Almondbury Community School has been given a resounding vote of confidence by Ofsted.
Inspectors carried out a recent monitoring visit and were impressed with the turnaround at the through school.
Almondbury suffered a setback in June when, due to a clerical error, Ofsted inspectors were called in earlier than they should have been - and before the results from implementing new policies could be seen.
It came as no surprise to popular headteacher Trevor Bowen and his staff that the verdict was Requires Improvement.
However, it is a different story after the latest visit. Ofsted said: “Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement” and were full of praise for the work being done at the Fernside Avenue school.
They were particularly impressed that GCSE A* to C pass rates for five subjects including English and maths had risen from 37% to 50% within a year. And the maths pass rate had risen from 43% to 73% in a year.
In a letter to Mr Bowen, published on the Ofsted website, they said: “Changes in the way leaders work across the whole school, and specifically in English and mathematics, is making a real difference to improvements in the quality of teaching and learning.
“You and your senior leadership team are unyielding in your determination, drive and enthusiasm to make improvements, and this is evident in the way they talk passionately about how they are going to do that.
“This is exemplified in a clearly focused school improvement plan, which rightly identifies key actions for improvement.
“Becoming ‘one school’ and having a shared vision and ethos across the school underpins all of the school’s planned actions for improvement.
“There is a real commitment and passion from staff about the strengths and opportunities that come from being an ‘all through’ school. Students are benefiting from the sharing of staff”.
Mr Bowen said: “We are very pleased that Ofsted’s latest visit was hugely positive about our school.
“Staff, governors and the local authority have a clear focus to ensure the all-through school quickly achieves very high standards for pupils of all ages.
“As Ofsted have made clear, we are making excellent progress which can be seen in the standards of our teaching and the outcomes of our learners.
“We work across the whole school – from reception children all the way to Year 11 students – to ensure a learning journey which builds on pupils’ achievements year on year.
“There is still more work ahead and we will retain our focus on doing everything possible to provide high quality care and education for children and their families.
“Being an all-through school gives us fantastic opportunities to develop each individual pupil and enjoy long-term relationships with the local community.”
