A private school with £7,500 yearly fees was given the lowest Ofsted rating possible after inspectors found evidence of mice and electrical faults.

Islamia School for Girls in Brent was rated ‘inadequate’ in its latest Ofsted report following criticism of the school’s leadership.

Inspectors discovered a mouse infestation at the school which had not been dealt with and a number of dangerous electrical issues which had not been attended to.

They also found cupboards storing hazardous waste had not been secured properly.

The report published in January was particularly critical of the school’s leadership with regard to safeguarding.

It said: “Leaders’ knowledge of safeguarding practice is weak. Leaders have not prioritised the safety and well-being of the pupils. They do not check carefully that safeguarding systems are effective.”

Despite the school claiming to have a firm grasp on dealing with bullying, inspectors explained that, according to a survey, around a fifth of students said they would not know who to approach.

While safeguarding at the school was marked as ‘inadequate’, which ultimately determined its overall rating, other aspects of the report were positive.

Inspectors said teachers were “knowledgeable” and the interest in their specialist subjects “rubbed off on pupils”.

The report also praised the school’s updated personal, social, health and economic education programme, where pupils were taught about healthy relationships, mental health, online safety and how to avoid dangers outside of school.

While behaviour and attitudes and personal development were rated as ‘good’ in this latest report, the quality of education was said to ‘require improvement’, mainly due to a “lack of ambition” in the curriculum, which focuses mainly on the GCSE syllabus.

A statement from the school said: “Our school is regularly judged to be the best in Brent, with our students achieving first-class GCSE results, historically among the best in London.

"These results enable the girls to go on to some of the leading sixth form schools and colleges in the capital, where they then attain excellent A level results and win places at the world’s best universities. We are very proud of the education that we provide and the potential that we help fulfil in their young lives.

"While pleased that Ofsted rates us as good in two categories, we are therefore very surprised by the overall outcome and strongly disagree with it."