Gary Phillips, headteacher of Lilian Baylis Technology School in south London, faces the start of the academic year needing to improve standards at his National Challenge secondary school.
The school's percentage of students achieving the five A*-C grade GCSEs is hovering near 30 per cent. The school is regarded as challenging and 80 per cent of its students receive free school meals.
Philips needs to improve results over the course of the year, or the school faces what he calls being "forcibly academised".
At the beginning of the year staff receive a morale boost as the new Year 7 students arrive. And a round of interviews for new teaching assistant posts reveals worrying standards of literacy.
This is the first episode in a series following headteacher Gary Philips over the course of a school year, as he strives to improve GCSE results in a challenging secondary school.
