School report

Ofsted

Prince Henry's High School

Victoria Avenue, Evesham, WR11 4QH

Inspection dates 30 April—1 May 2013

Previous inspection: Overall effectiveness This inspection:	Not previously inspected Outstanding	1
Achievement of pupils	Outstanding	1
Quality of teaching	Outstanding	1
Behaviour and safety of pupils	Outstanding	1
Leadership and management	Outstanding	1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.

■ The school provides an exceptionally high quality of education for its students. They make outstanding progress in their academic and personal development.
■ Teachers have very high expectations of students and develop excellent working relationships in the classroom. Students have very positive attitudes towards their learning.
■ Teachers make sure work is well matched to students' needs, enabling them to gain skills, knowledge and understanding rapidly. Very occasionally students are not given enough opportunities to learn without the help of the teacher and so they do not make quite as much progress as they could.
■ Students are very proud of their school. Their behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary.

■ Students feel safe and have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe.
■ The sixth form is outstanding and students make excellent progress on their AS-level and A-level courses. Students receive first-rate information, advice and guidance, which help them to make well-informed decisions about future employment, education and training.
■ The headteacher is very ably supported by his senior leadership team. School leaders are relentless in their drive for improvement in all parts of the school's work.
■ The very experienced governing body is exceptionally effective. Governors provide both support and challenge for the school and are committed to its continued improvement.

Information about this inspection

■ Inspectors observed 44 lessons, including joint observations with members of the senior leadership team. In addition, inspectors made short visits to other lessons, observed a school assembly and scrutinised students' work.
■ Meetings were held with groups of students, the headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team, heads of subject departments, year leaders, teachers, members of the governing body, and the school improvement partner.
■ Inspectors scrutinised a variety of school documents, including the school's self-evaluation, the school development plans, behaviour records, safeguarding records, governing body documents, and documents relating to the management of teachers' performance.
■ Inspectors also considered the views expressed in 66 questionnaires returned by school staff, along with the 70 responses submitted by parents to the online Parent View survey.

Inspection team

Keith Brown, Lead inspector
Rosemary Barnfield Additional Inspector
Kerin Jones Additional Inspector
Mary Le Breuilly Additional Inspector
Steven Cartlidge Additional Inspector

Full report

Information about this school

■ The school is larger than the average-sized secondary school.
■ The school converted to become an academy school on 1 April 2011. The predecessor school of the same name was judged to be outstanding when last inspected by Ofsted.
■ The current headteacher took up post in September 2012.
■ Students come from a wide geographical area, including Evesham town and the surrounding villages.
■ In September 2012, Year 9 students were admitted from eight different middle schools and secondary schools.
■ The proportion of students for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional funding for those, in this school, who are known to be eligible for free school meals and the very few looked after by the local authority), is well below average.
■ The proportion of students receiving extra support through school action is well below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or through a statement of special educational needs is below average.
■ The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for the attainment and progress of students by the end of Year 11.
■ A very small number of students are taught in alternative provision away from the school site at Wallace House Youth Centre, South Worcestershire College, Pershore College, The Youth Development Centre, Worcester and The Vocational College.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Refine teaching in the minority of lessons where it is less than outstanding by giving students more opportunities to learn actively and independently.

Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils is outstanding

■ Students join the school in Year 9 with levels of attainment in English and mathematics which are typically around average. They make outstanding progress and attainment at the end of Year 11 is high. The proportion of students who gained five or more GCSE grades at A*- C, including English and mathematics, in 2012 was well above average.
■ Use of early-entry GCSE examinations in mathematics and science for carefully selected students has been very effective in improving their attainment. Early-entry has also raised these students' self-esteem and their belief that they can succeed.
■ Students' skills in reading are developing very rapidly. They enjoy reading and they read widely. The school works exceptionally well to ensure that students' reading, writing, communication and mathematics skills are applied and reinforced appropriately across different subjects and in tutor time.
■ Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to other students because staff have identified students' individual needs early and arranged the right additional help. Teachers and teaching assistants support students expertly, providing challenge and encouragement and helping them with subject-specific vocabulary.
■ The school is making very effective use of its pupil premium funding. Extra staffing, one-to-one tuition and funding for additional educational resources, for example, are helping students to make rapid and sustained progress. As a result, the one and half GCSE grade gap in English and mathematics between these students and their classmates in 2012 is now closing very quickly.
■ The welfare and progress of the very small number of students following off-site courses is monitored carefully. Students attend regularly and their needs are met through very well tailored support.
■ Students make excellent progress in the school's large and well-established sixth form, with many of them exceeding challenging targets in 2012. Results at A level are consistently well above average and consequently the vast majority of students go onto their first choice of university, training or employment.

The quality of teaching is outstanding

■ Teaching meets the needs of the students extremely well and enables them to make outstanding progress. Teachers ensure that lessons really motivate and enthuse students. They convey very high expectations for students' effort, behaviour and the presentation of their work, and use examples from everyday life to focus learning.
■ Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and explain very clearly what they want students to do. They create an exceptionally positive climate in the classroom that encourages students to succeed and to share in one another's successes. Teachers carefully set work to challenge students of different abilities.
■ Lesson activities are expertly planned and work is carefully modified for disabled students and those with special educational needs. On a very few occasions, teachers miss opportunities for students to learn actively and without direct adult input and this slows their progress.
■ The marking of students' work is thorough. Teachers praise high-quality work appropriately and provide clear guidance for improvement. Students assess their own work maturely and accurately.
■ Teachers use questioning very skilfully to promote students' thinking. In an outstanding Year 10 English lesson, for example, students read out loud their work on ‘persuading an audience'. The teacher's questioning quickly helped the class to improve their writing.
■ Teaching in the sixth form is outstanding. Teachers ensure that students understand key subject ideas in the level of depth that will enable them to achieve the higher grades. Students take responsibility for monitoring their own progress against personal targets and collaborate well in helping each other to achieve.

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

■ The students' excellent behaviour contributes to the exceptionally purposeful, calm atmosphere in the school. Their behaviour is self-regulated, rather than through rules imposed on students. Students' own expectations of what outstanding behaviour means are high and they work very hard to live up to these.
■ Students take great pride in the school, have highly positive attitudes to learning and are very keen to do their best in class. The vast majority of parents and carers agree that their children are safe and happy in school and are very positive about behaviour in the school.
■ Students say bullying is very rare but if there are any incidents, they are dealt with quickly and effectively. Students are aware of the different types of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying and cyber bullying, and know what to do if it occurs.
■ The school makes every effort to provide a safe and secure environment that is valued and appreciated by everyone. Students display an excellent understanding of the issues relating to safety. They talk very confidently about how they would keep themselves safe in a variety of situations, such as using the internet and social networking sites.
■ The school's robust actions ensure that students' attendance is above average. They arrive at lessons punctually.
■ Sixth form students receive outstanding information, support and guidance. They make an excellent contribution to the life of the school, for example on the School Council, as prefects, or as mentors to younger students.

The leadership and management are outstanding

■ The headteacher and senior leaders provide excellent leadership. Governors and staff are very proud of the school and are fully committed to its success. There is an obvious determination to ensure that all students achieve the highest standards they can.
■ Self-evaluation is very well focused and accurately identifies the priorities for the school. The school development plan sets out clearly how the school intends to reach its very ambitious targets.
■ Improvements in teaching since the last inspection have been achieved by an exceptionally rigorous programme of lesson monitoring, together with very well focused professional development. Teachers are held accountable for the progress of students they teach, and senior, subject and year leaders for their areas of influence. There is a clear link between performance and salary progression.
■ Leaders are meticulous in their tracking and analysis of students' progress, so that any underachievement is quickly spotted and effective support is put in place.
■ The leadership and management of the sixth form are excellent. The school very rigorously addresses any slight dips in the performance of AS-level and A-level subject areas, so that students' achievement is consistently outstanding.
■ The very wide range of GCSE, AS-level and A-level subjects offered meets students' needs exceptionally well in Key Stage 4 and in the sixth form. There are also a number of work-related options available, which foster greater student enjoyment. Students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very effectively promoted by a very broad range of arts, drama, music, Duke of Edinburgh Award, science and sports activities, as well as by visits and visitors.
■ The school commissions the support it needs very effectively. For example, the school improvement adviser, an independent consultant, has provided well-targeted support for the school's leaders. Governors say they value the local authority's safeguarding training.

■ The governance of the school:

- Governors are very rigorously holding the school to account. They have an accurate view of how well the school is doing in relation to similar schools and where there is even the smallest room for further improvement. Governors have a deep insight into the quality of teaching. They ensure that the use of additional funds from the pupil premium improves the achievement of the students entitled to it. The governing body oversees the management of finance and resources expertly and ensures that the salary progression of staff is justified. Governors rigorously check safeguarding practice, and as a result, safeguarding procedures meet current legal requirements.

What inspection judgements mean

School
Grade	Judgement	Description
Grade 1	Outstanding	An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment.
Grade 2	Good	A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils' needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment.
Grade 3	Requires improvement	A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection.
Grade 4	Inadequate	A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school's leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

School details

Unique reference number	136469
Local authority	N/A
Inspection number	413334

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Type of school	Academy converter
School category	Maintained
Age range of pupils	13-18
Gender of pupils	Mixed
Gender of pupils in the sixth form	Mixed
Number of pupils on the school roll	1247
Of which, number on roll in sixth form	334
Appropriate authority	The governing body
Chair	Steve Butcher
Headteacher	Anthony Evans
Date of previous school inspection	Not previously inspected
Telephone number	01386 765588
Fax number	01386 760111
Email address	enquiries@princehenrys.worcs.sch.uk

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe'.

Piccadilly Gate

Store St

Manchester

M1 2WD

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

Prince Henry's Higamh School, Evesh