A leading Bradford head teacher has fiercely criticised the annual report of schools watchdog Ofsted which claimed secondary education in the city was the second worst in the country.

Bradford Academy executive principal Gareth Dawkins said the tables were based on the results of “box-ticking exercises” and “hugely undermines the extraordinary” work seen in Bradford’s schools.

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw this week published his first annual report which ranked local authorities in terms of their number of good and outstanding primary and secondary schools.

Bradford, which has 66 per cent satisfactory secondary schools and five per cent inadequate, was ranked second bottom in the country for secondary school Ofsted judgements.

But Mr Dawkins said the report did not fairly represent Bradford.

He said: “This latest Ofsted report hugely undermines the extraordinary work schools in Bradford are currently undertaking to ensure the next generation of our community includes the best, most capable citizens this city has ever seen.”

Mr Dawkins said the results of the academy, which enjoyed its best performance at GCSE and A-level last year, did not figure in the Ofsted findings.

He said: “These results look at very narrow criteria, and are essentially box-ticking exercises.

“However, Bradford and the surrounding area – and its pupils – cannot be placed easily and neatly into boxes created by bureaucrats in London.

“Maybe Ofsted would like to come back to the city and look beyond their boxes and actually see the community and its people.”

In response to the criticism, an Ofsted spokesman said: “As Sir Michael Wilshaw has made clear, we would expect head teachers who lead good or outstanding schools in the under-performing areas highlighted in the annual report to be asking their local authority what they can do to spread their good practice and support other local schools that aren’t yet doing as well.”

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