Inspectors concerned about Highworth school's progress

Key findings from the inspection in March said the progress of pupils, particularly the most able pupils and disadvantaged pupils, had declined and was now below the national average in 2017.

It added that disadvantaged pupils did not make suitable progress because leaders didn’t offer them the right support and teachers didn’t have high enough expectations for the most able students who often lacked sufficient challenges.

In addition, the report said leaders were too slow to respond to the decline of standards since 2016 and “their actions did little to stem a further decline in 2017.”

In a statement headteacher, Andy Steel said: “The School is obviously very disappointed with the outcome of the recent Ofsted report but we are very confident that we can take the necessary actions to respond quickly and positively to the points raised by the inspection.”

“Many of the areas for improvement had previously been highlighted by the school and we have already made a strong start on the journey to tackle them.”

In a letter to parents he said accepted the result but thought the decision was too narrow and only looked at exam results of year 6 students.

“A different conclusion would have been reached if the inspection had taken place after this summer’s exams, “ he said. “We are looking forward to some excellent results from our Year 11 students.”

Offering further reassurance to parents about the progress of pupils, he wrote: “The school has been working hard this year to take action on areas such as making lessons more challenging and supporting the progress of disadvantaged students.”

The report noted that personal development, behaviour and welfare was good overall, and pupils conducted themselves well and enjoyed positive relationships with teachers.

In the school’s last inspection in 2013 it was rated good with some outstanding features.