WHERE ARE THEY The Worst School in the Country? How negative perceptions helped shape the futures of the ‘Class of 2004’ In 2003, The Ramsgate School gained infamy when it was placed in ‘Special Measures’ after successive poor exam results led to it being labelled ‘The worst school in the country’. The press, both local and national, were quick to respond and the school suffered months of negative headlines and opinions. Speculation over the future of the school was rife as changes to the school’s leadership were swiftly implemented. But there was one group of people for whom this label was going to have a massive, and long-lasting impact … the students. I began working at The Ramsgate School in 2001 and within a year found myself as part of the School’s Pastoral and Behaviour Support Team, working with Key Stage 4 students. By the time the school was placed in Special Measures, I had just started working with a new cohort … the ‘Class of 2004’. As the negative headlines began appearing, it became apparent to me that these young students were really going to be ‘up against it’ as they made their way into the adult world. I lost count of the number of conversations I had early on with youngsters who genuinely 8
believed they were being written off. I was really concerned as to the long-term effects of this on these students, but my concerns were quickly allayed as something quite special began to happen. Whether you want to call it a ‘siege mentality’ or just put it down to a positive resilience, these young people really started to pull together. The sense of community within the year group was fantastic and, as changes occurred throughout the school, the support they were able to give to each other was fantastic. So, how does this all effect these young people? How did these negative headlines and perceptions shape their lives? And where are they now? I recently caught up with some of the ‘Class of 2004’ and asked those exact questions. In 2003, I joined a number of staff in taking a group of students to Barcelona for a residential trip. It is a group of these students that I wish to focus upon, although I could have equally chosen any number of students from this year group.
Nathan
“Where am I now...? I’m not quite sure how to start this. Well, I didn’t grow up with much, I lived on a council estate and I ended up “in the worst secondary school in the country” after
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‘Worst school in the country’
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