The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. This is no mean feat, given the turbulence caused by the long-term illness and absence of several staff, including the deputy headteacher and head of the sixth form. In the face of these and other setbacks, you have maintained an unwavering focus on high standards. The school has a calm and purposeful feel, and pupils are keen to learn and do their best. You have successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection report. You take a rigorous approach to monitoring the quality of teaching. Staff are very clear about your expectations. Consequently, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is now more consistent across the school. For example, staff consistently follow the school’s assessment policy to provide useful feedback to pupils. Pupils told us that they find this helpful, because they know how well they are doing in different subjects. You have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and share these openly with governors. This open approach means that leaders and governors share a clear understanding of what the school is trying to achieve. Your development plan is ambitious but realistic; you act with determination to address any areas of weakness and ensure that the school continues to improve. Following the previous inspection, governors underwent training and changed how they worked, to ensure that they were better informed about the school’s performance. They keep a close eye on how successfully leaders implement the development plan, and are effective in holding you to account for the school’s continued success. The previous inspection identified that middle-ability pupils, and boys in particular, were not making fast enough progress in English and mathematics. You identified that in Year 9, these pupils were losing interest in their work and switching off. You have changed the curriculum so that pupils now begin their GCSE courses in Year 9. Our observations of learning and discussions with pupils confirmed that this change has been successful in ensuring that pupils are motivated and maintain an interest in their learning. Middle-ability pupils are now making better progress. Too few of the most able pupils reach the highest grades in their subjects. Leaders have introduced initiatives to make sure staff are clear about age-related expectations in different subjects and that pupils achieve mastery of their subjects. This is not fully developed, or embedded across the school. You are wisely cautious about making predictions for this year, but the school lacks a coherent strategy to ensure that all teachers can confidently ask challenging questions of the most able, or enable them to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding to secure the highest grades at GCSE examinations. Despite the staffing difficulties, staff remain supportive of the school’s aims and confirm that the school is improving under your leadership. Pupils are confident, friendly and engage well with visitors. They describe their school as ‘close knit’ and a ‘friendly community’. They benefit from opportunities to take part in extra-curricular activities, such as debating, sport and drama, which play a significant role in developing their confidence. The school is renowned for the quality of pupils’ art work and the gallery is an important, well-regarded feature. You have recognised the need to address well-being, stress and mental health issues. For example, sixth-form students recently took part in a ‘stress relief’ day to help them prepare for their forthcoming examinations. These are important first steps towards ensuring that there is a coherent programme of personal development in place for all pupils. However, the quality of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) varies considerably from class to class. Not all teachers ensure that this important subject is well delivered. Equally so, the ‘core’ programme in the sixth form offers students important opportunities to develop life skills, resilience and confidence. Students told us that it is sometimes dropped so that they have more time to prepare for examinations. The school’s pastoral team provides effective support to pupils who, for whatever reason, need some extra support or a listening ear. Not all pupils know about the excellent work they do, nor understand that they can access this service. This is true, too, of their parents.