Chipping Norton School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 September 2024

The school has high expectations for how well pupils and students achieve and conduct themselves. The great majority of pupils achieve highly across the main school and the sixth form and demonstrate excellent behaviour. The school's motto, 'everyone belonging, everyone achieving', underpins everything it does. The great majority of pupils demonstrate the school's values on a daily basis. Pupils feel safe and enjoy their learning. They conduct themselves very well in lessons and work diligently and independently. Pupils value the expertise and support of their teachers, who help them develop the resilience and determination to succeed. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), regularly take part in the plentiful range of clubs on offer. These include the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, sports clubs and the arts. In addition, the school runs numerous trips, including the popular German exchange. These activities greatly enrich pupils' personal development and experience of school life. The school's commitment to developing pupils' character is exceptional. Pupils are able to take on a range of leadership roles, helping to prepare them well for later life.

What the school should improve

• In lessons, teachers do not always check pupils' understanding fully and make necessary adaptions before moving learning on. This means that some gaps in knowledge are not tackled, and the next steps are less securely learned. Consequently, a small number of pupils, including some who are disadvantaged, do not achieve as highly as their peers. The school should share the good practice that exists across the school so that all pupils achieve as well as they could.

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