Anyone who went to Sheppey School – now known as the Oasis Academy and previously as Minster College – will have tired long ago of the cheap jibes.

Lazy assumptions and crass wisecracks accompany any mention of having gone to the school, which has undoubtedly had its troubles over the years.

A report this week labelling the Oasis Academy 'inadequate' and highlighting bullying and truancy problems – among others – will only add fuel to the fire.

But if the school has a reputation that precedes it, this is not entirely deserved.

Many of the issues highlighted in the Ofsted report sound familiar yet, despite some shortcomings, it was far from an environment that offered no hope, as countless numbers of successful former pupils will testify. I'm sure that remains the case for today's pupils.

I started at 'the comp' 40 years ago, having spent the previous four years at middle school – an unfamiliar concept to those elsewhere in the county, who go straight from primary to secondary school, I later learned.

Few children on Sheppey at the time would sit the 11-plus exam, because a place at grammar school meant a daily (and slightly impractical) train journey to the wilds of Sittingbourne. As a result, the school's students came from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities, something the comprehensive system was set up to accommodate (hence the name).

Much of the criticism historically levelled at the school comes from those who believe academic attainment – in the 'going to university' sense – is the only measure of success and often from those who have never set foot inside its sprawling buildings.

As well as the usual reading, writing and maths, the wide variety of lessons included woodwork, metalwork, technical drawing, dance, drama and home economics.

Let's not pretend it was perfect. A handful of disruptive kids could make life a misery for staff if they sensed any weakness in a teacher, especially a supply teacher. Whole lessons – and some expensive classroom equipment – could be written off if things got out of hand.

Letting loose some of the less predictable boys with a javelin or a discus during PE lessons was also a risky move, although the worst I remember is someone suffering a minor foot injury.

What haunts me most from my Sheppey School days are the health and safety posters stuck on the walls for woodwork lessons.

These would invariably depict long-haired youths – heavy metal music was big at the time – being scalped after getting their locks caught in a wood-turning lathe.

They featured the sort of pictures that would now carry a 'graphic image' warning in block capitals. Needless to say, few of the Iron Maiden fans took up careers making decorative table legs.

As with any school, the teachers were a mixed bag; some excellent, others less so. The majority had an infectious enthusiasm for their subjects and generally faired better than those who just wanted the lessons to end (as did the pupils). In retrospect, many teachers had the patience of a saint.

Some of the failings highlighted in this week's Ofsted report, such as many pupils saying they felt unsafe, clearly run deep and problems appear to exist now that were not apparent at the time I attended the school.

The "foul, homophobic, racist and sexist language" referenced by inspectors was obvious to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the sort of company you kept, which can only partly be blamed on the fact it was the less enlightened 1980s.

The school's current executive principal Andy Booth said in response to this week's report: "From what I understand, change is long overdue. Sheppey has suffered with its secondary education for 50 years."

I'm not sure I ever got the impression that I was 'suffering' in any way from my education, even with the benefit of hindsight.

Of course, a handful of pupils fell through the cracks, as happens with any school. Some fell further than others but this could hardly be blamed on the school, with so many other external factors at play.

The majority of those around my age who went to Sheppey School learned a lot, look back fondly on their time and came out of it as well-rounded, decent people.

I'm sure the same has continued to happen in the 40 subsequent years.

I know of many former students who have gone on to run businesses, enjoy successful white collar careers, or learn skilled manual trades which are no less valuable and frequently more lucrative.

A few brave souls have even taken up carpentry, despite those posters.

Robert Barman is managing editor of the KM Media Group