Type=image;ImageID=10294;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Celebrating their Education Business Award;TitleClass=strong;
St Matthias School won the Secondary School Outstanding Progress category at this year's Education Business Awards, held in London last week.
The award, sponsored by School Business Services, is given to the school which has made outstanding progress in the management of its facilities, finances and human resources and can demonstrate an increase in the educational performance of the school.
St Matthias was recognised for its rapid progress after being placed into special measures following a poor Ofsted inspection 2 years ago. Under the leadership of headteacher Dean Coombes, the school is now rated Good and is among the top 10 nationally for the proportion of lower ability pupils who gain five or more GCSEs at grade C and above.
Mr Coombes said: "This is tremendous recognition for the work of our staff and our students. We were really pleased to be nominated for the award and both surprised and delighted to be chosen as winners from an impressive shortlist."
Councillor Claire Darke, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education, said: "This is an excellent result for St Matthias School and just goes to highlight the dramatic improvement in education standards we are seeing in Wolverhampton.
"The judges praised the school for making rapid progress and gaining a Good Ofsted grading in April, and highlighted the work of staff in improving student attainment levels. I'd like to congratulate Dean Coombes and his team on this fantastic achievement."
There was also joy for Wolverhampton Grammar School at the Education Business Awards. It was commended twice, in both the Independent School Outstanding Progress and the Sports Award categories.
Karen Hopps, publisher of Education Business, said: "As the school year comes to an end the Education Business Awards is the perfect opportunity to look back and reflect on the hard work and dedication of education professionals. This year's awards saw a record number of entries and we were thrilled to see so many examples of excellence in education.
"I would like to congratulate all of the well deserved winners, but also those commended for their fantastic contributions."
Latest figures show educational outcomes for the city's young people are rising across the board, while more pupils than ever before are now studying at local schools which are rated either Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.
The City of Wolverhampton Council has also invested more than £300 million transforming school buildings across the city over the last few years - including St Matthias which moved into new, state of the art accommodation last September.
To find out more please visit Type=links;Linkid=7418;Title=Education Business Awards;Target=_blank;. For more information about education in Wolverhampton, please go to Type=articles;Articleid=435;Title=Education and schools;.
- released: Thursday 21 July, 2016