An East Ham school went from ‘outstanding’ to needing special measures on the same day that vandals targeted cars parked outside the building.

Langdon School, in Sussex Road, East Ham, was branded a failing school by Ofsted inspectors last Monday April 22 less than four years after receiving a shining report.

Police also confirmed vehicles had been vandalised but there are no suspects at this time.

The report rated Langdon School ‘inadequate’ in three out of four areas, stating that “leaders and governors have not taken sufficient action over time to tackle the decline in the school’s effectiveness.”

Poor attendance and punctuality were singled out as a problems, particularly at the crucial GCSE stage, with instances of pupils being told to stay at home but not formally excluded.

The report also stated that one teacher had not had been assessed for two years.

Newham Council says it is working with Langdon School to address the issues and the interim headteacher Nicholas Kemp has put in place an improvement plan.

In a joint statement, a spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that Ofsted have stated that Langdon School is at present failing to provide an ‘acceptable standard of education’ for its students.

“However, Ofsted also identified that the school had a number of key strengths. This included improvements made to teaching and the school’s policies and procedures.”

They added: “We are confident that Langdon School can build on these strengths enabling it to become outstanding again.”