Hampshire school praised by Ofsted (From Daily Echo)
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Westgate School graded priased by Ofsted
2:07pm Monday 22nd October 2012 in News
Hampshire school praised by Ofsted
A WINCHESTER secondary school has been hailed as “good” by Ofted inspectors after a visit at just two days' notice.
The Westgate School's record of achievement in English and maths GCSE was highlighted after inspectors visited the Cheriton Road site last July.
The school was rated good overall, including quality of teaching, behaviour of students, leadership and management.
The report comes as the school is set to become the first “all-through” county-run school for pupils aged four to 16 in 2014.
Inspectors said: “The majority of lessons are well-taught and a small proportion are exemplary.”
The report also praised spiritual, moral, social and cultural education as strengths of the school which has 1,100 pupils on its roll.
However inspectors said it was not “outstanding” because students' progress was not consistently rapid and sustained in all key stages.
The report said: “Students make good progress overall, but progress is less rapid in key stage three than key stage four.”
Rotherly boarding house - which is set to close in August 2013 - only got a “satisfactory” rating mainly because a fire door was found propped open, breaching safety regulations.
Neither were all pupils aware of how to contact an independent person outside of the teaching and boarding staff.
However the report said most students and parents felt the school, including the boarding house, was “a safe place to be and cared well for students.”
In a newsletter to parents, headteacher, Paul Nicholson, said he was delighted to receive the good rating.
He wrote: “The report has come at a very good time for our school and has clearly indicated what we need to do to further enhance quality of provision.”
“Our pupils do very well and are very well supported by all our staff.”
Mr Nicholson added the school had once again achieved “outstanding” examination results.
Some 74 per cent of pupils achieved five GCSEs grades A* to C, including English and maths.
The school also received a “good” overall rating after its previous Ofsted inspection in 2009.
