Blacon High School continues to go from strength to strength. It has just received the final report from its recent Ofsted inspection and is proud to announce that there is no doubt; Blacon High is a ‘Good’ school - and that’s official!

The Ofsted team inspected the school on 26^th and 27^th January and confirmed what headteacher Sue Yates and staff at the school already knew; Blacon High School is a great place to study.

The final inspection report is characterised by terms like: relentless ambition, enthusiasm and commitment to achieving the very best outcomes for all students, and a drive for continuous improvement, which accurately reflect the ethos that the school promotes.

The inspectors carried out numerous observations across all subject areas and report that: the school can now: ‘build on the outstanding teaching that already exists’ and ‘… all teaching over time is good’ (Ofsted 2016). They also commented that teachers have high expectations of students, use their specialist subject knowledge to good effect and are very skilled in encouraging student participation.

They were extremely complimentary about student behaviour noting that: ‘behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. They know the standards expected of them and take pride in their uniform and their school’ (Ofsted 2016). They also commented on students’ very positive attitude to learning and report that students are keen and attentive in class and disruption is rare.

Headteacher Sue Yates said: ‘This report evidences what we see every day. I am proud to be headteacher of this school. I am proud of our students and I am proud of our staff. Our goal is to be am outstanding learning community and this will happen in our new school.

Outcomes at the school reflect a very positive picture and there is notable progress. The report states that: ‘The impact of the school’s work to improve writing is evident in the increasingly sophisticated language and structures that students use as they move up the school’ (Ofsted 2016).  They also note the school’s strong focus on literacy in all subject areas where teachers develop students’ literacy skills as well as their understanding of subject content.

Personal development and welfare was highlighted as a strength. The school care a great deal about students’ achievement and personal development and therefore noted the very positive working relationships between staff and students. Students told inspectors how much they value the extra time and one-to-one coaching that teachers willingly provide in their own time. Additionally, parents responding to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire were overwhelmingly positive about all aspects of the school’s work and would recommend the school to other parents. They all agreed that their children are well looked after and are happy at the school.

The inspection is a welcome boost to the school that is soon to take ownership of its fantastic, state of the art, new building, which students will move into in September 2016. Increasingly, Blacon High School is the school of choice for parents from within and beyond the immediate catchment area. This is noted in the report that comments on the increasingly close working relationship with other local schools that promotes a very smooth transition for students from year 6 into Year 7; this is reflected by the increasing number of students on roll. The new building has a capacity of 600 and the school is expected to be full within two years.

This fantastic Ofsted report is well deserved and is the culmination of five years’ work by headteacher Sue Yates and the entire team of staff and governors  at Blacon High School. It offers a great platform from which even greater student outcomes will be achieved and we are all excited to watch as the school continues on its journey to ‘outstanding.’

Celebrating its success and marking the move into the new building, Blacon High School is delighted to be hosting a dinner Dance and Charity Auction at the school on Friday 1^st April, which is being attended by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Chester, Hugo and Debbie Deynem. For further details of the event contact: dstockdale@blaconhigh.cheshire.sch.uk