Chancellor's School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 November 2023

Pupils and students are happy to be at Chancellor's. They are kept safe and know that everybody has someone they can turn to if there is a problem or if they themselves are in trouble. Behaviour around the school site is good. Most pupils take responsibility for their own actions with minimum guidance from staff. They are respectful, articulate, and mature in attitude. Sixth-form students act as good role models. Pupils have particularly good understanding of equality, equity, and diversity. They talk about the expectation to show kindness towards each other. All this helps build positive working relationships within the school community which, in turn, enable good learning to take place. Staff expect pupils to arrive at lessons ready to learn, do their best, and achieve well. These expectations result in good GCSE and A-Level examination results. In addition, the school offer an impressive range of extra-curricular activities. These include sports, choirs and instrumental ensembles, musical theatre and drama productions, and visits to art galleries. There really is something for everyone. These activities offer good opportunities for leadership, particularly for sixth-form students.

What the school should improve

• The organisation of record keeping for pupils with SEND is not as efficient as it could be. This means that is harder for leaders and managers to pull together information as quickly as they might. Additionally, staff do not use information about SEND pupils consistently to adapt teaching according to need. The trust should review the school's systems for record keeping around pupils with SEND, and leaders should ensure that teaching staff make consistent and effective use of SEND information when planning their lessons.
• The school's new system for assessment in Years 7 to 9 is not fully developed and some inconsistencies remain. The trust should continue to review the use of assessment in key stage 3. This should include ensuring that whole-school strategies are used appropriately and effectively in different subjects, and that assessment methods are fully reflective of the national curriculum for Years 7 to 9.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)