Parmiter’s School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Parmiter's is an outstanding school with an outstanding sixth form.

It has maintained very high levels of attainment, strengthened its curriculum, improved significantly achievement in science and gained greater consistency in student achievement across all subjects. Provision in mathematics remains exemplary. Consequently, leaders, managers and governors demonstrate an outstanding capacity to improve.

Students are rightly proud of their school and their high levels of attendance reflect how much they enjoy their education and time at Parmiter's. The extensive array of clubs, activities and events contributes very effectively to the development of students' personal qualities, including their... leadership and social skills. Students' behaviour is exemplary.

The good or better teaching that students receive, together with their excellent attitudes to learning, result in most students making very good progress over time. In several subjects teaching and learning is inspirational and in these cases students make truly exceptional progress. This very best teaching and assessment practice, including the use of teaching assistants to support students with special educational needs in lessons, however, is not yet fully consistent across the whole school.

The school uses its specialist subjects well to enrich its broad curriculum. High quality care and guidance ensures students are supported academically and personally, and prepared very well for life after Parmiter's. The school's headteacher provides very strong leadership and, along with his senior management team and the governing body, has a clear vision for the school in its very recent move to academy status.

Detailed and frequent reporting of all aspects of student performance has aided the school's unremitting pursuit of improvement. The quality of teaching and learning is improving, although in a few cases the evaluation of teaching and assessment does not focus sufficiently on the impact of all actions taken to improve. Most areas of the school's work are evaluated and analysed in meticulous detail.

In a few areas the quality of evaluation and monitoring is less comprehensive. The school recognises this issue and plans are in place to strengthen the review of these areas this academic year. The promotion of equality and diversity within the school is outstanding and contributes very positively to students' attitudes and their awareness and appreciation of others' cultures, beliefs and viewpoints.

Information about the school

Parmiter's School is a larger-than-average, partially selective school, with a large sixth form. The school has held specialist technology college status since 2000 and specialist status in music since 2005. It gained specialist status in languages in 2009.

The majority of students are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language. Around a third of the school's students are from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds, with the largest group being of Indian heritage. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is much-lower-than-average.

The number of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities is much-lower-than-average. The school became an academy in July 2011. A new headteacher was appointed in 2010.

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