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The sixth form was inspected by a team of fifteen inspectors,
led by David Potter. The summary report focuses on subjects and aspects of the
sixth form. The full report is available from the school.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIXTH FORM
The sixth form of this large comprehensive school has about
250 students and has remained stable at that size for several years. About
seventy per cent of the students from Year 11 in Theale Green School join the
sixth form and make up the great majority of its population; about ten students
join from other schools per year. Since results at GCSE are above average, most
students embark on advanced level courses, most of them for two years.
HOW GOOD THE SIXTH FORM IS
This is a very good sixth form with many excellent features,
and is highly cost-effective. Outstanding leadership, very good teaching,
excellent care for students and exceptional resource management combine to
enable students to learn well, make good progress and achieve high standards.
Teaching is excellent, very good or good in eighty per cent of lessons and is
never less than satisfactory. The curriculum for advanced-level students is very
broad and the range of extra-curricular opportunities excellent.
Strengths
· Standards achieved
in AS/A-level and vocational examinations are above national averages.
Results are particularly good in several subjects: art, English,
French, geography and theatre studies and in all vocational subjects
studied.
· Students are
mature, confident and hard-working, and have excellent attitudes to work
and school.
· Teaching quality
is very good, and promotes good learning and progress.
· The curriculum is
very broad for those taking advanced courses, and includes an excellent
range of additional and extra-curricular activities, many of them run in
conjunction with the community.
· Provision for
students’ personal, especially their moral and social, development is very
good.
· The care and
support provided for students is of a very high standard.
· The leadership
provided by the headteacher, governors and senior sixth form staff is of
the highest quality, combining clear vision and values with very effective
management of change.
· Financial
management is exceptional, deploying all available resources in accordance
with the principles of best value to realise the ambitions of the sixth
form.
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What could be improved
·1 How the outcomes
of evaluation and assessment are used to promote a further rise in
standards.
·2 The provision of
intermediate level courses, to enable students of more modest attainment
to choose from a range.
·3 The use of ICT in
AS/A-level courses to enhance students’ learning.
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The areas for improvement will form the basis of the
governors’ action plan, which will be sent to all parents and carers of students
at the school.
THE QUALITY OF PROVISION IN INDIVIDUAL CURRICULUM AREAS
The table below shows overall judgements about the provision
in the subjects and courses inspected. Judgements are based mainly on the
quality of teaching and learning and how well students achieve. Not all sixth
form subjects were inspected.
| Curriculum area |
Overall judgements about provision, and comment |
| Mathematics |
Satisfactory: results have improved to well above the
national average this year, having been well below it; current work is
average. Teaching is satisfactory. |
| Biology |
Good: A-level results are around the national average
and AS results above them. Teaching is good and the subject is popular. |
| Physics |
Good: results have been around the national average
with recent improvement and a high proportion of top grades. Teaching is
good. |
| Business Studies |
Good: results are improving after a period of
decline, and current work is above average. Teaching and the monitoring of
students’ work are good. |
| Computer Science |
Good: results are above average and improving, and
teaching is generally good. |
| Curriculum area |
Overall judgements about provision, and comment |
| Physical Education |
Very good: students achieve very well and make very
good progress. Teaching is very good. |
| Leisure & Tourism
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Very good: pass rates and quality of grades are
consistently high. Students make very good progress from GCSE. Teaching is
very good. |
| Health & Social
Care |
Good: both results and teaching are good. |
| Art |
Excellent, with very high standards of work and
examination results and consistently very good teaching |
| Music |
Good: exam results are satisfactory, but there is
rapid current improvement as a result of better organisation and planning,
and consistently very good teaching. |
| History |
Good: results are generally above average and
teaching is good and often better. There have been many improvements since
the last inspection. |
| English |
Very good: results are consistently above average and
teaching is very good. |
| French |
Good: examination results are consistently above
average and teaching is good and often very good. |
Inspectors make comments in the range excellent, very good,
good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, poor, very poor
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SIXTH FORM
| Aspect |
Comment |
| How well students
are guided and supported |
Academic support and guidance for students are good and
still improving. The recent introduction of an academic tutoring programme
is beginning to enable students to understand their strengths and
weaknesses, and to set targets for improvement. Information about courses,
and induction arrangements for entry into the sixth form are very good. This
is an inclusive sixth form which focuses on the needs of the individual
student. |
| Effectiveness of
the leadership and management of the sixth form |
Leadership and management of the sixth form, both by the
governors and headteacher and by the heads of sixth form who lead it on a
day-to-day basis, are excellent. Vision and direction are clear, and the
underlying values of equality, care and ambition are reflected throughout
the life and work of the sixth form. Evaluation of performance and planning
for its improvement are improving. The use of performance data to raise
attainment is at a relatively early stage. The sixth form receives its fair
share of resources, and these are deployed to best effect. |
STUDENTS’ VIEWS OF THE SIXTH FORM
| What students
like about the sixth form |
What they feel
could be improved |
·0 the respect they
are accorded by staff, who treat them as adults, and the good
relationships throughout the sixth form;
·1 the opportunities
to take responsibility;
·2 the broad range
of subjects and extra-curricular opportunities on offer;
·3 the good teaching
and guidance to improve they receive;
·4 the help provided
to settle them into sixth form life and work.
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·5 information they
receive about how well they are doing;
·6 the quality and
amount of guidance received from the local careers service;
·7 the work
facilities, including access to computers in the sixth form centre,
available to them;
·8 the social
facilities available in the centre.
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Inspectors are in full agreement with students’ views.
Relationships and opportunities in the sixth form are excellent, students are
well taught and supported, and the induction arrangements are very good. There
is a real sense of pride amongst the sixth form about their school and how it
provides for them. The head of sixth form works very hard to respond quickly to
any issues raised. Access to specialist careers advice is inadequate and should
be extended. Sixth form facilities, although satisfactory for a school of this
size, should be improved.
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