A head teacher has dismissed claims pupils are not "prepared for life in modern Britain" following a damning Ofsted report which said youngsters feel "bullied" and "unsafe".

The education watchdog has awarded Sandwich Technology School (STS) an 'Inadequate' rating after inspectors visited the academy in May.

The school, which caters for 1,314 pupils aged 11 to 19, was previously given a 'Good' grade at its last review in May 2019.

However, its latest inspection not only saw the Deal Road site downgraded overall, but also achieve 'Inadequate' scores in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management.

Inspectors noted "bullying and fighting are commonplace" at a school described as "a culture in which reasonable expectations are routinely flouted”.

The report explained: "Attendance is low, there are high levels of in-school truancy [and] and lessons are often disrupted.

"This unacceptable behaviour persists and has left some pupils fearful.

"As a result, many have a fragmented experience of education.

"When pupils are absent, procedures to establish their whereabouts lack rigour and actions to seek assurance about their safety are often delayed.

"When in school, the chaotic environment has left some pupils feeling unsafe. Some pupils do not report concerns because they do not trust the school to deal with them.

"Pupils, many of whom are disadvantaged or have additional vulnerabilities, are at increased risk of exposure to local risks such as gang activity and exploitation."

The two-day inspection on May 15 and 16 found the school's sixth-form provision to be 'Good'.

Yet the report noted this did not filter down into the establishment's lower years which consist of "disruptive learning".

It added: "The quality of education is not good enough. Most pupils underachieve significantly.

"They do not have an understanding of fundamental British values and their knowledge of different faiths and cultures is limited.

"This means pupils are not adequately prepared for life in modern Britain.

"[Although] those in Year 7, 8 and 9 experience a well-designed programme, pupils in Year 10 and 11 get very little."

Head teacher Tracey Savage, who took up the reins at STS in September 2014, labelled the report as "narrow, disproportionate" and "unjustified".

In a letter sent to parents on Wednesday, she explained: "Governors, leaders of the school and staff accept there are aspects of the school which have been significantly affected since the Covid-19 pandemic - mainly attendance and behaviour.

“But we believe the report is not a fair reflection of STS.

"Ofsted has also judged the school's safeguarding procedures to be 'ineffective'.

"We find this judgement particularly hard to accept as we only recently had an external safeguarding expert to undertake a full evaluation of our safeguarding policy and practices, and their view was very much the opposite.

"Since the pandemic, schools of all types across the country have recognised attendance, mental health, behaviour, parental complaints and anti-social behaviour (violence) have become increasingly significant areas of concern compared to before Covid.

"While the staff and governors are very aware of the challenges we face, and work hard to address them with our eyes wide open, we are disappointed Ofsted has judged us severely for our share of national problems and have offered no solutions."

“Don’t join in on social media when the school is being discredited…”

Mrs Savage, who is leaving her post at Christmas, says the school has already submitted a complaint to Ofsted following its comments.

She added: "The report was delayed by the fact the school exercised its right to complain about the inspection, which school leaders believed to be biased, disproportionate in its findings and conducted in a way far from sensitive to the wellbeing of the staff and students, or the future of the school.

"The complaint has now been processed internally by Ofsted, although the school is in the process of escalating it to an independent adjudicator due to, in our opinion, the unsatisfactory response we have received.

"In the time that remains to me in post, I promise to do everything I can to support the school now and help determine with the Department for Education a positive future for it.

"I believe STS is a good school which works hard for its community and I am proud of it.

"It is my hope, as a school with the aid of you as our parents and the local community, we can move beyond this report and focus on what matters – the students and their education."

However, Mrs Savage insists more needs to be done by parents to prevent the school's reputation being stigmatised further - particularly online.

"Don’t join in on social media when the school is being discredited," she exclaimed.

"I can say with confidence that what you are seeing is only half the story [and] biased, often exaggerated and sometimes blatantly untrue.

"Remember your children learn from you – if you speak disrespectfully about staff at home in front of your child, they are likely to see this as a green light to do the same.

"This, in turn, makes it impossible for the student concerned to learn effectively from that teacher.

“We believe the report is not a fair reflection of STS…”

"We understand you and your children will not like all of us, but a basic level of respect is required for us to be able to do our jobs."

Despite providing KentOnline with the letter sent to parents, Mrs Savage chose not to comment further on the issue.

Ofsted also declined to comment on the response made by the school’s head towards the body.

It is not the first time STS has also been at the centre of controversy this year.

Police were called to the school twice in one week back in March amid concerns over a group of young people intimidating pupils in the area.

Officers arrived following reports a young person was planning to get on the site to “commit disorder”.

Meanwhile, one of the school's cleaners signed off work in June having told KentOnline of her shock at being sacked by text message.

Chloe Nichol, from Sholden near Deal, had been on sick leave with anxiety and Tourette’s syndrome - but her doctors’ certificate expired on June 30.

Two days later, despite the 32-year-old telling her bosses a new “fit note” from her GP was forthcoming, a supervisor from her bosses at contractors, Ridge Crest Cleaning Ltd, sent her a WhatsApp message saying she would be receiving a P45 form.