Wolgarston High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Standards have risen sharply since the previous inspection and the rates of progress of all groups of students have strongly improved, now comparing favourably to national levels.

Students enjoy their learning and are keen to do well. The overall effectiveness of the sixth form is outstanding. Standards are above average, because teaching is of a consistently high quality.

Sixth form students take a leading role in school life, particularly in supporting younger ones. The quality of teaching has improved dramatically since the previous inspection and nearly all is now good or better. Teachers have high expectations of their students, who... say that teachers' good subject knowledge makes lessons interesting and enjoyable.

Behaviour in lessons and around school is good and often exemplary. The school has a calm and harmonious atmosphere, and students are polite and courteous. Students say that the school keeps them very safe and that they greatly value the support and care provided by the family support team.

The headteacher has been relentless in driving improvement since the previous inspection. He has surrounded himself with a strong senior team and is very well supported by the outstanding governing body. By ensuring that all staff and students consistently strive for 100% in all they do, the quality of teaching and learning has risen strongly.

The school shows an outstanding capacity to improve further. It is not yet an outstanding school because : When students are taught in mixed-ability classes, very occasionally teachers do not fully challenge those of highest ability or sufficiently support those of lowest ability so that they find the work too easy or too difficult. The quality of marking is inconsistent, so that students do not always have a clear enough understanding of how to improve their work.

Although the gap in performance between students for whom the school receives additional funding and others is closing strongly, strategies to close the gap at a faster rate are not securely embedded in mathematics.

Information about this school

The school is smaller than the average-sized secondary school. Students enter at the start of Year 9.

The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is low, while the proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The proportion of students from minority ethnic heritages is low and almost none speaks English as an additional language. The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for students in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals, is below the national average.

Five students attend a variety of full- and part-time alternative courses provided at Nova Training and the South Staffordshire College Rodbaston Campus. The school meets the current government floor standards for secondary schools, which set the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress. Since the previous inspection, there have been many staffing changes, including in senior and subject leadership.