About Us

• Welcome Letter

• Aims & Values
• Disability Equality Scheme
• Exam Results
• Ofsted Inspection
• Online Prospectus
• Term Dates

School Policies

• Anti-Bullying Policy
• Bad Weather Policy
• Child Protection Policy
• Drug policy
• Internet Use Policy
• No Smoking Policy
• Teaching and Learning Policy
• Whole School Confidentiality Policy
• Whole School Food Policy
• Whole School Packed Lunch Policy

Ofsted Inspection

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“A very good school ….. many strengths ….. innovative ….. exceptional ….. excellent” Ofsted 2005

Additional Information Ofsted report 2005 in Acrobat format

Despite being a somewhat stressful experience, an OFSTED Inspection provides King Edward’s with an opportunity to compare itself against national benchmarks. The week of the inspection of course only allows the 19 inspectors a short exposure to the school, but their verdict – “The school provides a very good standard of education” – provides us all with the reassurance that King Edward’s is performing very successfully. On behalf of you all, the Governors would like to thank all the staff, the senior management team and the students for contributing to this success. We continually strive to do even better and so we will respond positively to the constructive suggestions in the report. However, I think all involved can be particularly proud of OFSTED’s remarks on the school’s ethos:

“Students have very good attitudes to their work. Often they ‘spark off’ each other and this infectious enthusiasm adds an extra vibrancy to lessons. They lead busy lives, taking full advantage of the excellence of the extra curricular and enrichment programmes the school provides. They are resourceful, good at finding things out for themselves and working independently. Students are well versed in assessing their own work to see how they are doing and good at assessing other’s work too. This is because of the school’s clear focus on the assessment for learning initiative.”

Elsewhere it is noted that gifted and talented students achieve well. King Edward’s is unusual because of the large size of its sixth form and here again the report applauds the standard of provision and the quality of teaching. The inspection is now behind us and we move on to the challenges of our newly conferred Arts College status to add to our Technology College status on the solid foundation of public recognition of being a very good school.

Dr Roger Vaughan, Chair of Governors

Relationships & Behaviour

• Very good relationships between teachers and students promote very good attitudes, confidence and motivation.
• Relationships are very strong; this results in a friendly, supportive learning community.
• Staff make great efforts to know students well.
• Relationships, attitudes and behaviour at all levels are very good, and play an important part in students achieving very well.

Extra Curricular Opportunities

• Students’ personal development is enhanced very well through outstanding enrichment activities and their own involvement in the life of the school and the community.
• Extra curricular provision and enrichment of the curriculum are excellent. There is a comprehensive and wonderful range of opportunities provided by a very committed teaching and support staff.
• The wide range of extra curricular activities provides very good opportunities to foster social skills. The outdoor education teacher and the Youth and Community programme extend these opportunities beyond the school day, providing challenge and new experiences. Students are enthusiastic and keen to support activities. They are willing to show initiative and to take responsibility.
• Students participate in the extensive opportunities provided by the school for active citizenship; the school council, the school radio station, peer counsellors, local democracy week and participation in several national conferences.
• The school is rightly proud of its musical achievements. Participation in the department’s many performing groups is a boost to achievement in music and to self-confidence.

Leadership & Management

• The Governing Body is impressively involved in the school’s strategic planning and as a result has a very clear picture of the school’s strengths and where it should go next. The Chair and his fellow governors are very committed to and supportive of the school, and deploy their considerable professional expertise very effectively in their committee roles.
• The Headteacher’s very good leadership has provided a vision of a curriculum for all that is well on the way to being realised through obtaining both Technology and Arts College status for the school. Her high aspirations in deliberately seeking out quality and experience have resulted in much expertise among her staff and the creation of teams that carry out their roles with commitment and effectively overall.
• A purposeful and focused senior management team.

Teaching & Learning

• Students have very good attitudes to their work. Often they ‘spark off’ each other and this infectious enthusiasm adds an extra vibrancy to lessons. They lead busy lives, taking full advantage of the excellence of the extra curricular and enrichment programmes the school provides.
• Students with special educational needs, the gifted and talented and those with English as an additional language are supported well so that they make similarly good progress to others.
• The school’s initiatives to raise boys’ achievement are leading to improvement.

Student Voice

• Consulting students and encouraging them to voice their opinions are important aspects of school life that are gathering momentum. The student council is a business-like forum, intent on making changes to help improve school life for students. it is supported well and is taken seriously by the Headteacher and staff. The quality of lunchtime food and improving the social areas of the school are currently topical issues.
• This year for the first time, students were included in the staff and governors’ strategic weekend conference, to put forward their views about school development. This was considered a success.
• The school is firmly committed to giving students a voice and, importantly, it listens and responds to their opinions.
• There are several useful avenues for them to express their points of view, including the school council and the Headteacher’s weekly meeting with senior students. This ensures their views are heard and responded to, if at all possible.
• The moral development of students if very good. Students have a wide variety of opportunities to contribute to the school and wider community and to take responsibility for the welfare of others.

Some comments about the VI Form

• Teachers’ subject knowledge and use of assessment are often very good and help students learn and achieve very well.
• Teaching is very good overall and students learn and achieve very well as a result. Students’ work is assessed very well.
• Achievement is very good overall because of very good teaching.
• Students with special educational needs are encouraged to join the sixth form. There is very good transition from the main school and continuity in their learning. They achieve well because they are monitored very well.
• Attitudes to learning and behaviour are very good. Students are very well motivated and have a mature and independent approach to their work. Students’ personal development is very good.

Across the school ……

• Most students are keen and enthusiastic learners who are proud of their school.
• They are resourceful, good at finding out things for themselves and working independently.
• Attitudes to learning and behaviour are very good. Students are very well motivated and have a mature and independent approach to their work. Students’ personal development is very good. Attendance and punctuality are good.
• Innovative curriculum leadership has resulted in a curriculum that includes a good range of courses and excellent enrichment opportunities that contribute to a very good quality of education.

Partnership with Parents

• Most parents are very supportive of the school and hold it in high regard. They rightly value the very good quality education the school provides. It is regularly oversubscribed, taking students from a wide area.
• There are very good links with parents; this school goes ‘the extra mile’ in order to reach them.

In Sport …..

• Extra curricular provision is excellent providing opportunities for all students, including those participating at the highest level. Participation by students in sport is excellent as there is a very wide choice of extra curricular sporting activities that are well attended.

Care and Guidance

• Care for the individual is characterised by the very good systems for helping students settle in to life in Year 9, when they move from middle schools. These systems help to ensure students carry on their learning when they arrive, in the knowledge that niggles and worries have been answered.
• The Student Support Area (SSA) provides a number of very good support systems,tailored carefully to meet students’ individual health, welfare and pastoral needs.
• It is in the school’s mentoring and academic guidance systems where there is very innovative and imaginative practice.
• The school cares very well for students’ health and well-being. There is a clear undertaking here to educate the ‘whole’ child that translates into very strong pastoral support and guidance.
• Staff take time and care to get to know new Year 9 students and their parents, helping them to feel at ease with school procedures; this gives them a good start in the school.
• Students receive very good guidance about course choices, higher education and employment options. The advice received from a careers specialist, specially employed to guide sixth form students, is highly valued.

Community Links

• The way the school influences and works with and for the community is exceptional.
• The school holds a special place in the local community for its history, traditions and deservedly strong reputation for a high quality education.
• This is a school steeped in traditions, holding a special place at the heart of the community. It is a school where students, past and present, hold fond memories of their time here, maintaining strong links long after they have left.
• The excellence of the school’s role in the community is a major factor in its success. The school recognises that its relationship with the community it serves is pivotal to all it does. Links are far reaching, both in town and extending to the wider learning community, including businesses large and small.
• The school is at the forefront of some very good initiatives working with other schools to improve educational practice both locally and internationally. This is through its responsibilities as a Leading Edge school and its specialist school status.