'Ofsted stress gave me a heart condition - but I won't give up on these kids': The Salford head slamming watchdog's 'regime of fear'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukBen Davis is head teacher at St Ambrose Barlow RC High in Wardley, Swinton. On a 12ft high maroon pillar at the entrance to the school is embossed the school crest and extracts from an Ofsted report from 2008.
It says: "The excitement and buzz for learning is immediately apparent to any visitor to this outstanding school." When that comment was written the school was actually based in the middle of Swinton.
That building is still standing, but now used as a set for the school TV drama Waterloo Road. "We get film crews and other people turning up here thinking our school is where they are to film - it's a mile or so up the road," said Ben.
The new St Ambrose, built ten years ago, is a different beast. It was formed out of a merger with St George's RC High in Walkden which closed after a bitter fight with the Diocese and Salford council.
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