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INSPECTION REPORT ON |
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The |
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Full Name of the School |
The |
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DfES Number |
865
6006 |
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Address |
Milford
Hill, |
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Telephone Number |
01722
430500 |
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Fax Number |
01722
430501 |
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E-mail Address |
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Name of Headmistress |
Miss
M. J. Horsburgh |
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Chair of Governors |
Giles
Fletcher |
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11
- 18 |
Gender |
Girls |
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Number of Pupils |
406 |
Number
of Boarders |
186 |
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Inspection Dates |
11
– |
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This
inspection report is based on a framework laid down by the Independent Schools
Inspectorate (ISI) and agreed with the DFES and OFSTED for the purposes of
ensuring that standards are maintained and that the school complies with
relevant legal requirements.
Recommendations are included to help the school improve. The report will be lodged with the ISI, the
Head of the School, the Proprietors, the DFES and OFSTED. A summary will be provided by the school
for all parents free of charge and the full report on request. Other interested parties may have the
summary or full report, subject to a charge for copying and postage. The report may not be selectively quoted in
the school prospectus or other promotional literature but may be used
selectively within the school. The inspection does not examine the financial viability of the school or investigate its accounting procedures. The inspectors check the school’s health and safety procedures and comment on any significant hazards they encounter; they do not carry out an exhaustive health and safety examination. The
inspection was not carried out in conjunction with the National Care
Standards Commission and the report does not contain specific judgements on
the National Minimum Boarding Standards.
It comments on the progress made by the school in meeting the
recommendations set out in the most recent statutory boarding inspection and
evaluates the quality of the boarding experience and its contribution to
pupils’ education and development in general. |
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1.1 This is a very good school. Standards of attainment in relation to pupils’ abilities are high and public examination results are close to and often above those of maintained selective schools nationally. Behaviour is exemplary. Teaching and non-teaching staff are hard working and fully committed to the education and care of the pupils. Teaching is good and often very good across all year groups. The school provides very well for pupils’ personal and social development and has very high levels of pastoral care. Boarding provision is excellent and contributes greatly to the personal development of the pupils. Relationships among pupils and between them and the staff are of a high order. The school’s development planning is not fully effective and needs to involve departments more fully.
· Standards of attainment in relation to pupils’ capabilities and performance in public examinations are very good.
· Teaching is good or very good across all age groups.
· The pupils behave very well; they have positive attitudes towards others and show pride in their school and relationships among pupils are friendly and supportive.
· Teachers and non-teaching staff are dedicated and loyal, and work hard to the benefit of the education and care of the pupils.
· The school provides well for the care and personal development of the pupils and links with parents and the community are very strong. Boarding provision is excellent and contributes greatly to pupils personal development
· The range and quality of the activities provided by the school are outstanding.
What the School Should Do Better
· Subject departments do not all provide departmental development plans closely linked to the priorities in the school’s development plan.
· Subject departments have few occasions for formal discussion of broad-scale issues and are not formally required to provide senior management with minutes of such discussions on a frequent and regular basis.
Standards of Attainment and Progress in Subjects
1.2
Pupils achieve high standards
in relation to their abilities.
Throughout the school both attainment and progress are very good. Pupils demonstrate high standards in the key
oral, numerical and graphical skills, and many are competent users of
information and communications technology (ICT). Results in public examinations at
The Quality of Pupils’ Learning, Attitudes and their Behaviour
1.3 The quality of the pupils’ attitudes to learning and of their behaviour and personal development is excellent. It is appropriate for their ages and abilities and conducive to the process of learning. Pupils are very well behaved in class and about the school. They have respect for the feelings, values and beliefs of others and show loyalty to the school.
1.4 The teaching across all age groups was good or better in almost three-quarters of lessons inspected. Teaching successfully meets the needs of the pupils of all ages and abilities, including those with special needs and those for whom English is an additional language, and contributes effectively to pupils’ attainment and progress. Teachers have a very good subject knowledge and make use of a wide range of teaching strategies that contribute very well to the high standards achieved by the pupils.
1.5 The level of pupils’ attendance is excellent and enables them to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by the school. The school distinguishes between authorised and unauthorised absence and the school appropriately follows up any absence. Unauthorised absence is virtually unknown. The admissions and daily registers conform to legal requirements.
1.6 The overall quality of assessment and record keeping is good. The methods used for assessing pupils’ achievements and progress are efficient, thorough and appropriate for the age, needs and stage of development of all pupils. Assessment and recording of pupils’ achievements, progress and needs are generally accurate, consistent and effective, although policies for marking and assessment are not yet fully developed.
1.7 The curriculum provided by the school offers a broad and balanced education suited to pupils across the full age and ability range. It contributes effectively to pupils’ intellectual, physical and personal attainment and development, and prepares the pupils well for their next stage of education, training or employment. An excellent range of extra-curricular activities enriches the curriculum available.
Teaching and Non-teaching Staff
1.8 Teachers are well qualified, experienced and effectively deployed. They are committed, hardworking and contribute greatly to the wellbeing and success of the pupils. The non-teaching staff make a substantial, valuable and widely-appreciated contribution to the life of the school.
1.9 The books, equipment and materials needed to support teaching, learning, study skills and recreation throughout the school are adequate and in some cases good in their quality and quantity. They are used effectively in teaching to enhance pupils’ learning. While the school has made many improvements in the provision of ICT and an ongoing development plan exists, the quality of some of the provision is less than satisfactory.
1.10 The library offers good support for the curriculum and it is well used by the pupils. It provides a comprehensive range of fiction and non-fiction books and an excellent selection of periodicals and journals. The librarian provides a very good service supporting both teaching and pupils’ learning.
1.11 The premises and accommodation are good. The buildings are suitable for the number of pupils and their needs. They are well used and help to enhance teaching and learning and provide for a wide range of educational opportunities. Recent developments, such as the performing arts centre and the swimming pool, have added much to the quality of the education of the pupils.
Links with Parents and the Community
1.12 The school has developed a very effective partnership with parents through the information it provides about school news and events, and through regular reports on pupils’ work and progress. A variety of worthwhile links with the wider community, both local and international, contributes positively to the pupils’ education and development.
1.13 The provision for pupils’ personal development is very good. The school, with its boarding facilities, provides a very wide range of opportunities through which its pupils can develop a system of spiritual beliefs and a moral code, as well as making great advances in personal, social and cultural development. The house system contributes positively and strongly to all areas of pupils’ personal development, and does so for day pupils as well as boarders.
Pastoral Care including Welfare, Health and Safety
1.14 The school cares very well for its pupils’ wellbeing, development and safety through its arrangements for pastoral support, guidance and welfare. The pastoral care is one of the great strengths of the school. There exists a highly supportive atmosphere in which pupils can flourish. Teachers’ relationships with pupils are supportive, courteous, friendly and built upon mutual respect. Tutors know the girls in their tutorial groups very well, and they take a personal interest in the progress of each of the tutees. Every effort is made to ensure that the day girls (Sarums) have the opportunity to play a full part in the life of the school. The provision for careers counselling and advice on higher education is very good. The school’s measures to safeguard and promote all pupils’ health and wellbeing are successful.
1.15 The last Social Services Department inspection of May 2001 was very positive about the standards of boarding. A number of recommendations were made, most of which have since been implemented. The school plans for those that are outstanding to be dealt with in the near future.
1.16 No National Care Standards Team took part in the inspection.
1.17 The governance and management of the school ensures that the school’s aims are met and that a good quality of education is provided. Good leadership provides generally effective and efficient planning at all management levels, ensures adequate resources are provided for teaching and learning and that these are well used. The school’s development plan (SDP) provides a useful blueprint for future development, setting out major priorities for the next five years. However, it lacks details of resources, it does not designate who is responsible for tasks and monitoring progress and it contains no criteria for judging success.
Achievement and Quality in Activities
1.18 The school organises a wealth of activities for its pupils, not only during the three afternoon sessions on schooldays, but also during the weekends for boarders. Achievement and quality in these activities are well targeted for the ages, aptitudes and abilities of the pupils, and enhance the personal development of all who take part.
Progress Made by the School since its Last Inspection
1.19 The school was inspected by the then ISJC on a Quality and Management Audit in February 1994. Seven recommendations were made and these have all been dealt with.
2.1 This report has identified a small number of key issues and has made recommendations and suggestions that are intended to aid the school’s development, to which the school and governors are invited to pay special attention. The main recommendations are listed below.
R1 Subject departments should provide development plans that are closely linked to the priorities in the school’s development plan.
R2 The school should provide subject departments with regular formal occasions to discuss broad-scale issues and provide senior management with minutes of such discussions.
3.1
The
3.2
At the time of the inspection
the senior school had 406 girls on roll of whom, 108 were in the sixth
form. The school has 186 boarders; all
are full boarders. Most of the pupils
come from professional and farming backgrounds in Wiltshire, Hampshire and the
adjoining counties, with a few from
3.3 Although the school has no pupils with a statement of special needs, there are a number with specific learning needs (SEN) or for whom English is an additional language (EAL). The school has twenty-five pupils whose first language is not English. Most are fluent speakers of English, although 16 are receiving support for EAL. A further 15 pupils have been identified by the school as having SEN requiring special educational provision, mainly for specific learning difficulties.
3.4 Annual fees are £9,900 for day pupils and £16,260 for boarders. Six pupils are in receipt of government assisted places and a further 171 receive remission of fees for a range of scholarships and sports awards, bursaries and staff concessions.
3.5 Most pupils enter the school at 11+ and 13+ from local independent preparatory schools, including the Godolphin’s own preparatory school, with a few from local maintained primary schools. Entry is based on the results of the Common Entrance (CE) examination, Foundation Scholarships and scholarships for music, art and sports. A small number of pupils enter at 12+ and 14+. Pupils from schools that do not take the CE sit internal test papers in core subjects and have an interview with a senior member of staff.
3.6 Very few pupils leave before Year 11 or after taking their GCSE, the few who leave to go on to local sixth-form colleges or other schools. Entrants to the sixth form are expected to have at least five GCSE subjects at grade C or above. They also have to take two papers in subjects they wish to pursue as AS subjects and a general paper. These papers are marked and discussed with the candidates on the same day.
3.7 Pupils in Year 7 are given Middle Years Information Service (MidYIS) tests for the school to provide a baseline measurement of abilities. The range of ability on entry, as shown by MidYIS results based on the national sample, is skewed to the more able, with a range from rather below the national norm to well above. The intake is overall a little below that of maintained selective schools but with a significant number of pupils of lower ability than would be found in a maintained selective school. Based on a MidYIS independent schools sample, the profile is a little below that of independent schools generally.
3.8 The school’s mission statement is:
‘Godolphin exists as a boarding and day school to provide a broad-based, liberal education for girls, enabling each to fulfil her potential so that she may take a full part in the world, revealing self knowledge and a sense of responsibility for others’.
To this statement are added seven ‘espoused values’ concerned with: academic standards; love of learning; the Christian basis of the school; the recognition of staff and pupils as the school’s most valuable assets; the value set on former students; acknowledgement of the talents of staff, pupils, former students and parents and commitment to a consultative and participatory style of management; and the offering of financial support to girls in need. These values are reflected in all aspects of school life.
3.9 National Curriculum nomenclature is used throughout this report to refer to year groups in the school. The year group nomenclature used by the school and its National Curriculum (NC) equivalence is shown in the following table:
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School |
NC |
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School |
NC |
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First Year |
7 |
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Lower Sixth |
12 |
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Second Year |
8 |
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Upper Sixth |
13 |
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Third Year |
9 |
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Fourth Year |
10 |
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Fifth Year |
11 |
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3.10 GCSE
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Most recently completed Year 11 |
Average for the last three Year 11s |
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Entered for 5+ subjects |
100% |
99.5% |
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Achieved 5+ @ A* - C |
100% |
99.5% |
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Achieved 5+ @ A* - G |
100% |
99.5% |
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Average score per candidate¹ |
62.67 |
61.73 |
¹ Scoring is 8 for GCSE grade A*and 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 for grades A – G respectively.
3.11 A Level and AS
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Most recent year |
Average for the last three years |
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Average score per candidate² |
28.4 |
25.1 |
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Average score per subject entry² |
7.85 |
7.63 |
²Scoring is 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 for A level grades A – E respectively, and 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 for AS grades A to E respectively.
3.12 Attendance for First Half of Summer Term 2002
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Authorised |
Unauthorised |
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Percentage absence |
0.7 |
Nil |
3.13 Exclusions Over the Previous 12 Months
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Temporary
exclusions |
Permanent
exclusions |
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3 |
1 |
4. Educational Standards Achieved by Pupils at the School
4.1
Pupils achieve high standards
in relation to their abilities.
Throughout the school both attainment and progress are very good. Pupils demonstrate high standards in the key oral,
numerical, writing and graphical skills, and many are competent users of
information and communications technology (ICT). Results in public examinations at
4.2 As seen in lessons and pupils’ written work, attainment was generally very high in Years 7 to 9, particularly in ICT and music. Attainment in numeracy is high at all stages particularly in the understanding of mathematical principles and skills. These skills were also well used across the curriculum.
4.3
Pupils are articulate; they
answer teachers’ questions well and offer good oral contributions in
lessons. In English, high standards of
speaking and listening were observed across all age groups and, although
writing skills were seen to be slower to develop, attainment in this skill
caught up rapidly after Year 10.
Linguistic skills were also well developed in French and German.
4.4 In relation to pupils’ ability, attainment in lessons and in written work in Years 10 and 11 is particularly high. Especially good standards were seen in geography, history and DT. In the sixth form, high levels of attainment were seen in all subjects; at this stage, students were able to analyse, evaluate, communicate and make critical judgements effectively. They are also articulate and confident independent learners who tackle the more complex and demanding work at this stage with much enthusiasm.
4.5 The school's public examination results are well above the national average at the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and reflect the high standards observed in lessons. In 2001, 98.2% of the school's GCSE grades were A to C while 68% were A* or A. This compares very favourably with other maintained selective schools where 95% were grades A to C and 49% A* or A. In 2001, all pupils in biology, chemistry and physics gained at least a grade C, with a high percentage of the grades being A* or A. Drama grades were all A* or A.
4.6 The advanced level (A-level) results over the past three years have been consistently impressive. In 2001, the average point score per candidate was 26.2 as compared with an average of 24.4 for all maintained selective schools. Students readily achieve the relevant qualifications and skills needed to progress to the next stage of their education or training. About 98% of students gain places in higher education, reflecting their high standards of achievement.
4.7 Pupils’ progress overall is rapid in relation to their abilities. In one Year 9 French lesson, pupils used new language creatively to describe people they knew and made rapid progress in developing their vocabulary and grammar. Those with special educational needs or for whom English is not their first language also progress rapidly. The school provides effective extra learning support for such pupils. Lower ability pupils also make progress that is comparable with the rest because the school has an effective setting system in some subjects and because dedicated teachers are prepared to provide much individual attention outside the classroom.
Quality of Pupils’ Learning, Attitudes and Behaviour
4.8 The quality of pupils’ attitudes to learning and of their behaviour and personal development is excellent. It is appropriate for their ages and abilities and conducive to the process of learning. Pupils are very well behaved in class and about the school. They have respect for the feelings, values and beliefs of others and show loyalty to the school.
4.9 During the inspection it was found that the quality of pupils' learning was good or very good in well over three-quarters of the lessons visited.
4.10 The pupils are very effective learners. They respond well in most lessons and show motivation and co-operation. They concentrate well and learn to study on their own. In history, geography and DT pupils undertake much independent learning and collaborate well in group work. In science and DT pupils ask intelligent and relevant questions and sixth-form students are able to evaluate their own work. However, independent thought, and motivation were seen to be less good in a small number of lessons, where opportunity was not always given for the development of independent learning. For example, pupils' motivation in some languages in Years 8 and 9 was seen to be mediocre and the quality of learning was in consequence somewhat passive.
4.11 Pupils enjoy very good relations with their peers as well as with their teachers. They have mutual respect for each other. It was particularly good to see younger boarders mixing freely with older students. An ethos of caring for each other pervades the school and pupils have an strong loyalty to both school and house. Pupils are sensitive to the feelings of those around them and respect those with different values and beliefs. Bullying and teasing are not issues for the pupils; any that does occur is dealt with speedily and appropriately.
4.12 Pupils in organising their own talks showed good levels of initiative, independent thinking and taking responsibility, and interesting illustrated presentations were seen in the various assemblies attended.
4.13 Pupils behave well in class unless a teacher loses concentration, and behaviour around the school and in the locality is very good. They are polite and show respect for others and for property. Girls treat their environment well and the campus has very little