All accredited World Class schools:
- were, at the time of their accreditation, deemed 'outstanding' by Ofsted with a demonstrably outstanding track record
- were independently endorsed, in the course of our research, by at least two respected sources
- were outstanding in a specific context, for example, regionally, or within a given specialism
- in comparison to national averages, had a track record of outstanding pupil achievement at Key Stage 4
- developed World Class students in ways that were ground-breaking
- represented a diversity of outstanding provision
- demonstrated a commitment to bringing about improvement through partnership and collaboration.