Since I last wrote for Northern Insight shortly before Christmas (which already seems a long time ago) the RGS received its ISI inspection report.
The arrival of school inspectors gives any Head a degree of nervousness at the best of times and being inspected while still in the midst of a pandemic certainly was not ideal. However, the inspectors saw us ‘as they found us’ and we were delighted that they recognised the quality of what goes on at the RGS, awarding the highest possible rating – excellent – on all aspects inspected.
One should never underestimate the amount of hard work that has to go on, behind the scenes from unsung heroes, making sure that policies are up to date and carried out in practice. The compliance part of the inspection demonstrated that we are fully compliant, meeting all the required standards. Meanwhile, on the educational quality side of the inspection, the key findings were that the quality of pupils’ academic and other achievements is excellent: pupils attain highly and make excellent progress across the school; pupils’ extracurricular achievements are a particular strength; pupils are highly self-motivated with strong leadership qualities; and that pupils are excellent insightful and thoughtful communicators. At the same time the inspectors also found that the quality of pupils’ personal development is excellent: pupils are mature, resilient, self-confident and perceptive young people; pupils thoroughly enjoy school and learning in a highly supportive environment; pupils have a strong sense of community and responsibility towards others; and that pupils have a highly developed and sophisticated understanding of diversity.
I am delighted that we have been found fully compliant and, on the two measures of educational quality, both our pupils’ achievement and their personal development, the school has been rated as excellent. This inspection report is a tremendous recognition of the efforts of all our staff on behalf of our young people. It is also reassuring that inspectors acknowledge that we are already working on the areas they have identified for further development.
There are many wonderful paragraphs in the report that I could quote but I would like to pick out the one that I am most proud of that I think particularly captures the ethos of the school: “pupils have an inherent natural respect for diversity, demonstrating sophisticated understanding, with many commenting on how inclusive the school is. Pupils speak thoughtfully about respecting others, valuing diversity and differences in sexual identity. Pupils feel valued for themselves and know that they can express themselves without meeting a lack of acceptance. New entrants to the school are buoyed by realizing that, if you make a mistake, you will still be supported.”
In short, this report is a tribute to the whole RGS community: the hard work of our teaching and support staff, the continuing support of parents and, most importantly, the energy and enthusiasm of our pupils. What better Christmas present to receive than such glowing validation of what the RGS stands for? Our New Year’s resolution is to make the school even better!