ACTON High has been awarded the prestigious Cultural Diversity Quality Standard Silver Award by SSAT, the schools, students and teachers network.

The award assesses a school’s performance in five areas: ethos, achievement, curriculum, parent and community engagement, and staff and governors.

It is made after a comprehensive assessment, including a visit by a SSAT inspector and interviews with staff, students and governors.

SSAT’s report praised Acton High’s detailed monitoring of, and strategies to improve, attainment across all sub-groups of students, developments in the curriculum including a work-based learning stream to enable otherwise disengaged students to achieve, and the development of a range of pathways for Sixth Form study.

The outward-looking ethos of the school also won acclaim, with SSAT noting the strong relationships the school has strived to develop with the local community, the hard work it does to engage hard-to-reach parents, and the high-quality newsletter and other communications it has developed.

Also highlighted for commendation was the commitment of staff, with inspectors noting a cohesiveness and dedication to going over and above normal expectations to help students develop a cross-cultural awareness of the importance of diversity.

Headteacher Dr Andy Sievewright said: “Acton High prides itself on helping all of its students achieve their potential and we are very pleased that SSAT has recognised the hard work and dedication that the school community invests into making that aspiration a reality.

“We are also pleased to note SSAT’s recommendations for continued development and will be working hard on some areas, including the development of stronger international links, in pursuit of the SSAT Cultural Diversity Gold Award.”

The award is the second landmark recognition of 2016 for Acton High. In February the school was named by the Department of Education as being one of the top 100 non-selective, state-maintained schools in England for sustained improvement in GCSE results.