Under-fire school on road to recovery

The Grange Secondary School, Harlescott, which is part of the Shrewsbury Academies Trust, was inspected by Ofsted over two days in March, and has been assessed as "requiring improvement" in the inspectors' report.

Headteacher Rob Hatch said he was delighted with the latest outcome, which he said recognises the progress being made by the school.

The school was placed in special measures following an inspection three years ago, but Mr Hatch said he believed the school would build on its recent strides forward.

He said: "There is no doubt that the Grange has had a bumpy ride over recent years which culminated in the school being placed in special measures.

"So to have seen such a marked improvement across pretty much the whole spectrum is very gratifying.

"The inspectors acknowledge that we are on a journey of improvement and we are well aware that there is still a long way to go until we reach the level we want to be at.

"However, we are confident that we have the structure, skills and positive attitude of both staff and children in place to see further improvements in both exam results and future Ofsted reports – these are exciting times."

Ofsted's report highlighted the improvement at the school, stating: "The headteacher and the executive principal of the academy trust have successfully conveyed a clear message to teachers and students that good progress is the minimum expectation.

"There is early evidence of the impact of these raised expectations in current students' work. As a result, students' achievement is improving but is not yet good."

Inspectors also found that "the quality of teaching has improved as a result of robust tackling of underperformance and carefully targeted support of teachers through an intensive programme of professional development".

The school was rated as "requires improvement" in three sections – leadership and management, quality of teaching, and achievement of pupils.

It was found to be good in the behaviour and safety of pupils category.

Inspectors did say that despite the progress "attainment is not as high as it should be" and good academic outcomes have not yet been secured for all students in the school.

They added: "Teaching requires improvement because it is not having a strong enough impact on accelerating students' progress, particularly in mathematics in Key Stage 3 and in science."

Principal Geoff Pettengell, executive principal of Shrewsbury Academies Trust, said he was satisfied with the progress the school is making.

He said: "The school has come a long way in a comparatively short space of time and a huge amount of credit should go to the staff and pupils for the way they have responded to the changes which have been made there."