In 2001, staff were given a DfES (Department for Education and Skills) bonus for significant improvement, of more than 7%, in the GCSE A*-C pass rate.

(Ofsted Report, 2004. pg.8) [4] The school was also identified by DfES as being among 148 nationwide which were likely to have a "high number of persistent truants".

[5] It is perhaps to the credit of staff and external agencies, working with the community, that unauthorised absence remained as low as 3.5% during this time.

(Dfes, 2004.ibid) The former principal, Richard Carlyle, introduced some ability-centred no-age-related classes (with year groups: E1, E2, E3, L1 and L2), and by 2006 the GCSE A to C pass rate had risen to 35%.

In the first and second stages, the school planned to ensure that teaching support was available 24 hours a day and in four different time slots for four different groups of students.