Trinity praised in first inspection report
Independent schools inspectors have praised Yorkshire's first Academy for making good progress towards raising standards just 14 months after it opened.
On the four point scale of outstanding, good, satisfactory and inadequate, OfSTED inspectors awarded Trinity Academy in Thorne a ‘good' rating following their first monitoring visit in November 2006 and published this week on the OfSTED website.
The inspectors met with the Principal and other staff and students, scrutinised documents, observed lessons and other aspects of Academy life and took into account the findings of surveys of staff, students and parents.
Andrew Bennett, HM Inspector of Schools, said in his report: "The immediate impact of the Academy has been to improve standards and raise the expectations and aspirations of staff and students."
He noted that the promotion of good behaviour had been a key priority of the Academy and had enabled "teachers to teach and students to learn more effectively".
He said: "Students confirm that there has been a significant improvement in behaviour since the Academy opened and they appreciate the benefits of the focus on good behaviour.
"Students are proud of their new surroundings and facilities; those interviewed were enthusiastic about new opportunities the Academy offers them."
He praised students for their politeness and courtesy to visitors and said the Academy's Christian ethos, underpinned by its core values, developed well students' spiritual, moral and social awareness.
He said the curriculum was broad and balanced and met the students' needs, that a wide range of extra-curricular activities was offered and that expectations of both staff and students was high.
Mr Bennett said much was still to be done "in eradicating the residual underachievement that is a legacy of former inadequacies in provision" but acknowledged that work done during the transition year from the predecessor school to the Academy had raised attainment at key stages 3 and 4.
He said there had been a significant increase in the proportion of 14-year-olds achieving expected levels in English, maths and science and that the proportion of GCSE students gaining five good passes had exceeded targets.
The inspector praised the Academy's impact upon the wider community, highlighting positive relationships with Hatfield Visual Arts College and Doncaster LEA, and noting the reports received that student behaviour outside school had been welcomed by the local Thorne community, including the police.
Academy Principal Ian Brew, who was praised by the inspectors for his leadership, said: "We are delighted to have received such a positive appraisal from the OfSTED inspectors who have endorsed our policies and recognised the effort that has been put in by staff. The vast majority of our students are keen to learn and appreciate what the Academy offers them. I would like to thank them and their parents for the way they have responded to their new school.
"We are a young Academy and clearly there is more to be done to improve the standards of teaching and learning, which is our priority as we move forward. The inspector praised the effectiveness of my colleagues in senior management and their capacity to drive further improvement and so I have every confidence that the team here can continue the progress already made.
"This first independent assessment of the Academy recognises that we have laid some firm foundations for the future and this gives us further motivation to make Trinity Academy a centre of educational excellence. It is, of course, a huge boost for everyone's morale that the reservations of many when we opened have proved to be unfounded."
The inspector's report noted that there are 1,207 students at Trinity, including 126 in the Sixth Form. Just under one in six students has learning difficulties or disabilities and two per cent have a statement of special educational need.
For further information and a copy of the report, please click here.