'Some pupils had never eaten a family meal' - inside the school bringing hope to 'rejected' teens

A small Birmingham school for 'written off' kids is celebrating a rapid turnaround under a go-getting new head teacher who says he has 'gone back to basics' to help raise standards. Newbury School in Aston was written off itself by Ofsted last year, condemned for failing its students and leaving them at risk.

But now the specialist setting has been given a positive interim report by the schools' regulator, with praise for its rapid changes under the leadership of former engineer turned teacher, Enamul Hoque, who was brought in last term. The school's pupils, their places funded by children's services at a cost of as much as £96k a year, are among the most challenged in the city.