Christleton High School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 May 2024

Pupils find where they belong in the cheerful community at Christleton High School. Most pupils are happy and flourish. The five Cs of 'collaborative, committed, creative, caring and cheerful' underpin everything that the school does. The school has high expectations of pupils' achievement. Pupils benefit from the school's carefully designed curriculum and achieve well. The school has equipped pupils successfully with 'learning habits'. Typically, pupils behave well. They engage positively in lessons and are enthusiastic about learning. Pupils want to do their best and to succeed academically. The school's magazine 'The Swan' is crammed full of exciting experiences that pupils have undertaken. These include trips abroad, whole-school musical productions and opportunities to explore subjects further, such as in Science Week. A significant number of pupils take up the Duke of Edinburgh's Award up to the gold level, which helps them to develop into confident young adults. Furthermore, younger pupils also run clubs, such as role-playing games. 'Hot scholars' enthusiastically share their passion for a subject. For instance, English hot scholars recorded readings of war poetry for their peers. Students in the sixth form also benefit from a variety of enrichment opportunities that contribute towards their wider development, such as first aid, model United Nations and mindfulness clubs.

What the school should improve

• There are some inconsistencies in teachers' pedagogical choices. As a result, a small number of pupils, including those with SEND, do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers are clear about the most appropriate teaching strategies to employ in their subject and that they are supported to use these well so the curriculum can be delivered as intended.
• The school's systems to check on how well the curriculum is delivered do not identify weaknesses in practice well enough. This slows down the school's work to make improvements to the quality of education. The school should ensure that its processes for monitoring are sharpened so that it can accurately identify and address any specific areas for improvement.

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