The Ofsted Report 2002
►Information about the school
►How good the school is
►What the school does well
►What could be improved
►How the school has improved since its last inspection
►Information about the school
Willowgarth High School serves the former mining village of Grimethorpe and the surrounding district. It is a small secondary school which educates 717 boys and girls in the 11-16 age range. Only one pupil is from an ethnic minority background and has English as an additional Language. All pupils are fluent in English and none needs special help. Many of the children are from socially and economically disadvantaged areas and the locality ranks amongst the poorest 10 per cent of the entire European Union. The proportion claiming a free school meal is above the national average. An above average proportion of the children is on the school's register of special educational needs and the proportion of those with formal statements of need is also above average. The great majority of these children have moderate or severe learning difficulties, emotional or behavioural difficulties. The pupils' overall attainment on joining Year 7 is well below the national average. The school receives considerable help from the local Education Action Zone (EAZ) and from the Excellence in Cities initiative. Social and educational inclusion receive high priority as does partnership with parents and with the school's community. Distinctive features associated with the EAZ are specially funded curricular arrangements for literacy and numeracy, and extension classes for the more able pupils and those who are gifted or talented. Two-thirds of Year 11 pupils remain in education or training post - 16. Pupil mobility is quite high: 29 pupils left and 21 joined at times other than Year 7 entry during the course of the past year. Back to top►How good the school is
This is an effective school which aims to provide an equally good education for all of its pupils regardless of their background or ability. Standards achieved by the oldest pupils are below average but the GCSE results are improving. The teaching enables pupils to achieve well in Years 10 and 11, although the girls achieve higher standards than the boys. The school's success is mainly due to its purposeful leadership and management, and to the dedication of the teaching staff. The school is efficient and gives good value for money. Back to top►What the school does well
●The teaching is particularly good in Years 10 - 11.●By Year 11, the most successful subjects are art and design, design and technology, history, physical education and GNVQ courses.
●The provision for pupils with special educational needs is good.
●The leadership of the school is very good and the school is well managed.
●The more able pupils and those who are gifted or talented receive effective extra tuition.
●The school looks after its pupils well.
●The school provides a very good and wide range of extra-curricular activities.
●The school benefits greatly from its association with the EAZ and other external agencies. Back to top
►What could be improved
► Basic skills of literacy and numeracy need to be tackled more urgently and consistently.► Boys are not achieving as well as girls, especially at GCSE.
► The accommodation is in poor condition,
The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors' action plan. Back to top
