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Ofsted catapults Burghclere secondary school out of special measures




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Ofsted inspectors visited the 571-pupil school, at Earlstone Common, on July 10 and 11, and subsequently graded the school good overall – a jump of two grades from the previous inspection in 2011, when the school was placed in special measures.
All aspects of the school, from teaching to pupils’ behaviour, were marked good in the latest report – the fourth visit to monitor the school since it was placed in special measures – with teaching praised as good overall and some as outstanding.
Attendance had also improved, with behaviour in lessons and around the school deemed “good and often exemplary,” according to the report, which said that pupils’ achievement had improved considerably, and was above the national average and rising.
The headteacher Felicity Martin, who was appointed interim headteacher in April 2012 and permanent headteacher a year later, in April 2013, was praised as being “inspirational” by inspectors, who added that Mrs Martin was “well supported by a cohesive senior team.”
The proportion of Year 11 pupils achieving five GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, increased by 11 per cent last year (2012), with similarly good GCSE results achieved this year (see pages 12 to 15 for a full report on local GCSE results).
The inspectors said that teaching had been transformed since their visit in 2011, which was a result of coherent and high-quality teacher training. It was now “consistently good” across a wide range of subject areas.
Inspectors said that the school missed becoming an outstanding school – the top grade – because too few lessons were outstanding and, occasionally, did not provide sufficient challenge for pupils of different abilities, particularly the more able, with progress by higher-ability pupils in English and middle-ability pupils in mathematics, slower than for other pupils overall.
Some improvement plans did not include clear, measurable targets and leaders did not systematically collect and analyse views of parents and carers.
Before compiling the latest report, inspectors observed parts of 21 lessons and visited other lessons briefly, talked to pupils in lessons and met pupil representatives from Years 7, 9 and 10. Inspectors also met a group of parents and carers and took into account 18 responses to an online parent survey and 79 responses to a recent survey of parental views carried out by the school.
They also looked at documentation including records of teacher appraisal and the attendance, behaviour and ensuring the safety of pupils.





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