Monday 23rd February 2015

Dear parents

We are very pleased to share the outcomes of the recent Ofsted Inspection of our school with parents, pupils and the wider community, and attach the Report.We are extremely appreciative of the tremendous response to ParentView (with over 300 responses within 36 hours). The overwhelmingly positive responseswereacknowledged by the Ofsted team,commenting that parents felt fortunate to have such a school locally.

The recently publishedDepartment for Education (DfE) Performance Tables confirmed the academic strengths of the school across the ability range, and this is endorsed in the Ofsted Report. We are delighted that the Report also praises other facets of the school not found in the Tables such as the "exceptional pastoral care" and the wider curriculum. "The school makes an impressive contribution to students’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development."…"The strong moral purpose of the school assists students’ moral development and they know clearly the difference between right and wrong."…."It provides many opportunities for students to take part in sporting, musical, artistic, charitable and voluntary activities." "..the school prepares students well for life in modern Britain”. The text of the report gives a strong positive flavour of what the school is like.

The teaching in Maths and English was particularly commended, and taken as a whole the teaching over time and careful planning by staff was considered to lead to progress which is significantly above the national average across subjects. The Report refers to the excellent results achieved at A-level by those who have entered the school as "most-able" (Level 5 in KS2 English and Mathematics) and also said "information … about students’ attainment and progress… is used to good effect in ensuring that each student does as well as they can", so we were surprised by the comment in the Summary about the work set at KS3, but unfortunately the process did notgive us an opportunity to challenge the inconsistency.

The Ofsted team told us how close we were to being judged "outstanding", so it is tantalising that we were not because of Ofsted's stance on the level of detail in marking at Key Stage 3, especially as the DfE has just issued Guidance which makes it clear that schools should make"Sparing use of more detailed marking and written feedback, appropriate to children's age and stage." The report commends the high quality verbal feedback given to students and Inspectors commented on the helpful marking of exam class work.

The Ofsted team praised the atmosphere and ethos permeating the school. "One of the strategic intents is that the school ‘is a safe, warm and welcoming place’. Inspectors found this to be so". "The school is quiet and calm even at breaks and lunchtimes. Students move around the buildings in an orderly manner. They are extremely polite and courteous to visitors. They greet each other and adults warmly."…."Each member of the community is valued and their well-being matters to everyone."

We will continue to work hard to maintain and improve the already high standards in the school across the academic, pastoral and extra-curricular areas for the benefit of all pupils.

Yours sincerely

D.J. BlowMrs B. Brigham

HeadteacherChair of Governors

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