School turning around fortunes

A SCHOOL once condemned as failing has turned around its fortunes since converting to an academy, says Ofsted.

Inspectors from the education watchdog visited Hans Price Academy in Weston-super-Mare last month. Their monitoring report said the academy was making good progress since it opened a year ago.

The academy, part of the Cabot Learning Federation, replaced Wyvern Community School, where pupils' performance was significantly below national benchmarks, with only 23 per cent gaining five or more A* to C GCSE grades including English and maths. The academy expects to see twice as many reach that standard when this year's results are published next month.

Inspectors said that rectifying the legacy of underachievement in all year groups has been a priority since the academy opened, with a relentless focus put on raising students' skills in literacy and numeracy.

As teaching steadily improved the rate of pupils' learning and progress was accelerating, they said.

Expectations of work and behaviour were now high and rigorous tracking and review processes ensured work was monitored regularly.

The report also said pupils felt safe and were positive about the changes made.

Inspectors said that teaching staff had taken control of behavioural issues in the classroom, reducing the amount of time students were sent out of lessons.

They added that before the opening of the academy, which has 738 pupils on its roll, attendance was poor and children were dissatisfied with the quality of lessons.

But they now say that most teachers are more enthusiastic and that there was a greater level of respect between pupils and staff.

Inspectors also praised principal Armando Di-Finizio, saying: "The impact of the extremely effective leadership is clearly seen in the improvements in attendance, behaviour, attainment and progress."

Inspectors said there was still room for improvement and future priorities should include making pupils more active participants in lessons, letting them take responsibility for their learning, and increasing opportunities for higher-achieving youngsters to work independently.

Mr Di-Finizio said: "What we have achieved in one year has been tremendous and a real testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, the hard work and self-belief of our students and the huge amount of support we have from parents."

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