Rye Hills Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 May 2024

Due to highly effective leadership, Rye Hills Academy has transformed in recent years. Leaders have very high expectations for pupils. They want 'every child to experience excellence every day'. They are determined to realise this vision fully. Pupils receive an education that is stimulating, ambitious and enriched by a wide range of opportunities. For example, pupils can take part in The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and they have recently enjoyed visits to the Houses of Parliament and the Northern School of Art. Pupils are successful. In the GCSE examinations in summer 2023, the proportion of pupils who achieved strong passes in English and mathematics was above local and national averages. Pupils behave very well in school. Lessons are calm and purposeful. There is a strong culture of rewarding pupils and recognising their achievements. Pupils value this. They are motivated by the house system and earning house points. On the rare occasion that bullying happens, the school responds effectively. Pupils understand the behaviour policy in school and think that it is fair. Pupils' well-being and safety are of the utmost importance to the school. The school offers pupils a range of ways to support their personal development. Pupils take on roles of responsibility such as pupil president, members of the student council and reading ambassadors. Pupils appreciate having a voice in school and feel like they are making a difference. Pupils enjoy taking part in the school's creative 'Culture Vulture' programme. This offers them a range of ways to broaden their cultural understanding.

What the school should improve

• Due to the timing of the school joining the trust, the school's new curriculum is not fully embedded. This means that the full impact of the curriculum has not been realised. The school should further embed the curriculum to ensure that all pupils learn and remember it, and make the progress through it that they are capable of.
• Some pupils' resilience and skills to learn independently are not as developed as they could be. To an extent, this is limiting these pupils' academic and social development. The school should further develop ways to build pupils' resilience and skills to learn independently, ensuring this impacts on pupils' academic and social development positively.

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