Tens of thousands of bright children are going backwards at secondary school, a damning Ofsted report said yesterday. High-achievers too often find themselves repeating topics they have already studied and enduring noisy lessons that are disrupted by increasingly poor behaviour. In a ‘state of the nation’ report, Ofsted warned that almost two-thirds of high-fliers at age 11 – about 57,000 pupils – fail to convert their early promise into A and A* grades at GCSE. Schools watchdog Ofsted warned teachers face an impossible job in some schools when they are faced with a 'hubbub of interference' from pupils gossiping, shouting out and using mobiles phones during lessons. It said many comprehensives lacked a ‘scholarship’ culture. School inspections in the last academic year uncovered specific weaknesses in the teaching of the most able pupils in about a third of secondaries, with many not being given work that stretched them. ‘Inspectors found that teachers’ expectations of the most able were too low,’ said Ofsted. ‘There is a worrying lack of scholarship permeating the culture of too many schools.’ Publishing the report, Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools, warned that the education outlook was ‘less promising’ than a year ago. ‘The nation should be worried about a growing divide between primary and secondary schools,’ he said. England is facing a teacher shortage, the Ofsted chief inspector has warned, with the weakest schools most likely to miss out as top candidates are 'cherry-picked' by the best. In a speech introducing his third annual report, Sir Michael Wilshaw suggested that not enough new teachers are joining the profession and the good entrants are often not going where they are most needed. Teacher recruitment is a pressing issue with thousands more teachers needed over the next decade to educate the almost one million more children due to be attending the nation's schools in this period, he said. Sir Michael warned that the education system is in danger of becoming 'polarised' as the strongest new teachers go to the most successful schools. The number of entrants into teacher training has dropped by 17 per cent in the last four years, with large shortfalls in key subjects such as maths and physics. There are 8,000 fewer trainees in secondary schools since 2009/2010, figures show. ‘In too many cases, pupils are leaving their primary schools with good literacy and numeracy skills, confident and eager to learn. But the culture they encounter at too many secondary schools often demotivates and discourages them.’ Sir Michael noted that weak leadership was fuelling the problem, with about a quarter of secondary headteachers rated as below par. The report said more than 400,000 pupils are being taught in schools with discipline problems following a decline in behaviour standards. Inspectors found a ‘hubbub of interference’ in too many classrooms where pupils gossiped or used phones. Standards of behaviour were found to be poor in 28 per cent of secondary schools in 2013/14 – up from 21 per cent the year before. Sir Michael went on to rail against parents who fail to support heads as they strive to instil discipline among pupils. ‘Heads who are battling an anti-learning culture and taking a stand against those who are too ready to defend the indefensible deserve support not opprobrium,’ he said. He warned that the performance of white working class pupils was ‘particularly troubling’. These pupils were being failed by the system as well as poor parenting, he said. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said she ‘shared Ofsted’s ambition’ but added: ‘We should not lose sight of the incredible improvements seen under this government.’ Ofsted's chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw warned half a million children are being taught at secondary schools suffering from poor behaviour.

What are highlight points for this article?
Ofsted warns 500,000 children in secondary schools with poor behaviour. Sir Michael Wilshaw condemned the 'unacceptable' level of disruption. Also raised concerns that the brightest pupils are not being stretched. England faces shortage of teachers with 8,000 fewer trainees than 2009-10.