The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since taking up your post in September 2017, you have had a positive impact on the school and you have identified the changes necessary to ensure that improvements take place more rapidly. You provide strong and confident leadership and a clear sense of direction. You have the full support of the staff and you are assisted by a strong leadership team. A culture of ambition and aspiration is developing in the school, which is helping to improve outcomes for pupils and students. Governors are well informed and provide you with a good balance of support and challenge. Your self-evaluation is detailed and accurate. You precisely assess what is working well and those areas of the school that need to be strengthened. You have quickly and clearly identified the priorities for the school and have already put in place the required actions. You have also identified a range of strategies aimed at bringing about further improvements. The majority of current pupils make good progress in a wide range of subjects, including English and mathematics. Differences between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils have reduced. You acknowledge, however, that you have more work to do to ensure that you help the most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, to achieve at the very highest levels. At the previous inspection, the school was asked to raise students’ aspirations in the sixth form and you are aware that this is still an issue for the school. Students are not consistently challenged to reach the highest grades. The previous report also called for the overall quality of teaching to be improved and this has taken place. There is now greater consistency of good practice across the school and plans are in place to continue to raise standards where the progress of pupils is less than good. Safeguarding is effective. The school has a strong commitment to the safety of pupils and students. Governors and your leadership team ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are up to date, meet requirements and are fit for purpose. Records are detailed and of good quality. Staff and governors are well trained and kept up to date by the leadership team. The majority of parents believe that the school keeps their children safe and cares for them well. Pupils enjoy coming to school and talk confidently about what to do and who to talk to if they have any concerns about bullying or other issues. Staff ensure that pupils are aware of any potential risks to their safety. Consequently, pupils know how to avoid these risks. The ‘Student Guidance and Learning Centre’ makes a strong contribution to the safety and welfare of the most vulnerable students. Inspection findings A key line of enquiry for the inspectors was the progress made by pupils in all year groups and across a wide range of subjects. Pupils make good progress in most subjects. Attainment is good in English, mathematics and science. There is a strong focus on improving literacy and numeracy and pupils are aware of the importance of these basic skills. In a very small number of subjects, pupils’ progress and attainment are not good enough but you and your team have comprehensive plans to bring about improvements. Leaders are determined to ensure that pupils and students are challenged more consistently so that aspirations are raised. Pupils learn quickly when teachers have high expectations and work hard to meet their individual needs. Where progress is stronger, teachers’ feedback helps pupils progress more quickly and pupils of all abilities have access to a range of resources to support their learning. Leaders are aware of the need to ensure that teachers share good practice more regularly with each other. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. Classrooms are well ordered and pupils are keen to take part in activities. Carefully designed classroom displays help to create a stimulating working environment. Low-level disruption is minimal and pupils behave well both in class and around the school.