Dormston School rated 'good' after influx of Coseley School pupils
A school that was told to take on extra pupils from a neighbouring school, despite fears over the move's impact on standards, has been rated 'good' by Ofsted.
The education watchdog said Dormston School in Sedgley was coping well with an influx of pupils from Coseley School, which will close in August.
Ofsted inspectors praised the strong leadership of school leaders for improving Dormston since the last inspection in 2014, when it was rated as 'requiring improvement'.
The latest inspection took place on November 22 and 23.
Click here to read the full Ofsted report
The report on the visit rated Dormston as 'good' across the board, and said pupils were making 'good progress'. It also said the school's relationship with parents was 'strong'.
Headteacher Ben Stitchman said: "We are pleased with the report, we think it is an accurate reflection of where the school is at the moment.
"But we are not going to rest on our laurels – we are going to make sure that we give the children, who attend from the surrounding areas, the best opportunity to succeed in life.
"I'm very grateful to all the parents and careers who supported the school when it was going through a tougher time and we hope we have started to repay their faith."
An inspector said the strong leadership of the headteacher, the senior team and governors has improved since the last inspection.
"Leaders have created a positive culture of care and achievement appreciated by pupils and staff," the report continued.
"Pupils now make good progress from their different starting points. Pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning. They take pride in their work and the majority behave well at school."
And inspectors said pupils 'particularly' valued the support they received in Key Stage 4 in making decisions about future careers.
There were fears for Dormston's future when the school was told by the Government that it must accept more than 80 pupils from Coseley School.
Councillor Michael Evans, who served on Dormston's governing board for 16 years before claiming he was removed as governor, said the education of pupils at the school would suffer as a result.
Dormston objected to the plans to take on the extra pupils and wrote to the secretary of state to determine whether the move by Dudley Council was lawful. But the Department for Education upheld the local authority's decision.
Councillor Evans said: "Dormston has always been a good school, but it is too early to say that the changes have had any effect yet. I think the move will affect the education of the children at Dormston."
