Key Stage 2] results for spelling, punctuation & grammar and mathematics at Our Lady of Victories have been annulled on the grounds of maladministration. This investigation was prompted by an anonymous allegation to Ofsted of over-aiding and reviewing of completed papers. The STA identified what they considered to be a number of areas of concern about the accuracy of pupils’ results.
“It is a distressing situation for the school and we can assure you that the governors are taking it extremely seriously.”
The 209-pupil school, rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, is being led by interim head Anna Madden while a candidate is sought to fill the £72,000-a-year role.
One parent, who asked not to be named, said: “As parents, we care about what our children are learning and trust that schools are behaving honestly. If pupils are being given help to complete tests then it doesn’t do them any favours … if they don’t actually have the knowledge they are supposed to.”
A DfE spokeswoman said the issue would not adversely affect pupils personally, but added: “Any instances of maladministration of the national curriculum assessments are completely unacceptable.”
A school spokesman said: “The school took issue with a number of the STA’s findings so we were disappointed at their final decision, to which there was no appeal permitted. Deirdre McDonald’s departure was completely unrelated to that ruling. The governors were notified at the beginning of 2018 of her wish to retire … and she eventually retired in December 2018 after 7 years service as an exceptional headteacher.” Mrs McDonald declined to comment.
