OFSTED
Recent School Inspections
We have welcomed an ungraded (May 2023) and graded (September 2024) Ofsted inspection to our school in recent times. Both inspections were tremendously successful and celebrated the progress made the school over the past decade.
In May 2023, Ofsted wrote that, “Chipping Norton School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded (section 5) inspection now.”
Ofsted duly returned in September 2024 and this led to CNS being graded OUTSTANDING in four out of five categories: behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. Additionally, the school was rated ‘Good’ for quality of education in the report, which was released this week (January 13th). Whilst you can access the full report here, the most recent report concluded that:
Quotes from the September 2024 Report
The school’s commitment to developing pupils’ character is exceptional.
Pupils achieve well above the national average.
(These outcomes are achieved due to) “…an ambitious curriculum that is carefully planned and skilfully delivered.
Pupils feel safe and enjoy their learning.
The school culture is highly respectful.
Sixth form students work with diligence and determination.
Staff receive ongoing high-quality training. Teachers are experts and are passionate about their subjects.
The school has high expectations for how well pupils and students achieve and conduct themselves.
Quotes from the May 2023 Report
All staff are highly ambitious for pupils and support them to benefit from a rich academic experience and a wide array of extra-curricular activities.
Leaders and staff have created a rich and ambitious curriculum.
Pupils value the many opportunities to develop and nurture their talents and leadership skills.
Pupils learn positive character traits through a well-structured programme. This weaves together the school’s values with spiritual, moral, social and cultural themes. Through this, pupils develop a sense of responsibility and learn how to maintain respectful relationships.
Parents are full of praise for the school.
Staff are happy and proud to work at Chipping Norton School. They trust leaders to do the best they can to support the school. Staff feel that leaders support them well to do a good job. All staff feel empowered, through high-quality training, to do their best for every pupil.
Barry Doherty, Headteacher, said:
“When Ofsted visited us back in May 2023, they suggested no areas for improvement and concluded that we might be Outstanding. Our response was to then secure the two best sets of results in our history and placed us in the top 10% of all schools nationally.
“We are particularly delighted that our Sixth Form has once again been judged to be Outstanding. Sixth Form outcomes are the ultimate culmination of seven years of hard work on the part of students and staff.”
Paul James, Chief Executive of RLT, said:
“Chipping Norton has been a fantastic school for quite some time now – and it is great to see that all the hard work in creating a school that is sustainably excellent and that serves its community brilliantly has been recognised.”