Damning Ofsted for Bristol school where pupils fear 'fights and assaults'

South Bristol’s biggest school has been given a damning Ofsted inspection report with inspectors rating every single aspect of the school as ‘inadequate’.

Inspectors reported that pupils and staff at Merchants Academy in Withywood don’t feel safe because of all the fights and violence that routinely break out, pupils’ learning is ‘severely compromised’ by poor behaviour, expectations of younger pupils are too low, and the trust running the school has failed to support the school and doesn’t have the capacity to improve things.

The failings at the school, which has nursery, primary, secondary and sixth form so children can attend the same school from the age of three to 18, are so severe that Ofsted is now recommending that the school only employs experienced teachers and not younger teachers or those at the start of the teaching careers. The chair of the trust that runs the school said they were ‘devastated’ and admitted that, as trustees, they have ‘fallen short’.

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All six of Ofsted’s categories for grading: the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, early years provision and sixth form provision, are rated inadequate, and the overall effectiveness of the school is inadequate too. The school was rated as ‘requires improvement’ and taken out of special measures at its last inspection in February 2020, and went from ‘Good’ to ‘Inadequate’ in a series of inspections in 2014 and 2017.

The latest inspection took place on March 19 and 20 this year, just two weeks after new headteacher Guy Swallow took over the secondary school side of Merchants Academy. Mr Swallow is the fourth headteacher the secondary school has had in two years.

The inspectors found that not only was the school failing to teach its pupils well enough, it was also a school that wasn’t safe to be at - either as a pupil or a member of staff.

“Pupils’ learning is severely compromised by poor behaviour,” the inspection team, led by Lydia Pride, wrote. “In recent months, older pupils have experienced a sharp rise in incidents such as fights and assaults. Pupils often defy the reasonable requests of staff. While the school has been able to restore order to some degree, there remains an uneasy atmosphere.

“The school does not always provide a safe environment,” the report added. “In the secondary phase, pupils receive confusing messages about how they should behave and how this will be managed. A significant number of students in the sixth form behave anti-socially. Older pupils sometimes experience bullying and intolerance from their peers. The school does not know who is affected and so cannot protect these pupils effectively,” it added.

Low expectations

Hartcliffe and Withywood, where Merchants Academy is based, has one of the lowest levels of 18 year olds going on to university - Bristol Live revealed research in 2018 that put that at just eight per cent, compared to 100 per cent of 18 year-olds who live in Clifton, and go on to university.

Ofsted inspectors highlighted a drop off in academic achievement from a ‘strong start’ in the pre-school provision for three and four year-olds, with criticism at every stage from there.

“The strong start that children make in the nursery is not sustained. The school is not ambitious for all children. For example, some children do not learn phonics from the start of the Reception Year. Therefore, some of the most disadvantaged pupils are held back when they should be learning to read. This makes it very difficult for them to ever catch up with their peers,” the inspection team reported.

“Pupils experience a reduced curriculum while the school tries to address significant gaps in their knowledge. Pupils in key stage 2, have not learned mathematics topics,” they added.

“Pupils’ attendance is very low. Over time, many pupils have missed a lot of school,” they wrote. “As a result, they have significant gaps in their knowledge, including of reading and mathematics. The curriculum does not address these gaps effectively. Therefore, these pupils continue to fall behind and do not fulfil their potential. The school’s curriculum is not designed or taught in a way which enables pupils to learn successfully, considering their starting points,” they added.

Last year, the school was criticised by parents and local politicians when it completely scrapped all of its academic A-Level courses, leaving pupils struggling to find a different sixth form to go to at short notice.

The school, which is partly run by the University of Bristol, was criticised by South Bristol MP Karin Smyth and local councillor Kerry Bailes for not providing the kind of education opportunities that might help improve the area’s status as a place where 18-year-olds don’t go to university.

The Ofsted report was equally damning, calling careers education ‘basic’, adding ‘many pupils do not benefit from some of its key features, such as work experience and independent careers advice’. The report added that a ‘significant proportion of pupils’ in Key Stage 3 learn a reduced curriculum in English and Spanish because they ‘need support with the basics of reading’.

The Ofsted inspectors also said that expectations of pupils with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) are ‘too low’.

The Venturers’ Trust failings

The school is run by the Venturers Trust, a partnership between the Society of Merchant Venturers and Bristol University. The school was originally set up as a replacement for the old Withywood Comprehensive, which closed in 2008, was rebuilt and renamed Merchants Academy when it was taken over by the Society of Merchant Venturers, who renamed the school and transferred it to be an academy.

In 2017, the SMVs set up the Venturers Trust with Bristol University to run all the Merchant Venturers’ schools, apart from the fee-paying Colston’s School.

Following a series of damning 2022 Ofsted inspections of the Venturers’ flagship secondary school Montpelier High - formerly Colston’s Girls’ School - the Venturers Trust announced it was effectively disbanding, with its schools in Bristol being taken over in a ‘merger’ with the national E-Act multi-academy trust.

In the new inspection report, Ofsted is damning in its assessment of the Venturers Trust and its running of Merchants Academy. “The trust has failed to sustain improvements to pupils’ behaviour and attendance since the last inspection. At times, pupils’ conduct is dangerous. This affects the well-being of both pupils and staff, leading to widespread absences,” the report said, adding later: “Over time, the trust has failed to support the school with its challenges. As a result, the quality of the school’s work has deteriorated.

“The quality of education is not of an acceptable standard. The trust does not have the capacity to bring about the improvements necessary. The school is reliant on external support for guidance. Some early signs of improvement in behaviour have given staff reason for optimism. However, it is too soon to tell whether these improvements can be sustained,” the report added.

What does the Venturers Trust say?

In a lengthy statement to Bristol Live, the Venturers Trust chair Gail Bragg, a member of the Society of Merchant Venturers, said they had let the pupils down. “We’re devastated that Merchants’ Academy has not been providing young people and their families with the quality of education they deserve, and as trustees we have fallen short of providing the challenge and support that the school needs,” she said.

“For this we are truly sorry. Despite the hard work and determination of so many individuals who have applied their expertise to improve the school, we have been unable to move the dial far enough or fast enough,” added Ms Bragg, who is a non-executive director, having worked in large financial services organisations, in change and operational management.

“I know that the Ofsted report will be painful for all members of the school community to read, but I am confident that they will never read a report like this again. Under the inspirational leadership of our new headteachers Guy Swallow and Sarah Flannigan; with the ever-growing support of parents and carers who want to help create a school that the community can feel proud of; and with the might of E-ACT to deliver rapid improvement, the future of Merchants’ Academy will look very different,” she added.

In a letter to parents, David Moran, the interim CEO of Venturers’ Trust, and the new headteacher of Merchants Academy, Guy Swallow, told parents they were sorry.

“Whilst the report makes for difficult reading, we believe that it is a fair reflection of what it feels like to be part of Merchants’ Academy,” they wrote. “The inspectors have identified numerous challenges and made it clear that not enough has been done to ensure that all children receive the best possible education. For this we are truly sorry.

“It is equally devastating for staff to read a report as damning as this. We share a determination to provide students with the best possible start to their educational journey, however, we have fallen far short of achieving this aim,” they added.