An Outstanding School
I am delighted to report that, following our inspection by Ofsted on 19th October 2006, the final report has now been published. The overall finding of the Ofsted team was that "Lord Lawson offers an outstanding education for all its students". The Grade 1 for 'Overall Effectiveness of the School' places us in the top10% of all schools. Even more remarkably, we were awarded Grade 1 for all major areas in the Ofsted framework, namely:
- Effectiveness and efficiency of the sixth form
- Achievement and standards
- Personal development and well-being
- Teaching and learning
- Curriculum and other activities
- Care, guidance and support
- Leadership and management
The Ofsted team indicated that we should continue to focus on raising standards in English and Maths. The standards reached by learners was graded 2 (good) and the behaviour and attendance of learners were also graded 2.
Clearly, this is a major achievement for the school and all those associated with it. There will be only a tiny minority of schools which are graded 1 in all areas (probably as low as 1%). We can take great pride and satisfaction from this outcome. We will also, of course, work on our development plan to ensure that we are not in any way complacent about our achievements and that we continue to drive up standards for all our students.
Finally, I would like to place on record my thanks to all the staff who work closely together as a team; governors who provide support and challenge (recognised in the report), and parents who support both the school and their children. Of course, the main contributors to our success are our students, whom I have thanked and congratulated in assemblies since the inspection.
To read the full report please click here.