We have supported Lilian Baylis Technology School in Lambeth since October 2002, and are currently assisting the school as it moves toward opening a new 6th form unit in September 2011. LBTS is a mixed gender school, with age range of 11-16, and 625 pupils on its roll.
Our work supporting the school
To date, the main focus of our work supporting LBTS has been to raise the aspirations of students by providing them with information and experience of a wide range of business and professional careers and linking these to the academic requirements for developing such a career path. We have done this through activities such as supporting the school’s careers fair - bringing in high-profile companies like IBM, Egg, Prudential and Microsoft. We have also arranged work experience placements, visits to businesses and meetings with leading business figures. Alongside this work we have also advised the school on ICT issues and we were able to persuade Cisco, HP and Connectix to donate the resources and expertise to upgrade the school’s network and install wireless connectivity across the campus. As the 6th form moves towards its opening, we are assisting the school in implementing a mentoring programme for pupils, which will provide them with access to senior mentors from the world of IT.
Results
In its 2011 interim assessment, Ofsted judged Lilian Baylis Technology School’s performance to be sustaining its previous (January 2008) full inspection 'good' assessment. In January 2005, Lilian Baylis was awarded specialist school status and changed its name to Lilian Baylis Technology School (LBTS). WCIT was actively involved with the bid and – along with the Mercers’ Company – provided the £50,000 funding required as part of the application for specialist school status . One of the key objectives of our partnership has been to raise the percentage of pupils achieving 5 Grade A*-C GCSEs. In 2002 when the partnership began only 6% of students achieved this level and our aim was to raise this figure to 38-45% of pupils by 2007. We were delighted when the students achieved this figure two years ahead of schedule.
Why we support LBTS
Before selecting Lilian Baylis we had set out to find a school in a disadvantaged area, where our input could make a real difference and where the school's leadership team had the capacity to gain the maximum benefit from our involvement. Lilian Baylis School was chosen from a list of 70 schools which potentially fitted this profile, and we developed a Memorandum Of Understanding with the school to set clear targets for the partnership and to clarify the expectations of all parties. In April 2008, a further Memorandum of Understanding, for a further 5 years, was signed by the Master, David Morriss, at a reception at the School.
Useful links:
Lilian Baylis Technology School: www.lilianbaylis.com.
LBTS Ofsted: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_providers/full/(urn)/100625
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