Inspection Report March 2011

Latymer Upper School and Latymer Prep have just received an outstanding report from the Independent Schools Inspectorate. The team of inspectors visited the schools on two separate occasions for a total of five days in January and February.

The report covered three main areas – The Quality of Academic and Other Achievements, The Quality of the Pupils’ Personal Development and The Effectiveness of Governance, Leadership and Management.  All three areas received the highest possible rating of “excellent/outstanding”. (The other possible ratings are good, satisfactory or unsatisfactory) 

These are the main conclusions in each of these areas:

1.   THE QUALITY OF ACADEMIC AND OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

(a) The quality of the pupils’ achievements and their learning, attitudes and skills

The excellent attitudes and skills of pupils result in excellent achievement overall in line with the school’s aims to provide equal opportunity for able boys and girls from all backgrounds to achieve the highest academic standards.

(b) The contribution of curricular and extra-curricular provision (including community links of benefit to pupils)

The quality of the curriculum and the provision of extra-curricular activities are excellent, allowing both Latymer Upper School and Latymer Prep School to achieve their aim to deliver a high quality education suitable for all ages, abilities and needs.

(c) The contribution of teaching

The overall contribution of teaching to the pupils’ achievement and learning is excellent.

2.   THE QUALITY OF THE PUPILS’ PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

(a) The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding.

(b) The contribution of arrangements for welfare, health and safety

Pupils’ personal development is outstanding and benefits from very good pastoral care and arrangements for their welfare.

3.   THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

(a) The quality of governance

The quality of governance is outstanding, playing a valuable role in the support and constructive challenge of the leadership and management teams of the two schools.

(b) The quality of leadership and management

Both schools benefit from outstanding leadership and very effective management.

(c) The quality of links with parents, carers and guardians

The school has outstanding links with parents and guardians.

The Inspectors praised the School for the “pupils’ high attainment and preparation for adult life” saying that their “excellent attitudes and skills result in excellent achievement overall”.  Pupils were found to be keen to work and to succeed, but also to have a very fair sense of right and wrong and to be supportive of each other.  Pupils’ moral, cultural spiritual and social development were all rated as outstanding, and relationships between tutors and pupils were judged to be warm and supportive.  The Inspectors found relationships between teachers and pupils to be outstanding and said that this “reflects the strong, caring ethos of the school, promoting very positive attitudes to learning.” 

Teaching was rated excellent with the Inspectors finding that “the overall contribution of teaching to the pupils’ achievement and learning is excellent.”  They found the best teaching to be exciting but also able to provide both challenge and support where needed.   It was felt that our pupils “demonstrate high levels of intellectual curiosity in all that they undertake.” 

In the Upper School, changes to the school day were found to have allowed excellent provision for extra-curricular activities and new curriculum arrangements, inter alia, enable pupils, through the addition of the World Perspectives Course, to develop a good understanding of issues of current global relevance.  The quality of governance was rated outstanding and parents, who had filled in a pre-inspection questionnaire, expressed overwhelming praise for the education provided by the school and the care given to their children, a view with which the Inspectors agreed.  In addition, the Inspectors felt that both the Prep and Upper School benefit from outstanding leadership and very effective management.

Speaking on receipt of the report, the Head of the Upper School, Peter Winter, said:

“We can all take pride in this report. I am delighted that our pupils have been praised so highly, and very pleased that the quality of teaching was judged to be excellent.  What a tribute to our dedicated and first-rate teaching staff!

Our last Inspection was in 2007 and that too was extremely positive and complimentary. This one is even better.  I could not be more proud of the School, its staff and pupils, and pay tribute to all those whose committed and professional work makes Latymer such a stimulating environnment.”

To read the full report CLICK HERE