Clarendon Academy praised as "welcoming and friendly" in June 2023 Ofsted inspection
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It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that we are able to share the findings from our successful Ofsted inspection, which took place in term six last year.
We remain a “Good” school, but from reading the report (which we highly encourage you to do) we believe we are a ‘Very Good’ school. This was our first inspection under the new Ofsted framework and we are delighted that we have been praised for not only providing a broad an ambitious curriculum for all pupils, but also for ensuring each and every one is well prepared for life beyond school.
All of our pupils follow the same high-quality and ambitious curriculum, with the inspectors noting that our leaders making decisions “considering first and foremost the impact upon disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.” The report highlighted that, as a school, we are able to accurately identify pupils needs and communicate these appropriately with the pupils themselves, their families and our staff to ensure that every pupil succeeds.
This report is the culmination of five years of hard work from leaders across both Clarendon and Acorn Education Trust. Since joining the Trust in 2018, there has been significant investment and development of our school, from infrastructure and curriculum to resources and staffing. Our shared values (respect, determination and excellence) have been central to everything we have done and we are now are now seeing positive results of this dedication:
- As of September, we are a school of over 1,000 students. Five years ago, when we joined Acorn Education Trust, the numbers on roll had slipped to just over 800. To be above 1,000 (and growing) is so pleasing.
- Our summer results are strong. We believe that our A Level results will put us among the top schools in Wiltshire for grades A*-C, with our average being a B! We also believe that our Sixth Form Vocational results will be some of the highest in the country.
- At GCSE we have again surpassed expectations and our students have achieved some of the results we have ever had. We will compare favourably with other local secondary schools.
We are not perfect, and we still have things to work on. But we are a growing school, with strong results and a glowing Ofsted report! We are jubilant and excited to keep developing and delivering a high-quality education for our pupils.
Clarendon Academy belongs to all of us and our students, parents, and staff all deserve to take immense pride in the report and all the wonderful things the inspectors have said about our school. Our pupils are what makes Clarendon so special and we are delighted that the report praises them so highly:
- “Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning in lessons”
- “Pupils are kind and respectful to others, including new arrivals to the school”
- “Pupils participate well in lessons and behave appropriately around the school site”
Having read lots of Ofsted reports from other schools, what strikes us the most is just how positive our report is. It really does praise our school, staff and students highly:
- “Staff know pupils well and have high expectations of them”
- “Pupils feel safe and cared for in this welcoming and friendly school”
- “Pupils learn to how to treat everyone equally and with respect”
- “The atmosphere in the school is calm and purposeful”
- “The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils”
- “Pupils are well prepared for life beyond the school”
- “The curriculum allows pupils to build their knowledge over time”
The line that absolutely stood out to us is “staff and pupils are proud of the school”. This, along with the fact we provide a “high quality education”, really sums up why we should all be so pleased with the school and how far we’ve come.
If you would like to contact us to discuss the report, please do not hesitate to do so.
The senior leadership team
