Chew Valley School News
Ofsted 2008
The vast majority of categories used to judge a school’s performance were deemed "outstanding" in the latest Ofsted inspection of the School. Of 39 judgements, 27 were graded outstanding, whilst 12 were graded good in an unstintingly laudatory report.
Students and staff alike were praised by the inspection team which concluded that the school "enables students to achieve well academically and provides for their personal development and well-being, which are outstanding." The report pays tribute to the "confident, courteous and considerate young people whose contribution to school life is extensive." It also praises the fact that the school "works extremely well to ensure that any barriers to learning experienced by students are recognised and removed as far as possible."
The Ofsted team were particularly impressed by the School and Sixth Form Councils, commenting that in their many inspections they had never seen anything comparable.
They highlighted the "outstanding curriculum" which not only enables students to succeed but also offers numerous opportunities to enrich and extend. The range of extra-curricular activities available to students is immense. The school’s specialist status was described as having "a palpably strong impact on school life."
The inspectors identified the students’ "positive attitudes to learning" and described their behaviour as "excellent."
In a school where the examination results are consistently well above the national average, inspectors sought to praise the performance of students with special educational needs. The progress they make was pleasingly recognised as "outstanding."
Her Majesty’s Inspector, Wiola Hola, paid tribute to pastoral and curriculum leaders in the school and concluded: ‘The school is extremely well led and managed’. The report runs out of superlatives in describing Chew Valley’s "outstanding sixth form". It praises the way that students are enabled to flourish both academically and personally and warmly endorses the exciting building plans for the new Sixth Form and Community Centre which will open in September.
The report concludes that sixth formers "benefit from outstanding teaching, an excellent curriculum and very high levels of care, guidance and support." The Ofsted Report reflects the ethos and character of our, excellent school. But we won’t be complacent. We want to challenge students and staff to even higher levels of achievement, without compromising the secure and affirming environment the school provides.
