Failing school becomes a winner: things were so bad at West Gate Community College in Newcastle upon Tyne that 127 pupils had to be excluded each term.

Things were so bad at West Gate Community College in Newscastle upon Tyne that 127 pupils had to be excluded each term. Yet today the school has a new air of self-belief and discipline. Tom Jones finds out how this happened.

West Gate Community College is an inner city comprehensive school in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, one of the poorest areas in the UK. Philip Turner, principal since January 1996, says that over 55 per cent of the pupils are from homes poor enough to qualify for free school meals, and over 90 per cent of pupils entering the school during the last three years have had reading ages behind their actual ages, up to four years in some cases.

Pupil turnover is high, with over one in five leaving during the course of each year. The catchment area suffers from above average unemployment, racism and widespread drug culture. One entire block of flats emptied over a weekend when three families ran a campaign of terror and violence. There is dereliction and hopelessness.

In March 1995 the school failed an official government inspection. The OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) report said that school attendance averaged just 70 per cent, and that an excessive number of pupils was being excluded for unacceptable behaviour. There were violent incidents every day, and teaching staff had given up any real hope of dealing with the problem.

A school with such a record could easily have been closed--as happened temporarily to the Ridings Secondary School in Halifax, West Yorkshire, last year.

To make matters worse, at the point when Turner arrived on the scene, the school had just recorded a staggering [pounds sterling] 650,000 deficit for 1995--equivalent to 27 teachers' annual salaries.

Yet, when I visited West Gate recently, the college had just won a [pounds sterling] 5,000 government award for a pioneering homework project; gained an [pounds sterling] 8 million National Lottery grant for a new sports complex for the locality; opened a new library and learning centre funded by government grants; and pupil exclusions were down from 127 to 30 per term.

Three elements were essential to the school's improved reputation:

1 An action plan, agreed by all concerned, which has resolved the financial problems;

2 The establishment of a partnership between the college and local businesses;

3 A new insistence on discipline and good behaviour.

When the OFSTED inspection took place, West Gate had recently been formed from two schools with a combined total of 1,500 pupils. The teachers had lost their former jobs and then had to reapply for posts in the new establishment. The inspectorate had carried out their review when things were still unsettled--not least the pupils, who gave the inspectors a bad time in order to `get their own back' for the upheaval they had endured.

The highly critical report had its own effect: leakage of pupils to other schools in the area increased, with 140 going immediately. Grant aid from the local education authority dropped in proportion. Vandalism was costing the school up to [pounds sterling] 1,000 per week.

After Turner took up his post at the start of 1996, members of staff, putting in long hours, prepared a 60-page action plan to restructure the school and save it from financial collapse. Everyone concerned was included in discussions. The teachers' trade unions cooperated and eventually it was decided to adjust spending priorities and to reduce the number of teachers by 22 rather than 27. Not one was forced out. Each found some alternative such as early retirement or a new job.

It is expected that the college will be in surplus for 1996.

The Business Partnership was already under way when Turner arrived. Hari Shukla, a vice-chair of the college's governing body and former Director of Tyne and Wear Racial Equality Council, faced with the adverse consequences of the OFSTED report, had asked for help from fellow-governor Bill Midgley, the Chief Executive of Newcastle Building Society. In Midgley's office the two men told me how they decided to `cajole, persuade and coerce' a number of companies into helping pupils and staff. Representatives of Newcastle Building Society, Northern Electric, Northumbria Water, Barclays Bank, Safer Cities and British Airways formed a committee. Its first stated purpose is: `To provide opportunities to acknowledge student achievement and encourage student success'. The Partnership was launched at the beginning of 1996 and has become a vital means of linking the college with the world of work.

These six large companies seconded senior employees to take on particular year groups in the college. Bob McMillan, recently retired senior engineer of Northumbria Water, liaises between his former company and the GCSE (first school-leaving examination) year group. He told me that the company presents medals and awards for achievement. For instance 100 per cent attendance at school might qualify a pupil for an outing to a sports centre followed by a meal. His company also arranges for school parties to spend weekends at an outdoor pursuits centre.

McMillan also spoke of organizing `best fit' links between groups of students and the outside world, often involving work experience in the partnership companies. Some pupils had the attitude, built up through more than one generation, that there were no jobs for school leavers. It was important, he maintained, to demonstrate that jobs were available.

Philip Turner sees the college and its teachers as having `a parental role as well as an academic role'. Care and control are central to this. Otherwise, he maintained, the college would just remain part of the problems of the surrounding area.

The existing system of pastoral care for individuals needing help has been improved with more effective lines of communication and responsibility.

The folder of information given to prospective parents is quite clear about the bottom line on authority: `There is no excuse for rudeness, disrespect or insolence towards teachers. Any reasonable request from a teacher should be carried out at once and without argument. Breaking either of these basic rules will be treated as a VERY serious matter.' And the staff handbook concludes, `the aim is to be the wise and sympathetic parent who does not shrink from what has to be done'.

Members of staff, from the principal down, adopted a high profile in the school rather than retreating to their classrooms and offices. They put in place a graded range of sanctions for misbehaviour. (Corporal punishment is, of course, a thing of the past.) Teaching staff felt supported in any action they had to take. Turner repeatedly made his points to both staff and pupils, appealing to the better side of the vast majority. One simple point: `always to smile and say "hello" to other people'.

In practice, this meant refusing to compromise with any unacceptable behaviour. It became the norm to face down defiance of authority. Turner spoke of `Oscar performances', and of two cases where the effect of dramatic verbal treatment was like `a tactical nuclear strike' in the school. `I need to show that I am at least as crazy as they are,' he said. It had looked near to a stand-up fight when one 16-year-old, keen to establish his street cred with his peers, had threatened Turner in front of 250 sixth formers.

However, I discovered, for every verbal confrontation there are 20 cases where, following some misdemeanour, a sensible discussion takes place. `We'll ignore what's gone on provided you learn from it.'

Another side of the picture is the high priority given to recognizing good work, behaviour and effort with awards.

A parent, who works checking dinner tickets during the lunch break, told me, `One day there was a big racial clash, but now respect for ground rules makes a big difference. The school looks better, with more wearing school uniform. The younger ones used to be frightened, but not now.'

Two 12-year-old girls confirmed this view. At their previous school they had heard horrific things about what would happen to them at the big school. They said they had seen nothing of the kind. Five Asian sixth-form girls spoke of the accessibility of staff members, and of a much improved atmosphere with less fights and racism. Recent school leavers had come to Turner and thanked him for his stand on behaviour, saying, `Those things needed to be said.'

Philip Turner quoted Martin Luther King: `A person should be judged by the content of their character, not by the colour of their skin'--nor, one might add, by the blight of their social background.