Ofsted Inspection November 2009

Everyone connected with Winchcombe School is absolutely delighted by the outcome of our recent Ofsted Inspection.  We were very happy to be amongst the first schools in Gloucestershire judged against the new, more rigorous Ofsted framework, introduced in September.  This has raised the bar for every school.

Our own self assessment had indicated that we are, according to the new tougher criteria, a ‘good’ school with many ‘outstanding’ features.  We were particularly delighted to be judged ‘Outstanding’ in a total of 16 key areas, including pupil outcomes, pupil safety, pupil behaviour and leadership and management.

The Report is a tribute to a hard working and united school community consisting of our outstanding students, their highly supportive parents, and hard working staff and governors.

The Report praises the ‘outstanding care, guidance and support’ offered by the school, which ensures that ‘students feel safe and secure and enjoy their education’.  It also comments on the high esteem in which parents hold the school.  Another encouraging statistic was that over 85% of lessons observed were judged to be either good or outstanding – a tribute to the expertise and industry of every teacher at the school.

However, it is the pupils of Winchcombe School who should feel particularly proud.  Ofsted described their behaviour as ‘excellent’.  In particular, students were praised for their ‘excellent attitudes to learning’, and the inspection team also commented on the ‘excellent relationships between adults and students around the school’.

This crowns a fantastic year when Winchcombe School celebrated its best GCSE results ever – with over 72% of pupils achieving five or more GCSE grades at A*-C, including English and Mathematics, and over 30% of all GCSEs being awarded at A or A*.

We sent a copy of the report to every parent as soon as it became available – please contact the school if yours failed to arrive home, or if you require a further copy.  The report, and details of the revised Ofsted framework, are available at www.ofsted.gov.uk.