Making progress: One school's journey from struggling to high performing

On a recent research trip to the UK, I had the privilege of visiting  Ash Grove Academy  in the north-west of England and hearing how this school has turned around its students’ academic performance. 

Ash Grove Academy is a primary school on the outskirts of Macclesfield in Cheshire, in a community that faces the challenges of social educational disadvantage. When Kevin Simpson began as principal in 2009, the school was about to close, with a school population of just 60 children and only 10 per cent of students passing year 6. Just one year later, Kevin and the school leadership team had turned their students’ academic results around with 70 per cent of year 6 students passing at the end of the school year. In 2013, the school achieved an 'outstanding' status as determined by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED). The school is now part of a Multi-Academy Trust (Aspire Educational Trust), a  Research School  with the Education Endowment Foundation and a  National Teaching School  where teachers are trained.