Snap Ofsted visit to 'good' girls' school

Its principal, Rabbi Avraham Pinter - Mrs Weinberg's father - said: "We could not be more proud of our staff and pupils. The inspection criteria have changed substantially since the 2006 report. In the current report, Ofsted compliment us on the developments that we have made.

"At Yesodey Hatorah, good is never good enough and we will strive to regain our outstanding title."

According to the report, published on Wednesday, students "thrive very well" at the school, taking from 10 to 12 GCSEs and performing above average.

Over a number of years, the school has remained "in the top 20 per cent for similar schools nationally".

Its achievements in maths were "consistently outstanding", while results were also good in a range of subjects from science to history. But students made slower progress in English.

The inspectors also noted that "the culture of best practice in teaching and learning is not at a consistently high enough level to enable the vast majority of learners to excel".

But they viewed the girls' spiritual development as a strength, enabling pupils "to sustain their values while learning about other major faiths".

The study of literature and music from other cultures, including playing African drums, "allow students to… engage in community cohesion", the inspectors said.

Ofsted has denied specifically targeting Jewish schools, although a quarter of England's 12 state-aided Jewish schools have received snap visits over the last three months.

The inspection of JFS was triggered by parental complaints, but Ofsted explained that the visit to Yesodey Hatorah was "part of a wider trial of testing out the feasibility of unannounced inspections".