Head teacher under fire for blaming poor GCSE results on 'asylum seekers'

Head teacher Andy Crofts said the academy's poor performance was down to the year group being swamped with "very, very, very weak" students

A head teacher has come under fire for blaming his school's worst GCSE results on asylum seekers and "very, very, very weak" students.
Andy Crofts said the academy's poor performance was down to the year group being swamped with the worst students in the area - many of whom have escaped warzones and cannot speak English.
Only 31 per cent of children left The Quest Academy in Croydon, south London, in 2015 with at least five A* to C grades including English and maths.
Mr Crofts said: "They were exceptionally weak.
"When parents were deciding where to send their children there was a lot of uncertainty about the school.
"Most made other choices, so the year group we were left with was a very difficult mix with very low ability.
"They were very, very, very weak and I would challenge anyone, be it in Croydon or beyond, to do any better with them. Given their starting points they did better than expected.
"If we had the same cohort as other schools then our attainment would be a lot better.

"What we've prided ourselves on is we've increased the progress we make every year since we took over."

He added that 41 per cent of Quest students do not speak English as a first language and half are eligible for free school meals.
Some, he said, are asylum-seeking children who arrive in Year 11 speaking no English, and with the reading and writing ability of a five or six-year-old.
He added: "They were never going to get there with any school in the country.