Greig City Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 January 2025

This is a happy school. Pupils enjoy attending and relish the many opportunities the school offers them. The school also encourages pupils to be independent and to care for others. Pupils are polite, respect others and are welcoming. They move between classes calmly. The school supports pupils to find their educational passion and develop their subject expertise. Leaders also ensure that pupils make strong progress from their starting points by the time they complete Year 11. Leaders have high expectations of all pupils, including in the sixth form. The curriculum is distinctive. For example, pupils can choose to specialise in Mandarin, science, technology, engineering or mathematics. They thrive as a result of the wider opportunities related to their specialism, such as a visit to China to practise their language skills. The school's personal development programme is inspirational. A rich selection of clubs gives pupils the opportunity to develop their talents and interests. Some pupils take their skills to the highest level. For example, pupils compete at a national level in dance competitions and at sailing regattas on the south coast. In the bee-keeping club, pupils from all year groups build a beehive, care for the bees and harvest and sell the honey.

What the school should improve

• Teachers do not consistently ensure pupils receive the support they need to move their learning on. This results in some pupils not having the knowledge they need to engage with more complex aspects of their learning. Other pupils who are ready to deepen their learning are not routinely provided with opportunities to do so. The school should ensure that teachers have the information and strategies they need to identify what help and guidance pupils need so they can move their learning on at the most appropriate point.
• Governance processes to check the school's work are not equally rigorous. As a result, governors and trustees are limited in their ability to identify where the school's practice could be improved, for example in relation to the use of suspensions. The trust should ensure that those responsible for governance have an evenly secure oversight of the school's provision so they hold leaders to account and better support the process of school improvement.

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