Christopher Whitehead Language College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 May 2023

Christopher Whitehead Language College is an inclusive, tolerant and welcoming school. Leaders have high expectations. They place a strong focus on academic achievement and pupils' character development. Pupils enjoy learning a well-thought-out curriculum that includes high-quality information about careers. This curriculum gives them the knowledge and skills they need to embark on their futures successfully. Adults and pupils develop strong, positive and trusting relationships. This helps pupils to feel safe. Bullying is uncommon. If it does happen, pupils know who to speak to, and most are confident that adults will sort it out quickly. Classrooms are purposeful and disruption to learning is rare. Pupils say that they can get on with their work. Sixth-form students are positive role models for younger pupils. They take their studies seriously and achieve high academic standards. The school is at the heart of the community. The headteacher pays serious attention to ensuring pupils have meaningful opportunities to be active and respectful citizens. These opportunities go beyond the expected. They include raising money for local charities, preparing and serving meals for people experiencing homelessness and visits to local care homes. In addition, pupils appreciate and make good use of the impressive range of extra-curricular clubs available to them daily.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, leaders have not ensured that teachers know exactly what pupils need to remember in order to succeed in subsequent learning. This lack of precision means that teachers sometimes move pupils on to work before they are ready to do so. This slows some pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that, in all subjects, teachers are clear about the specific content pupils need to know and remember and that teachers check that pupils have secured this important knowledge before moving pupils on to more complex work.

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