2012 OfSted Report  |  2012 Section 48 Report  |  2011 English Subject Survey

Please look in the relevant sub-headings for more information on the school's Ofsted reports and its Section 48 report. Below are the key findings from the 2012 Ofsted Report.

This is a good school that has improved rapidly. Since the last inspection, standards in English and mathematics have risen. The school is not outstanding because the effective action to improve the quality of teaching that has secured student achievement to good overall is not consistent and some unevenness across subjects and between groups of students exists.

Standards of attainment are average and continuing to improve. Students’ progress overall is good. It is particularly strong in science. The least-able students, those who are known to be eligible for free school meals disabled students and those who have special educational needs make particularly good progress. Increasing the proportion of students that achieve the highest grades in Year 11 is a key area for improvement.

The quality of teaching is good. As a result, students develop good knowledge, skills and understanding. However, teaching does not always enable more-able students to make the rapid progress of which they are capable. The good curriculum is personalised and very effectively meets the needs of most groups of students.

Almost all students behave well and are supportive of each other. Behaviour and safety is good overall. Attendance has risen and is now in line with the national average. Students say they feel safe in school. Parents and carers are very confident that their children are safe in the school.

 Leadership is good. Leaders, including governors, have determinedly secured improvements across the school while maintaining their central commitment to the personalised care of students. Within the school’s prevalent culture of continuous improvement some challenges remain. In particular, how accurately leaders’ evaluation of the outcomes for the different groups of students against national benchmarks is used to target areas for improvement. However, the rigorous focus of senior leaders on the quality of teaching, an effective programme of staff performance review and focused staff training has successfully improved the school since the last inspection.