Headteacher Gary Philips at Lilian Baylis Technology School in south London, turns his attentions to improving GCSE English results, in his push to escape National Challenge status.
The school is on the DCSF National Challenge list of schools facing the possibility of closure if they drop below 30 per cent A*-C GCSE including English and maths.
Philips monitors the English department, looking at how it is supporting the borderline C/D grade students studying English language.
The top set have already sat their English language exams and can now concentrate on taking English literature, unlike the rest of their peers.
Some staff voice their disappointment that this is a privilege for the few. Philips disagrees, believing that the borderline students need to focus all their energy into studying for their English language GCSEs.
