'Super head' makes failing school most improved in England

The phrase "rising like a phoenix from the ashes" has rarely seemed so apt. Fifteen years ago, when William Atkinson – now Sir William as a result of his services to education – took over the running of Phoenix High School in Shepherd's Bush, west London, only four per cent of its pupils achieved five top-grade GCSE passes. Today, it stands at the top of the Government's exam league tables for improved performance with a figure of 96 per cent.