Hanwell resident wins headteacher of the year award and turns Kensington school into outstanding

A Hanwell man has been named secondary headteacher of the year the 2022 Pearson Teaching Awards which has seen him turn the school from “bleak” to “outstanding”.

Andrew O’Neill was appointed head of All Saints Catholic College in Kensington in 2016.  At the time the school was a poor performer, staff morale was low and some said “future of the school was bleak” but in the six years since he joined Mr O’Neill has turned All Saints into a top performer.

Previously it was known as Sion-Manning Catholic Girls’ School until 2018 when it then became a co-educational school.

In October 2021, Ofsted visited All Saints and gave it a “good” grade as well as highlighting there was “enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged to be outstanding”. When they returned earlier this month on November 2 and 3 2022, Ofsted gave it a “outstanding” grade.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan congratulated all the winners by saying their “fantastic work and dedication to their students is truly an inspiration, and these awards provide well earnt recognition of the work of incredible teachers and school staff up and down the country”.

Ms Keegan added: “We have some of the best teachers in the world and I want to thank every single person working so hard to support children and young people for their expertise and commitment.”

In a blog post, the school said: “The Pearson National Teaching Awards are the ‘Oscars’ of the teaching profession, and this is a wonderful achievement for Mr O’Neill, testament to the incredible journey All Saints Catholic College has been on since he became Headteacher. On behalf of everyone associated with All Saints Catholic College, congratulations Mr O’Neill.”