IF you ever want to see passion, dedication and commitment in a headteacher then you should really take a trip down the A414 and see The Ongar Academy headteacher, Allan Osborne in action.

Mr Osborne has written to all parents and carers to give an overview of the results. It would be unfair for us to reproduce the letter in full but it gives sense of the school’s achievement and sense of collective pride.

Among the key points:

“The school has done exceptionally well in all measures and I am the proudest man alive. We will now be considered nationally as a high performing ‘data’ school. We already knew how wonderful our school was and we had all the soft evidence to support this; attendance, student voice, low exclusion data and huge waiting lists – and now we have the hard data. Outcomes that our children deserve, outcomes that will allow ALL our children to progress to the next stage of their lives.

This year is not the Covid year, this year is the year that our children performed to our expectations. I have been back through three Governors Reports and we were only 2% off our initial predictions. Our results show robustness, not inflation, and went through a huge moderation and a major ranking process.

“I am an authentic leader. I always got a thrill of leading a rapidly improving school in the past but last night I got a thrill of working in a high performing school nationally. What a feeling!”

We still have work to further improve but we know that and we are ‘on it’. However, lets enjoy our moment.

Mr Osborne went on to say:

“We are very proud. We can celebrate in our own community. We must show how proud we are of our Year 11s in our own community.

We had so many students who scored straight 9s and 8s and 7s and 6s and 5s. We are so proud of them. However Ongar is much more than that. The fact that 100% of students achieved a grade that allowed them to access the next stage of their careers is what matters.

“TOA is now firmly on the map and we must celebrate to honour those parents who took a chance with us back in 2015 and those Governors; parents who worked tirelessly to bring a school back to its community. Now it’s not just a school, but an academic; artistic and sporting place of excellence. We have data to back that up. It’s wonderful to say that.

“The student who made the most progress wasn’t a stereotypical grade 9 student but a boy who worked so hard and had the most warm and infectious personality. He will go on to be an apprentice at a top restaurant in London. Now all of this together is ONGAR and what comprehensive and non elitist education is about.

“It has been such a privilege to be these student’s Exec Headteacher. Use those skills of analysis; question things; respectfully challenge and don’t settle for second best.’

They have certainly proven they can do anything – and they now have the skills and fight go out there and change the world for the better after what they have been through.