The Community College, Bishop’s Castle

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. The headteacher and school leaders have created an improving school that responds to the needs of students. Through broadening their horizons and working well with others, students are successfully prepared for their future lives.

All students, including the most able, make good progress in English and mathematics and across a wide range of other subjects. This is because they have positive attitudes to learning. Standards in humanities and languages have been consistently above the national average.

Achievement is typically good in all year groups because of consistently good teaching. This has improved as a result of carefully targeted... training and support by school leaders. Disabled students and those who have special educational needs receive a good level of care and support and make similar progress to other students.

The gaps between the attainment of disadvantaged students and others, both in the school and nationally, have narrowed markedly in the last three years. Governors have worked closely with school leaders to improve the quality of teaching and raise achievement. Strong support for literacy skills and a popular library at the heart of the school have led to students developing a love of reading.

The school's work in promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students leads to good behaviour and a happy and safe school environment. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teachers' questioning is not always sufficiently sharp to deepen students' learning. Teachers do not have enough opportunities to learn from each other's best practice.

The school's marking policy is not consistently applied throughout the school to accelerate students' progress.

Information about this school

The Community College is smaller than the average-sized secondary school. Almost all students are from White British backgrounds.

The proportion of disadvantaged students supported through the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for looked after children and those known to be eligible for free school meals) is below the national average. The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is above average. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Year 11.

A very small number of students attend full-time provision off the school site through the Thomas Telford School, Telford and the Tuition Medical Behaviour Support Service (TMBSS), Shropshire. The school is a partner in the South West Shropshire Learning Trust. Since the previous inspection, the school has ceased to have any sixth form students on the school roll.