St Wilfrid’s Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Key Findings

This is a good school. It promotes students' good achievement and strong spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Students and staff demonstrate mutual respect and a strong commitment to achievement which contributes to a positive climate for learning and good behaviour. The school is not outstanding because of some inconsistency in achievement between subjects, a lack of sharpness in monitoring and evaluation and because : teaching is good rather than outstanding. Achievement is good.

Attainment at GCSE is above average. At GCSE, students achieve well in English, science and modern foreign languages which is a school specialism. Achievement is less strong in mathematics, history and... geography.

The sixth form is good. Students achieve well at A level. There is some inconsistency in the performance of different subjects.

The quality of teaching is good overall. Some teaching is satisfactory and a smaller proportion is outstanding. Relationships are good and the purposes of lessons are clearly outlined so students know what they are doing and why.

In satisfactory teaching, planning does not sufficiently meet the range of students' needs; there is not enough opportunity for active engagement and the use of assessment data is not sufficiently effective. Behaviour and safety are good and are well managed. Exclusions are low.

Lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour and most students engage well in learning. There is little bullying and students feel safe. Attendance is high.

Leadership and management are good. The good capacity for further improvement is demonstrated by the good track record in consolidating good achievement, behaviour and attendance. Since the previous inspection, achievement has improved in the sixth form.

Improvements to the curriculum have been well led. Professional development has improved aspects of good and satisfactory teaching and performance management is well linked to school priorities. However, a few inconsistencies remain due to insufficient rigour in the monitoring and evaluation of students' progress in the sixth form and in the targeting of professional development to accelerate improvements in satisfactory teaching.

Information about the school

St Wilfrid's Catholic High School is a much larger-than-average secondary school with a large sixth form. A new headteacher took up post in September 2010. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average.

The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average. The proportion of students that are supported by school action is a little above average. The proportion of students supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, including those with a physical disability, is also a little above average.

The school has specially resourced provision for students with special educational needs, managed by the local authority. This currently caters for 11 students with speech and language difficulties. The school met the current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms