Holywell High School welcomed four of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) to the school during the second week of November. The HMI noted significant improvements in examination results at the school and good progress against all recommendations from the 2009 Inspection.
The school’s mentoring strategy which offers targeted support to a range of learners had proven to be very effective, bringing about significant improvements in GCSE results with the Level 2 threshold (5 or more GCSEs at A*-C) improving by 14% since the last Inspection. The Level 1 threshold (5 or more GCSEs at A*-G) places the school above the all Wales average and above the average for similar schools.
It was recognised that standards in Science have improved significantly with 76% of learners achieving Level 5 or above at Key Stage 3, up by 12% on 2009. In Key Stage 4 the Level 2 (C or above) pass rate has improved by 15%. For the Level 1 threshold (G or above) 99% of learners achieved this benchmark outperforming all Wales and similar school averages.
The school was deemed to be making good progress in its continued improvement of teaching and learning. Inspectors said that teachers use a range of well-focussed activities to achieve the learning intentions. There is a clear evidence of high levels of challenge and of learners making good progress. An enthusiastic and innovative working group is enabling the sharing of best practice.
Significant progress in key skills has also come about with a clear framework in place enabling learners to develop key skills. The school’s tracking system drew praise as did the effective analysis of data by senior and middle leaders. All learners know their targets and the target setting process is helping all learners to make good progress.
“We are delighted about the outcome of this visit. It reflects the excellent relationships that exist in the school between learners and their teachers. It is a very positive outcome for the school and the community of Holywell. The HMI team also expressed confidence in the school’s leadership in sustaining these improvements. Coming on the back of our best set of results ever it is a nice early Christmas present for all those associated with Holywell,” said John Putt, Headteacher.
Ian Budd, Flintshire County Council’s Director of Lifelong Learning, said: “There is much to celebrate at Holywell High School, with best ever pupil outcomes secured through the commitment and hard work of the whole school community. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
Cllr Nigel Steele-Mortimer, Executive Member for Education, said: “I welcome this news for Holywell High and look forward to a successful future for the school.”
