Hull Trinity House Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Key Findings

The school provides its students with a good all-round education. It has a number of strengths including the ways in which it promotes students' reading, writing and communication skills and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This makes a strong contribution to the students' personal development and their future economic well-being.

Almost all students progress to further education, employment or training. Achievement is good. The overwhelming majority of students make good progress from their generally above average starting points to leave with GCSE examination results that are above the national average when compared to national benchmarks.

This is particularly evident... in the proportion of students attaining five A* to C grades including English and mathematics. The school has high expectations of its students and they respond accordingly. Consequently, students' behaviour is good and attendance is high.

Students are courteous and show respect and understanding for the feelings of others. In lessons, students display positive attitudes to their learning and are keen and eager to succeed. Students feel safe and report that bullying is rare, but if it does occur it is dealt with effectively.

The school is not yet outstanding because while the quality of teaching is good overall, there are some inconsistencies. Most students enjoy their learning and make good progress in the majority of lessons. In the best lessons, teachers create plenty of opportunities for students to learn independently and use open-ended questioning techniques very well to extend students' thinking.

The school recognises that this best practice is not yet consistent throughout the school. Similarly, while there is a consistent approach to lesson planning throughout the school, teachers are not always using the school's assessment and tracking information effectively to plan activities that are matched closely to students' individual learning needs. Senior leaders are driving change and improvement effectively.

They have an accurate and perceptive understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement in the school. For example, the sustained focus on improving the quality of teaching has underpinned the rising trend in GCSE examination results seen since the previous inspection, and increased capacity at senior and middle leader level has ensured there is strong capacity to sustain further improvement.

Information about the school

Hull Trinity House is a much smaller than average secondary school for boys and has a strong nautical tradition.

It is oversubscribed and draws students from Kingston Upon Hull and the surrounding area. Almost all students are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals has risen substantially to broadly average.

The proportion of students who are disabled and those with a special educational need is below average, although the percentage with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. The school was awarded Specialist Status in Engineering in 2008 and is set to become an academy in April 2012. The school met the government's floor standards which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in the 2010/11 academic year.

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