Richard Garner - ‘No Hope’ School Is Now Three Rs Star 汉译

A primary school where not one pupil speaks English as a first language is celebrating the most dramatic improvement in test results in the country.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

It has TRIPLED the number of 11-year-olds passing the maths assessment and more than DOUBLED the total who meet the national curriculum standard in English. New head Gehane Gordelier is given the credit for the amazing turnaround in London’s East End - and proud pupils told The Mirror how they now want to be teachers themselves.

Two years ago, the reputation of the then Harry Gosling infants’ and junior in Tower Hamlets was at rock-bottom after both failed inspections.

Fewer than one in four pupils leaving at 11 could read, write and add up properly.

Now the merged 489-pupil primary, which has kept the same name, has been singled out by Ministers for maths teaching.

Its maths pass rate at 11 has soared from 21 per cent to 67 per cent. In English, the figure has leapt from 23 per cent to 58.

Most of the pupils are Bangladeshi but they speak 25 different home languages between them.

The head - Miss Gehane to the children - said: “Many come to the school with no English at all.

“The first thing you do is teach English because you need that to comprehend everything else.”

She recruits Asian language speakers from the community to translate to pupils struggling with English, until they learn to speak it themselves.

Local firms have rallied round. The Bank of America and insurance firm Rebus send staff to read to children at lunchtime.

The Harry Gosling has also piloted the Government’s new maths strategy, which aims to make sums enjoyable.

Yasmin Jebani, 10, said: “It’s great fun. We learn times tables and do long sums with pencil and paper and short sums mentally.”

Aysha Satter, 10, said: “I eventually want to be a maths or science teacher.”

Head Miss Gehane took over with morale poor, funds low and five teachers short. “I’d take help from anybody,” she said.

Behaviour has improved with the emphasis on three buzzwords - please, thank you and sorry.

Parents also come in to school to learn English.

Miss Gehane added. “I’m grateful to those teachers who remained with us and have worked so hard.”

She wants the Department of Education to reward improving schools, “even if it’s only pounds 50 for the teachers or a weekend in Paris or something”.