STAFF, students, governors and parents at South Gloucestershire's only all-age academy are celebrating a successful first Ofsted report.
Inspectors said Yate International Academy, which has 844 students aged four to 18, was a "caring and inclusive" school where standards had improved.
The secondary academy opened in September 2009 as part of The Ridings Federation, replacing the council-run King Edmund Community School. Two years later it incorporated the neighbouring Woodlands Primary School. The academy is due to move into £16 million new buildings this summer.
A team from the learning watchdog visited Yate for two days last month.
The inspectors said the academy's secondary provision was now good.
"Every single Year 11 student gained five or more GCSE passes last year – an impressive feat," lead inspector Chris Russell said in his report.
The sixth form was rated satisfactory but was said to be improving quickly, while the unit for children with hearing impairment was judged as outstanding.
"The primary provision is now securely satisfactory. It has improved rapidly in the eight months since it became part of the academy," Mr Russell noted.
"The academy's improvement is the result of clear and very effective leadership," the report said.
"The academy is in a strong position to sustain and continue its improvement. This is a strong and united team of staff, with very good morale."
Ofsted said behaviour at the academy had improved significantly, pupils felt very safe at school and attendance levels had risen.
"Good provision is made for the relatively large number of pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable. Key to the academy's success with these pupils is the very effective mentoring system and the very close partnerships with parents and carers," the report said.
Ofsted also noted that the academy's curriculum met the needs of students well.
To improve further, the inspectors said, the academy should further improve primary teaching; ensure work for higher-ability pupils was hard enough and make further improvements to the sixth form.
Ofsted was impressed with the way in which the chief executive principal Dr Rob Gibson focused on strategic and financial issues, leaving the principal Roger Gilbert to concentrate on teaching and pupil achievement.
Mr Gilbert said: "This is a very strong inspection report. The academy's staff worked extremely hard to ensure continuous progression and improvement across all stages of education, and I am thrilled to see this effort feed through into our Ofsted results. This accolade reinforces Ofsted's confidence in our all-through academy and is timely as we transfer into our new academy buildings in July."
Dr Gibson said: "The sentiments expressed in the Ofsted report not only reflect the hard work and commitment of all the staff but are a validation of the good educational provision for pupils and students against a backdrop of rapidly improving results."
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