Angry parents have slammed a Potters Bar secondary school in the wake of a damning official report that highlighted widespread failures.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Mount Grace School.Mount Grace School. (Image: Archant)

Parents have told the Welwyn Hatfield Times Potters Bar Edition they have had to engage private tutors because Mount Grace School is not providing decent education, particularly in maths and science.

They also echoed concerns about discipline raised in the Ofsted report published last month, which rated the school “inadequate”.

Deborah Kirby, who has a 16-year-old daughter at the school, said: “It is absolutely horrific. I can’t wait for my daughter to finish this year so I can take her out. This [choosing Mount Grace] was the worst thing we have ever done. They do nothing about incessant bullying.”

She claimed staff had failed to search another girl promptly despite complaints she had a knife in school, and that a pupil caught with drugs had suffered just a two-day suspension.

Nicola Ozen told the Potters Bar Edition: “In primary school my son was a very good student, and in the first two years of this school, but now he has got a tutor. He chose this school, but I am not happy.

“There is no maths teacher [for his class] until Christmas. It is awful.”

However, another parent who did not want to be named said Ofsted had exaggerated the problems, saying the school had suffered from an outdated poor reputation.

She said: “There are some really good teachers in there. I have two daughters at the school, and they are doing fine.

“All schools have problems with maths and science because they can’t get teachers”

Other parents have told the Potters Bar Edition the Church Road school should not be spending money on improving its rear entrance in Mount Grace Road.

One, who did not want to be named, claimed the entrance had been refurbished just two years ago: “You would think that the school and governors would be exploring all avenues to cut costs. Monies saved could be put towards extra teachers/support staff in an effort to turn these ongoing problems around.”

The school has repeatedly failed to respond to the Potters Bar Edition’s queries, but has published a response to the Ofsted criticisms on its website.

This blames teacher recruitment problems and “legitimate medical or social reasons for poor attendance”, and describes “negative observations” as “fake news”.

The Department for Education and Skills has not responded to the Potters Bar Edition, but Ofsted has recommended it takes “special measures” to improve the school.