Outstanding Ofsted Grade
St. Thomas More Catholic Upper School has been
graded as ‘Outstanding’ in overall effectiveness by the Office for
Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
(Ofsted).
This result is a major improvement on the last
Ofsted report, back in 2007, when the school was graded as
‘good’.
Inspectors found its teaching structure to be
highly effective because ‘lessons are well-planned and assessment
is used, often very successfully, to check that students have
understood the work and further explanation is provided if they
have not’. The care, guidance and support that students receive was
also noted as being ‘exceptionally strong’.
More than twice as many students at St.Thomas
More are from minority ethnic groups and speak English as an
additional language than is the case nationally.
Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said:
“All the staff and students at St Thomas More deserve a tremendous
amount of credit for this excellent achievement. The OFSTED report
was full of praise for the work happening across the school and I
know this result was only possible thanks to a huge amount of hard
work and excellent leadership and shows how a diverse range of
students can work harmoniously to create an ‘outstanding’
school.
“I hope this result can be used to help drive
up standards throughout the Catholic federation and for all
students across Bedford Borough.”
The school’s specialist subject area is the
humanities. It has received a number of awards including the Most
Improved School Award from the Specialist Schools and Academies
Trust, the Community Cohesion Gold Award, the Investors in People
Award and Leadership Award, the International Award, and Healthy
Schools status.
The Head teacher, Joe Richardson, who at the
time of the inspection had been in post for four weeks, commented:
“We are absolutely delighted to have achieved the ‘outstanding’
judgement. It has been the result of years of hard work on the part
of students, parents, and staff at the school.”
Taking all students’ best eight subjects,
including english and mathematics, their attainment is above
average. Based on all their subjects, it is exceptionally high.
Current data provided by the school, based upon GCSE modular tests
that are set and marked externally, shows that progress is
improving further. This includes mathematics, in which students are
exceeding challenging targets.
In addition, no group is underachieving
in comparison to others. Students with special educational needs
and/or disabilities, including those who have statements, make
outstanding progress and are exceeding their targets.
Cllr David Sawyer, portfolio holder for
Children’s Services, Bedford Borough Council, said: “This is an
excellent performance and I congratulate everyone at St. Thomas
More in achieving the highest possible Ofsted grade. This
demonstrates how the school's outstanding leadership and
governance is delivering a high standard of education across the
whole of its diverse community."