Report marks turnaround for Valley school

That’s the verdict from Ofsted inspectors following a recent inspection at Calder High School, Mytholmroyd.

The education watchdog rated the school ‘good’ in every area. It marks a huge turnaround for Calder High - two years on from being told it needed to improve. Inspectors said GCSE and A level results have risen sharply to above average levels and pupils now progress well - and more quickly - than at the time of the last inspection.

“Calder High School is improving rapidly because the headteacher and his senior team have very substantially raised teachers’ expectations of how quickly pupils should mak progress,” the report said.

“Teaching is good overall. Teachers and classroom assistants generally cater well for pupils of all abilities but there are times when the highest-ability pupils in Years 7 and 8 could be further challenged.”

Inspectors added pupils behave well in lessons and increasing numbers of students on Post-16 study programmes are going on to unversity. The school has been told it should now ensure work set for the most able pupils in Years 7 and 8 fully challenges them and should provide pupils with more opportunities to develop their extended writing. Inspectors also said staff should make sure the presentation of work by lower-ability pupils is as good as it can be and should check pupils take notice of feedback on work so they can improve it.

Headteacher Anthony Guise said: “Whilst we are very happy with the judgement and the improvements that have been made, as a school, we see this as the next step towards providing a truly great education for our students and becoming an outstanding choice for parents to send their children. The inspection team identified areas for improvement to ‘improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding’ that match the focus of the school and the drive to continue to develop the quality of the education we provide.”