Selective school in Walsall given ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating
A selective school in Walsall has been given glowing grades by Government inspectors who said children enjoy going there and get an extremely high standard of education.
Ofsted gave Queen Mary’s Grammar School, on Sutton Road, its highest possible rating of ‘outstanding’ following a two-day inspection carried out earlier this year.
All the key areas judged – quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; leadership and management; and sixth form provision – were praised.
This is the first Ofsted inspection of Queen Mary’s since it joined the Mercian Trust and converted into an academy in 2012.
The all-boys school currently has more than 1,300 pupils on its roll with 478 of those being sixth-form students.
The report said: “Pupils are very enthusiastic about attending the school. ‘It’s the best decision I ever made,’ sums up the views of those students who joined in Year 12.
“All pupils who responded to inspectors agreed they feel safe. This is because leaders address any issues, including any potential bullying, promptly and effectively.
“Leaders are determined that all pupils will do very well indeed. Pupils achieve
exceptional standards. A very large majority go on to study at university, especially in mathematics and the sciences.
“Progress is very strong for all groups of pupils, including those facing specific barriers and challenges. The school addresses trust wide priorities of transformation, social mobility and social justice extremely well.
“For example, the Mandarin excellence programme enables some pupils to achieve full fluency in the language before they leave school.
“Behaviour of pupils is exemplary around school. Pupils show a high degree of respect for each other.
“Older students can develop their leadership skills in the sixth form, for example leading in the cadet force or teaching lessons in primary schools on personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE).
“The school’s ‘change your mind’ course promotes pupils’ mental health and well-being and has received international recognition.
“Leaders have designed a highly ambitious programme of study. It successfully combines academic rigour with a very strong commitment to diversity and inclusion in the curriculum.
“As a result, pupils achieve very well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils.”
