On 25th February Ofsted completed a section 8 inspection of Wilmington Academy. The purpose of
a section 8 inspection is to gauge whether a school continues to be ‘good’ as indicated in our
previous report from February 2017, or to ascertain whether there is evidence to suggest a school
is above or below their original grading.
We are pleased to announce that Her Majesty’s Inspector and team believed there is enough
evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if a
section 5 inspection were to be conducted. Therefore, Wilmington Academy will receive a section 5
inspection; usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection.
In response to receiving the news, Michael Gore, Principal at Wilmington Academy said,
“I am delighted that the hard work undertaken by the Wilmington Academy staff and Trust
community has been recognised, including the comments regarding our work on cultural
diversity, high standards and expectations, the effective systems in place, the reflective and
driven nature of leaders/governors, commitment of the pupils and the impact of our the
quality of education underpinned by the International Baccalaureate characteristics and
programmes”.
The report itself can be found attached to this statement and will be published on Ofsted’s website
in the next few days. The report highlights the many elements of effective provision at Wilmington
Academy as well as the next steps needed to take the school forward.
One pupil said to the lead inspector:
‘It is a celebration of culture and different backgrounds here, a joyous atmosphere.’
The report demonstrated the amazing journey of improvements made at Wilmington Academy over
the past five years and shows how far the school has come from when it joined the Trust in 2010
from being in special measures as Wilmington Enterprise College.
About us
Leigh Academies Trust is a non-profit making charitable company, based in Strood, Medway. The
Trust exists to support and assist schools to build upon their existing strengths and to help them
achieve educational improvements in order to positively shape the lives of our students and the
communities we serve. We now operate 31 academies along the South Thames Corridor,
structured into 4 clusters. Our clusters contain all phases of education, from nursery to post-16.
Each one has a passionate commitment to inclusion. The Trust was formed in 2008 with the
linking of the Leigh Technology Academy and Longfield Academy under one governing body. It
now encompasses 20,000 students between the ages of 2 and 19 and we employ over 2,500
staff across the South East. For more information go to http://www.leighacademiestrust.org.uk/
Ofsted Inspection at Wilmington Academy
