Inspection reports

St. Peter’s is an outstanding Catholic school.

The headteacher provides inspired and dynamic leadership. Supported by an experienced senior leadership team which shares his conviction on the value of Catholic education, he leads a community where Christian principles and the importance of each individual are paramount.

Every child matters here and the Catholic ethos of the school supports and develops this mantra.

Pastoral care is outstanding, universally recognised by parents and pupils alike.

This is an inclusive and diverse community where each and all are valued and where the school is proactive in meeting the needs of its members.

Pupils behave well while excellent relationships reflect the impact the Mission Statement has on daily life.

Transition arrangements are excellent.

Learners work well and the mutual respect shown by and for teachers leads to very good working relationships in the classroom.

Lessons are well planned and are delivered at a pace suited to the ability of the students.

The leadership and management of the Catholic life of the school are judged to be outstanding by the school and the inspector.

The Religious Education curriculum is outstanding.

Leadership and management of curriculum Religious Education is outstanding.

Learners are attentive and pray with respect.

St Peter's is an outstanding school, where students from a wide range of backgrounds achieve well.

This good achievement is the result of the good teaching and excellent care, guidance and support that the students receive.

The innovative curriculum meets the needs of the students extremely well and also makes a strong contribution to their positive achievement.

Students enjoy their lessons.

Students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress in their lessons and achieve well.

The school is at the forefront of innovative curriculum practice.

Parents' belief that the school provides a safe environment supports the inspection team's view that the school gives strong support to the welfare of its students.

Teaching is lively and support is timely, well placed and helpful in accelerating learning.

This very inclusive school makes a good contribution to promoting community cohesion.

The school engages well with parents and carers through its website and through newsletters, and parents feel that their views are listened to.

The excellent curriculum is well designed and caters very well for the range of needs, interests and abilities of students in the school. It is a key factor in students' raised attainment, above average attendance and below average exclusions.

Students for whom English is an additional language, including those at an early stage of learning the language , are very well supported and, as a result, they make good, and in some cases outstanding progress.

Students are very confident in the school's processes for ensuring their safety. They know who they can turn to if they have a problem and believe that school staff respond very well when any incident of bullying occurs.

Students respond well to the school's many activities that promote business and enterprise skills, they make good progress in their literacy, numeracy and ICT skills, and also attend well.

The quality of provision to promote equalities is outstanding.

The school provides excellent pastoral care and guidance.

The curriculum is highly relevant to students’ needs and interests and promotes equality of opportunity outstandingly well.

The school makes outstanding progress with pupils who have a learning difficulty and/or disability, including those with statements of educational need.

Outstanding national and international achievements in basketball, football and drama productions.

St Peter’s is a good school with some outstanding features, in which its pupils feel happy, valued and very well cared for.

The leadership of the headteacher is inspirational and he is supported by an outstanding senior team.

The quality of teaching and learning is good and a significant proportion is outstanding. GCSE results have risen markedly over the past three years because of this.

In St Peter's RC High School, pupils thrive within a caring, safe yet vibrant environment
and parents are very positive about what the school does for their sons and daughters.

St Peter’s is a good Catholic school with some outstanding features.

Leadership of the school is outstanding with valued input from the governing body whose members, enthusiastically led by the chair, play an active part in promoting high standards academically, spiritually and pastorally.

Pupil care is outstanding and transition arrangements are comprehensive.

Learners like their school. They are proud of its multi-cultural nature and its achievements. They feel secure, value the work of the teachers and feel that they have ownership of the school through the school council which plays a prominent part in expressing their views.

Learners work well and enjoy their work. They behave well in class and the school ethos of respect can be seen in the classroom and in other areas of school life.

The school’s partners were unanimous in their praise for the school and their respect for it.

One very large organisation, with a multiplicity of partners, indicated that St Peter’s would be its choice of school to work with, should it be restricted to just one.

The reviewer judged that the school’s specialist dimension was now firmly embedded in the life and work of the school, even though it is only at the end of the second year of B&E status. This view was strongly and consistently confirmed by discussions with students, staff, parents/carers and partners who work with the school.