Excellent results, a national award and now an Ofsted report that praises outstanding leadership, exemplary methods of safeguarding, an innovative curriculum and significantly above average attainment.
The continued success of The Barlow RC High School in Didsbury has been recognised in a recent Ofsted Report. Inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education who visited the school on 16th and 17th October 2012, praised pupils, staff and governors and stated that ‘under passionate, visionary leadership, the school is going from strength-to-strength.’
Inspectors were so impressed with standards across the board; they upped the school’s grading to ‘Good’. They added that The Barlow would achieve the ‘outstanding’ status in the near future, by following recommendations set out to them.
Headteacher Claire McCarron said, “We are delighted the Inspectors recognised that the school has improved rapidly in all aspects since our last inspection only 18 months ago. It is a great testament to the hard work of staff and students alike. We are securely on track and just one short step away from becoming an outstanding school; a goal that we are determined to achieve. We have already implemented additional changes to deliver the areas of further improvement identified in the report.”
Inspectors reported that The Barlow is innovative in developing the curriculum with attainment significantly above average. Pupils achieve well because teaching is consistently good. They stated that behaviour is also consistently good; outstanding in some lessons and that The Barlow has exemplary methods of safeguarding pupils. Bullying is not tolerated and staff at the school go the extra mile to ensure all children are safe and happy.
It has been an excellent year for The Barlow with GCSE results at the Didsbury school rising significantly for the fourth year in succession. In 2012, 95% of the pupils achieved at least 5 A*- C grades, with 74% including English and Maths. These outstanding results placed The Barlow yet again as one of the highest performing secondary schools in Manchester. In July 2012, The Barlow also received national recognition from The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) for achieving some of the fastest improving GCSE results in the country.
Paul Chidgey, Chairman of the Governing Body at The Barlow added, “The new, rigorous Ofsted framework raised the bar, yet the report confirms progress at The Barlow is exceptional. Alongside the excellent exam results and our award, it is a wonderful reflection of the hard work and enthusiasm of all the staff who Ofsted state, ‘share the same vision to make the school even better and know how they are going to achieve this goal.’”
The full Ofsted report can be viewed at www.ofsted.gov.uk
For more information please contact:
Kathryn Carr
Marketing & Communications Manager
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 0161 445 8053