INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INSPECTORATE

INSPECTION REPORT ON

Brighton and Hove High School GDST

 

Full Name of the School

Brighton and Hove High School GDST

DfES Number

846/6014

Registered Charity Number

306983

Senior School Address

Montpelier Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 3AT.

Junior School Address

Radinden Manor Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 6NH.

Telephone Numbers

Senior School: 01273 734112, Junior School: 01273 505004

Fax Numbers

Senior School: 01273 737120, Junior School: 01273 505006

Email Address

enquiries@bhhs.gdst.net

Head

Mrs Ann Greatorex

Chair of Governors

Mrs Pamela Stiles

Age Range

3 - 18 years

Gender

Female

Inspection Dates

5th – 8th February 2007

This inspection report follows the framework laid down by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI).  The inspection was carried out under the arrangements of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) Associations for the maintenance and improvement of the quality of their membership.  It was also carried out under Section 162A(1)(b) of the Education Act 2002, as amended by the Education Act 2005, under the provisions of which the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has accredited ISI as the body approved for the purpose of inspecting schools belonging to ISC Associations and reporting on compliance with the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003.

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.  Their inspection of the premises is from an educational perspective and does not include in-depth examination of the structural condition of the school, its services or other physical features.

1.                INTRODUCTION

Characteristics of the School

1.1               Brighton and Hove High School, one of nearly 30 schools owned by the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), is an independent day school for girls aged 3 to 18.  Founded in 1872, the GDST (the Trust) is a limited company and an educational charity.  The Trust’s mission is “to provide an education of high quality for girls of intellectual promise at modest fees”.  Its schools are characterised by quality of opportunity for all, a broad curriculum and a rich programme of extra-curricular activities.

1.2               The ethos of the junior and senior schools is to take education to mean a “leading out” and not merely a “pouring in”.  Their joint aims are to:

·           develop the whole individual so that girls leave with realistic perceptions of their strengths and weaknesses, and are confident in their ability to succeed;

·           develop an awareness of the spiritual and moral dimensions of life;

·           foster in pupils sensitivity, tolerance and an acceptance of responsibility for themselves, others and the environment;

·           promote a spirit of enquiry so that girls are encouraged to think independently.

The school expects that, by the time girls leave, they will have excellent formal qualifications and the confidence that comes from a wide and soundly based preparation for life.  The school is broadly Christian in tradition.

1.3               Established in 1876, the senior school continues to occupy the original site around the Temple, an imposing early nineteenth-century building in a residential area of Brighton.  The junior school site is a mile away in Hove, in another residential area.  Both sites are particularly spacious and provide ample specialist teaching facilities.  The junior school has a nursery wing, with its own adjacent play area, for girls aged 3 to 4.  Its all-weather and grass playing surfaces are also used by senior school girls.  Year 12 and 13 pupils are accommodated in a separate building, the Sixth Form Centre, at the senior school.

1.4               Since the school was last inspected in May 2001, it has undergone a number of changes.  The senior school head, who has overall responsibility for both senior and junior schools took up her post in September 2004.  She appointed a new deputy head in January 2006 and has made many other senior staff appointments, teaching and non-teaching.  The school now aims to encourage girls to try more subjects and activities in a ‘can do’ spirit.  A new building, opened in January 2004, comprises administrative offices as well as additional classrooms.  Play facilities at the junior school have been extended.  Flexible time has been introduced for children in the Nursery.  French is now taught from the Reception class upwards.  Staff in the junior school now make greater use of information and communication technology (ICT), while senior school staff have begun to do so.

1.5               The number on roll is 665.  More than one third, 248 pupils aged 3 to 11, are in the junior school, which comprises 44 children in the Foundation Stage and 204 girls in Years 1 to 6.  Senior school girls, aged 11 to 18, number 417, of whom 73 are in Years 12 and 13, the sixth form.  At the time of the last inspection, the school had 782 pupils enrolled.

1.6               Most girls live within a 15-mile radius of the school.  Their parents, many of whom belong to the parents’ association (PA), have high expectations.  Children entering the Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2 are assessed informally; they have a broad range of ability.  From the age of seven, junior girls take formal assessments that show that they are well above average in ability.  If pupils are performing in line with their abilities, their results will be well above the average for all maintained primary schools.

1.7               Almost all pupils in the junior school transfer to the senior school at the age of 11, where they are joined by around 30 pupils from other schools.  Just over half those in Year 11 remain for the sixth form; one or two others join Year 12 from other schools.  From time to time, the school admits a very few German girls, who stay with host families in the town and who attend lessons with Year 12.  The school, on behalf of the Trust, awards scholarships to a significant number of girls in Years 7 and 12 and a smaller number of bursaries to deserving girls on the basis of need.  The school takes a sizeable proportion of able girls as well as a minority of average ability.  In ability, senior girls are well above the national average; they are a little below the ability of pupils in selective maintained schools.  If girls are performing in line with their ability, they should achieve results that are well above the average for girls in all maintained schools.  At the age of 18 or 19, almost all girls take up places at university, many on courses for which high entry standards are expected.

1.8               The school occasionally takes a pupil who has a local authority statement of special educational needs (SEN).  It currently identifies 14 pupils in the junior school and 23 in the senior school as having learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD).  The majority of these have individual special needs tuition, usually for mild dyslexia, but often only for a limited period.  Although a very small number of junior school pupils speak another language at home, all these girls are bilingual and proficient in English.  All senior school girls have English as their first language.

1.9               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 are shown in the following tables.

Junior School

 

 

School

NC name

Nursery

Nursery

RL, RS

Reception

1P, 1W

Year 1

2H, 2L

Year 2

3H, 3L

Year 3

4F, 4P

Year 4

5M, 5W

Year 5

6A, 6S

Year 6

Senior School

 

 

School

NC name

U3D, U3H, U3Z

Year 7

L4G, L4P, L4S

Year 8

U4B, U4C, U4S

Year 9

L5C, L5F, L5J

Year 10

U5G, U5S, U5T

Year 11

L6C, L6E, L6M

Year 12

U6A, U6E, U6M

Year 13

2.                THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The Educational Experience Provided

2.1               The school claims, with justification, to emphasise its “vitality, enthusiasm and friendliness.”  Both the junior and the senior schools provide a good educational experience consistent with their aims.  Although its timetable is not entirely balanced, the junior school offers a rich curriculum and a satisfactory range of extra-curricular activities.  All senior school pupils follow a broad and balanced curriculum, and they are able to choose from a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

Junior School

2.2               The education offered successfully fulfils the Trust’s aim to provide quality of opportunity for all within a broad curriculum.  The school provides a wide variety of educational experiences in which pupils’ intellectual, personal, physical and aesthetic needs, interests and aptitudes are cared for.  The curriculum has been broadened since the school’s last full inspection to include French in all years from Reception.  Personal, social, citizenship and health education (PSCHE) has been introduced for all age groups.  All classes are mixed ability and parallel year-group classes are ‘balanced’ and taught in those groups for most subjects.  The predominant mode of working is class teaching.  Individual and group work is used as appropriate.

2.3               In their early years, children experience a wide range of activities well suited to their ages and abilities.  This is has been well maintained since the Ofsted Nursery inspection in 2004.  The nationally specified Early Learning Goals of the Foundation Stage are completed during the Reception year.  When ready, children embark upon the programmes of study closely related to the NC.  The curriculum for Years 1 to 6 follows the broad outline of the NC, with the addition of French, drama, religious education (RE) and PSCHE.  Swimming is introduced for half the year for each of Years 3 and 4.

2.4               Numerical skills and literacy give beneficial support to many areas of the curriculum.  Competent, and occasionally outstanding, investigative skills effectively support pupils’ scientific work, stimulated by access to invaluable specialist facilities in the science laboratory.  In mathematics at all levels, pupils enjoy a variety of problem-solving activities.  For example, Year 5 pupils investigated angles of a triangle based on the fact of four right angles in a square.  The exploitation of ICT to support the teaching of all subjects is developing very well and the benefits of using recently installed interactive whiteboards are evident in many areas of the curriculum.  Form teachers successfully maximise the advantages of all-round subject teaching and introduce valuable cross-curricular linked themes.  Increasing opportunities for independent work include the recent introduction of a variety of enrichment activities for pupils in Years 1 and 2.

2.5               Extra-curricular activities and inter-house activities make an enriching contribution to the life and education of pupils aged seven to eleven.  The majority of activities are centred on sports, music, art, or craft, with the remainder reflecting the wide variety of interests of staff and pupils.  Pupils’ achievements are monitored, reported on, and where appropriate, celebrated with announcements in assembly and awards presented by the head of junior school.  Younger pupils have very few activities and their enrichment is limited.  In their responses to the questionnaire sent out before the inspection, a significant proportion of parents disagreed that the school provides a good range of extra-curricular activities.  Inspection findings do not support their view with regard to pupils in Years 3 to Year 6, but do uphold their belief for pupils in Years 1 and 2.

2.6               Pupils enjoy visiting workshops, presentations and shows and can participate in dramatic productions and musical concerts.  In addition, wide-ranging, high quality educational visits, such as to Brighton’s Royal Pavilion and Anne of Cleves’ House, together with a residential visit for Year 6 to New Barn in Dorset, greatly enrich pupils’ education.  These experiences have a positive influence on their personal development and in extending their creative, sporting, and musical skills, in particular.

2.7               Induction arrangements for children entering the early years’ classes are very effective.  Well-established procedures ensure a smooth transition for pupils from class to class and between the three sections of the school.  Year 6 pupils enjoy taster sessions in the senior school and visits from senior staff.  The school gives invaluable guidance to pupils and their parents, thus ensuring that pupils are well prepared for transfer to the senior school.

2.8               Detailed curriculum policy documents in the Foundation Stage are excellent.  Policy documents for all subjects taught in Years 1 to 6 are clear and informative.  However, most do not give guidance for cross-curricular work although cross-curricular themes are appropriately included in some lessons.  Plans are mostly effective, but for art, music and physical education (PE) do not identify the NC attainment targets on which the curriculum is based and assessments made.  Planning to meet the different needs of individual pupils, and to ensure that pupils of all abilities benefit fully from their education, is inconsistent.

2.9               Each pupil with LDD, along with any pupil who has a statement of SEN, has an individual education plan (IEP).  These IEPs are appropriate to their needs and are regularly monitored.  Some pupils receive effective individual support outside lessons.  The most able, gifted and talented are identified and their progress is monitored regularly.  Several pupils are invited to attend an extra-curricular club for additional challenge.  However, support within lessons for these pupils and for those who have LDD is variable.

2.10           A broad education is provided for all year groups and all pupils have equal access to the curriculum.

Senior School

2.11           The school provides an all-round education of high quality that challenges its pupils and is consistent with its aim of producing well-rounded individuals.  It places emphasis, as it promises, on art, drama, music, technology and, in Years 7 to 11, PE.  In all years, pupils develop a wide range of skills, in speaking, listening, literacy and numeracy.

2.12           In Years 7 to 9, pupils follow a broad curriculum.  In Year 8, all study Latin as well as a second modern foreign language.  The creative subjects provide well for their aesthetic development.  They all take a course of ICT, while all study for a time design technology (DT), home economics and textiles.  The timetabled programme of personal, social and health education (PSE) supports their personal development well.

2.13           In Years 10 and 11, pupils choose from a broad and flexible range of GCSE options.  All Year 10 and 11 pupils take English, language and literature, as well as mathematics, all three sciences, a modern foreign language and a humanity subject.  Most take a further three option subjects.  In addition to preparing to take the subject at GCSE, the top Year 11 mathematics set is working on an AS module.

2.14           Year 12 and 13 pupils also have a very wide choice of subjects, from traditional academic subjects to modern options such as critical thinking and psychology.  A few take additional GCSE subjects such as Spanish, Italian and Greek.  For all of these subjects, sets are small, and staff often teach in an interactive, tutorial style.  PE and games are optional subjects for Year 12 and 13 pupils.  Most of these pupils choose not to pursue any of the wide range of activities offered.

2.15           The school offers a great variety of extra-curricular activities, mostly in the lunch hour and after school.  Staff who lead these clubs and activities frequently adopt unusual and imaginative approaches: Year 7 pupils attending the science club enjoyed racing live maggots.  Older pupils, too, run a number of activities for those younger.  In addition to a full programme of sporting, musical and dramatic groups, pupils join activities in which they learn basic sign language or practise knitting.  Dance is a new and very popular activity for pupils in all years.  At a meeting of Culture Vultures, a school society offering a range of talks and activities on issues of cultural interest and open to girls in Year 10 and above, a former headmistress of the school gave a fascinating account of the part her mother had played in the early twentieth century suffragette movement.

2.16           The school organises numerous external trips and visits.  A party of Year 12 and 13 pupils recently took part in an expedition to Romania where they helped to refurbish an orphanage.

2.17           The school provides thorough careers advice and guidance.  The careers department begins its programme to pupils in Year 9, and follows this with interviews and psychometric tests to those in Years 10 and 11.  All members of Year 11 do a week of work experience, monitored by staff, at the end of the summer term.  Staff scrutinise closely the university and college applications of sixth-form pupils.

2.18           The curriculum has undergone considerable development in recent years.  New subjects have been introduced, especially at GCSE and at A level.  The success of these changes is carefully monitored by senior staff.  Timetabling and the curriculum are regular agenda items at meetings of the strategic management committee.

2.19           The school has begun to make estimable moves towards assisting pupils who need learning support.  The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO), who has just been appointed, identifies pupils with leaning difficulties.  She interviews these pupils and then, for each, prepares a comprehensive confidential document, in which she outlines their learning difficulties, strategies for teaching and learning, their own responsibilities, and arrangements for review.  This information she passes, as appropriate, to colleagues.  She has also begun to identify gifted and talented pupils.  Most departmental work schemes contain strategies to help pupils who are finding their work difficult and to give additional challenges to the more able.

Whole School

2.20           The school meets the regulatory requirements for the curriculum [Standard 1].

Pupils’ Learning and Achievements

2.21           The quality of pupils’ learning and achievement is good in both junior and senior schools.  Results in national tests at the age of 11 are variable, and not all junior pupils engage in independent learning.  Senior pupils frequently undertake work on their own initiative, although not in all subjects.  They achieve results at GCSE that are good in relation to their ability.  Teams and individual pupils regularly achieve success in sport and other activities.  In both sections of the school, pupils are keen to learn.  They respond well to teaching and almost all make good progress.

Junior School

2.22           Pupils’ learning is highly effective.  It results in significant achievements both in their academic and broader education.  It is consistent with the school’s aims to set high academic standards and to prepare girls by the age of 11 to assimilate all that the senior school has to offer.  Pupils are very well grounded in knowledge, skills and understanding in the subjects taught and activities provided by the school, and they learn to apply these skills critically and creatively.  The standards being achieved at the time of the previous inspection have been maintained overall.

2.23           In Nursery and Reception, early skills, especially those of literacy and numeracy, are well developed.  This is in accord with the Ofsted Nursery inspection in 2004 that children make very good progress towards their Early Learning Goals.  Pupils have firm foundations to progress well.  In all sections of the school, their knowledge and understanding are developed and applied effectively through appropriately planned lessons and first-rate teaching.  Pupils’ PE, art and DT skills are also well developed.  In addition, pupils reason and think through arguments logically and argue cogently.  For example, Year 6 pupils intelligently considered and concluded that an object was lighter in water and heavier in air because of the up-thrust from the water.

2.24           Pupils’ creativity is apparent in drama, DT, art projects and poetry.  The high quality artwork on view about the school and Year 2 pupils’ colourful compositions of pictures in the style of Picasso on the computer are examples of pupils’ competent creative efforts.

2.25           No significant difference is apparent in the relative attainment of pupils in different classes or in most subjects.  Inspection evidence shows that, pupils’ relatively low standards for mathematics in the 2004 national tests at age seven, in comparison with standards the same pupils obtained for reading and writing, are not reflected in the standards for pupils of that age now.  The school has taken some action to address the 2004 imbalance.  However, in the national tests at age eleven for the three years to 2005, the most able pupils achieved relatively less well in mathematics and science than did other pupils of the same age.  Clearly further work remains to be done to raise the relative standards of the most able in mathematics and science at age 11.

2.26           Pupils’ overall results in national tests are high at age seven and high at age eleven.  Over the last three years for which comparative data is available, their results have been far above the national average for all maintained primary schools at age seven and at age eleven.  Pupils’ success in entrance to the senior school, including eight pupils who won scholarships, provides further evidence that, over the course of their education they make considerable progress in the development of their knowledge, skills and understanding in many subject areas.

2.27           The school has a fine list of individual and team achievements, which are the result of the school’s encouragement and nurturing of pupils’ talents.  In the past year, almost 30 pupils have been successful in their instrumental music examinations.  In 2006, 80 pupils were successful in speech and drama examinations, and more than half of them were awarded distinctions.  A significant number of Year 4 pupils achieved commendable standards and were winners in their 2006 swimming gala events.  Most were awarded their swimming distance awards including several who achieved awards for swimming 200 metres.  Pupils taking part in the 2005 national Primary Maths Challenge received silver and bronze awards.  The Under-11 netball team won a local Sussex netball tournament two years running in 2004 and 2005.  The gardening club came second in the Henry Doubleday Research Association competition for the best school garden against national competition.  Pupils are high achievers in a variety of areas.

2.28           As a result of teachers’ expectations, pupils’ attitudes to work and study are appropriate throughout all year groups.  Pupils are friendly, helpful and eager to talk about what they are doing and their progress.  They are articulate and speak with confidence.  Year 6 competently used scientific terms and fully appreciated the importance of thorough scientific method discussing their sugar dissolving investigations.

2.29           Throughout, pupils read and write fluently and intelligently, at a level that is high and sometimes exceptional for their age.  They are confident learners and listen attentively to the ideas of others, as well as to their teachers.  Pupils study and work hard and learn effectively, both on their own and co-operatively.

2.30           Pupils make effective use of ICT to research and locate data.  They are confident using computers.  Pupils apply mathematics and mathematical concepts effectively in their mathematical work and in other subject areas.  For example, bar graphs were used well in science and geography.  Pupils successfully and appropriately apply their various skills across many subject areas.

2.31           Pupils begin to organise their work with some independence as early as Nursery, where they have a choice of early morning activity.  Year 1 pupils have opportunities to develop their own ideas in an end of week activity time.  In older age groups, pupils’ ability to work independently is evident in some, but not all areas.  The school’s aim to promote a spirit of enquiry so that girls are encouraged to think independently is not always evident.

2.32           Pupils settle down eagerly at the start of lessons and apply themselves to the tasks they have been set.  Most pupils are able to work sensibly and conscientiously at their own work.  Pupils make their own notes from reference books to use as information for projects, for example.  Their concentration and enthusiasm for their work and activities were evident in all lessons.  They persevere with very little need for prompting.  Pupils organise their work and studies appropriately.  As a result, they progress well, and attain good standards.  Pupils clearly enjoy coming to school and benefit from the range of experiences they are offered.

Senior School

2.33           Achievement in lessons is good.  In all subjects, pupils of all ages are well grounded in knowledge, skill and understanding, and many acquire skills of a high order.  Year 9 chemistry pupils displayed particular ability in analysing the data they had recorded during a practical investigation into the effects of heat on enzyme action.

2.34           Pupils in most lessons respond positively when asked to work critically and learn independently, although teaching in one or two subjects gives them little opportunity to do so.  In a project entitled Welcome to the Earth and Beyond, a Year 11 science group, given books and a CD-ROM, confidently undertook their own research.

2.35           Pupils perform strongly in national examinations.  Their GCSE results are well above those of pupils in maintained schools and are far above these in French, German, mathematics and home economics.  Their results are in line with those of girls in maintained selective schools and are good in relation to their own ability as indicated by baseline tests.  A-level results are well above those achieved by girls nationally.  Results are consistently good in classical subjects, English, French, geography, history, mathematics, physics, psychology, and theatre studies.

2.36           Pupils excel in many individual and group activities.  Many achieve merits and distinctions, especially in piano and violin, in the examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.  Others take part with distinction in the United Kingdom Mathematics Challenge, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Young Enterprise.  From time to time, pupils and former pupils win prizes and scholarships in competition with those in other Trust schools.  Girls compete successfully in netball, tennis, gymnastics and athletics, as well as in public speaking, drama and dance.  The dance displays that they give involve complex choreography of a very high standard.  These achievements often encourage them to attempt greater challenges.

2.37           Pupils of all ages have a positive attitude towards their work, and they develop essential skills for work and study.  Each pupil has an individual achievement file.  These help them to take responsibility for their own learning.  In all years and in all subjects, pupils are articulate and write clearly.  They argue cogently and think for themselves.  They apply mathematical skills very effectively.  In the main, they enjoy their work.  Those in a Year 8 DT class clearly enjoyed designing and making a hand game that sounded if a metal loop touched a wire.  They made and attractively decorated a wooden lid to hide the electric circuit.

2.38           All Year 9 pupils study for an ICT qualification which requires them to exercise their computing skills in eight pieces of work in other subject areas.  Pupils do not, however, yet make substantial use of ICT in their work books.  Although more staff have recently begun to take classes to the ICT room, few as yet make full use of it as a resource.

2.39           The majority of pupils behave courteously and responsibly.  They are eager to learn.  Although pupils sometimes arrive late for lessons because they have some distance to go between teaching rooms, a small number are simply unpunctual.  A very few do not collaborate with their teachers and do not listen respectfully.  By failing to settle quickly to the tasks they are set, and by talking among themselves instead of concentrating on the teaching, they miss opportunities to make progress.  Similarly, a small number lack self-confidence and so are passive learners, over-dependent on their teachers.

2.40           Pupils work well together in pairs and small groups, and they support each others’ learning.  In a Year 12 photography lesson, pupils combined to help each other prepare a display of light and shadow.  For the most part, they take great pride in their work.  They persevere when faced with challenging assignments and are keen to do well.  They trust their teachers’ judgement and take advice from them.  A Year 7 biology class, convinced that the liquid they were about to test for protein and glucose content was urine, displayed such confidence in their teacher that they suppressed their misgivings, gloved up, donned masks and set to work with enjoyment, leading to excellent learning and a successful outcome.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development of Pupils

2.41           In keeping with its aim that pupils are aware of spiritual and moral issues and become responsible young people, the school presents them with good opportunities to grow spiritually, morally, socially and culturally.  The worthwhile attitudes and values that these promote make a major contribution to pupils’ personal development.

Junior School

2.42           The very successful personal development of the pupils is a reflection of the school’s deep commitment to this aspect of education.  The school fulfils its aim to establish a caring ethos, through PSCHE and RE lessons, and through the Guild for Social Service (the Guild).  The foundations are laid for an understanding and tolerant community, which underpins the ethos of the school.

2.43           Pupils develop a strong sense of spiritual awareness, through assemblies, lessons, and visits.  The school’s aim to develop girls’ awareness of the spiritual and moral dimensions of life is met.  In assemblies opportunities are provided for reflection, promoting a spiritual dimension.  The weekly celebration assembly is an eagerly anticipated occasion to congratulate pupils whose names have been entered in the Celebration Book, for kindness, achievement, or being a good citizen.  Those honoured are presented with a certificate from the head.  The pupils clearly grow in self-confidence and self-esteem.  Their pleasure is palpable and shared by all.  The netball team players felt special and self-confident when they were acknowledged and their results announced.  Opportunities in lessons such as circle time and PSCHE enable pupils to discover new experiences, develop their self-knowledge and consider their own feelings when reacting to situations in which they find themselves.  The wonder and joy experienced by Reception children, who had imaginatively created the beauty of jewels in Aladdin’s cave using marbles in play-dough, was an opportunity well taken by pupils who, as a result, continually develop their spiritual awareness.

2.44           Pupils have a clear moral sense and from the early years learn to make responsible, reasoned judgements on moral and ethical issues.  A parent of a Reception pupil commented that her daughter had a good understanding of how to behave and what was right and wrong.  Pupils of all ages respect school rules and are able to explain why they are necessary.  Respect for the law is fostered by visits from the community police officer.  Pupils consider ethical issues and participate in the Guild.  Visiting speakers are invited to explain their cause and pupils contribute regularly to the chosen charity.  Pupils display an appreciation of moral and social matters, for example when taking turns and sharing apparatus.  Year 4 hockey players showed proficient knowledge of basic rules, and proper sportsmanship throughout.  Staff set high standards and pupils respond positively.

2.45           Pupils’ social awareness is high and consistent with the school aim to foster girls’ sensitivity, tolerance and an acceptance of responsibility for themselves, others and their environment.  Pupils are taught to exercise self-discipline from Nursery onwards, encouraged by opportunities to take on simple tasks of responsibility.  The house system provides a vehicle for competition and camaraderie.  Girls in Year 6 perform their leadership roles efficiently and with confidence, and contribute well to the smooth running of the school.  Representatives on the school committee have duties both to their class and to the school.  Such roles give pupils an opportunity to contribute directly to school life and are greatly beneficial to pupils’ social development.  Pupils are well aware of public institutions, such as the police and local council.  The head is seeking ways to improve and develop pupils’ awareness of public institutions, including the Houses of Parliament.  Valuable experiences are provided by school productions, numerous visits and a residential course, where pupils learn to interact with each other and to show respect, tolerance and consideration.

2.46           Pupils have many opportunities to learn about and appreciate cultural traditions from their own and others’ backgrounds.  Year 5 pupils participate in the ‘Shakespeare for Kids’ programme and plans are in place for a summer 2007 visit of Opera Brava.  Listening in assembly, pupils appreciate fine music.  A recent ‘Decades Day’ in which girls dressed in fashionable clothes from different eras was enjoyed and celebrated British culture.

2.47           Through the curriculum, pupils become increasingly aware culturally.  For example, the RE scheme of work provides opportunities for insight into other faiths and cultures.  The school celebrates festivals from many different religions.  Speakers from several different faiths, for example the local Christian vicar, representatives of the local Presbyterian Brighton Mission and the Jewish rabbi, attend assembly.  In connection with their Kenyan geography topic, Year 1 pupils not only took part in ‘Omutugwa’, a version of Cinderella, but also, with the help of their parents, auctioned the props and artwork to raise money for supplies for needy African families.  Following the inspection of 2001, the school has strongly maintained the finding that ‘pupils have good opportunities to appreciate their own culture, that of the past, the continent and further afield.’

Senior School

2.48           In all years, pupils develop well morally, socially and culturally, and they acquire a satisfactory level of awareness of the spiritual dimension of life.  The school succeeds in promoting among its pupils tolerance and sensitivity towards others, leading to the high quality relationships that exist among the pupils themselves.

2.49           The school offers many opportunities for pupils to develop spiritual awareness.  It recognises that this goes beyond religious beliefs and encompasses each individual’s sense of self-worth.  Pupils show respect for those of all faiths and none.  Those who belong to a particular faith are encouraged to observe relevant festivals.  The spiritual life of the pupils is nurtured through RE and PSE lessons.  Pupils’ spiritual development is also central to teaching and learning in art: Year 7 girls looked with wonder at the patterns, structure and texture to be found in nature.  Assemblies, however, do not contribute sufficiently to pupils’ spiritual development.  Staff and pupils leading these assemblies approach spiritual issues too cautiously.

2.50           Pupils have a strong moral sense and readily distinguish right from wrong.  They discuss moral concerns in the course of the PSE programme and occasionally in formal debates.  Many ethical issues are also raised in lessons, especially in science, English, history, ICT, Latin and RE.   Following an assembly on Amnesty International, Year 11 RE pupils watched a videotape on human rights abuses before discussing what constitutes a ‘political prisoner’.

2.51           Pupils develop well socially.  The vast majority are responsible members of the school community.  From a young age, many contribute to the life of the school by holding positions of responsibility, eventually as officers (prefects) and team captains.  Others take part in the Best Listeners of Brighton Schools (BLOBS) scheme or, within the school, become peer support leaders.  The journalists and editorial team who produce the school newspaper take their roles seriously; they ensure that significant events and achievements are properly recorded and celebrated.  Through the house system, pupils engage with those in different year groups.  They enjoy participating in competitive activities, supporting others and developing a sense of fair play.  Residential trips, music tours and exchanges broaden social experience and foster independence.  All these provide opportunities to gain leadership skills, to grow in confidence and to develop a sense of purpose and self-worth.  The school does not, however, do enough to raise the self-esteem of all pupils and to cause them to have confidence in their own ability and judgment.

2.52           The ethos of the school encourages respect for different cultures.  Pupils explore their own culture through the curriculum and associated activities.  A significant minority of pupils in Years 10 to 13 learn more about other countries by attending Culture Vultures meetings.  The school has recently begun a programme of citizenship education, but for the moment pupils’ understanding of public institutions, services and the democratic process is limited.

Whole School

2.53           The school meets the regulatory requirements for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils [Standard 2].

The Quality of Teaching (Including Assessment)

2.54           Teaching in both the junior and senior sections of the school remains good.  It is occasionally excellent but sometimes unsatisfactory.  Teachers know their pupils well as individuals.  Several ins