St Hilda's Church of England High School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 January 2026

Pupils feel extremely happy and safe in school. Behaviour across the school is exemplary. Pupils uphold the high expectations of being ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’ consistently well. They contribute positively to a calm and purposeful learning environment. Leaders deal with rare incidents of bullying swiftly. Attendance is consistently high. This reflects pupils’ highly positive attitudes to learning. Pupils value and benefit from a broad range of subjects and experiences. Generally, pupils have access to a well-planned curriculum that supports their academic and personal development. In most lessons, pupils build on their knowledge securely over time. Many pupils make steady progress from their starting points. Pupils with barriers to learning are suitably supported. For example, targeted reading and numeracy support helps some pupils to access the curriculum with greater confidence. Pupils across the school are generally well prepared for their next steps. Pupils, including students in post-16 provision, feel the school is welcoming. They value the positive relationships that they have with staff. Pupils learn to appreciate and understand difference. For instance, diversity champions lead projects to promote the importance of respecting different cultures. Pupils also enjoy visiting places of worship as part of their local ‘pilgrimage’ to learn about different faiths. As such, pupils are supported well to understand life in modern Britain. Some pupils benefit from a broad range of clubs, leadership roles and enrichment opportunities. For example, pupils enjoy their roles as librarians, peer mentors and ambassadors. These roles help pupils to build their confidence and develop their talents. Many pupils relish opportunities to fundraise for local charities, such as helping homeless people. Post-16 students benefit from the St Hilda’s Baccalaureate award, which promotes volunteering and supporting younger pupils. These activities help pupils to develop a sense of responsibility and enable them to contribute positively to their school and wider community.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that the choice of learning activities and work to improve pupils’ extended writing are embedded securely across school so that pupils consistently develop their skills and knowledge across subjects.
• Leaders should use the evidence that they gather about pupils’ learning, including in the off-site post-16 provision, to help them to make astute decisions about how the curriculum and teaching need to adapt and improve.
• Leaders should continue to embed the careers programme to ensure that students are very well prepared for later life and proceed to highly appropriate education, employment or training.
• Leaders should sharpen how they monitor and oversee which pupils benefit from the wider curriculum offer so that they can better tailor the programme to promote personal development, ensuring that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, benefit and participate fully.
• Leaders and governors should ensure that they have a consistently sharp understanding of the quality of education, inclusion provision, attendance, and wider enrichment for pupils, including those using the off-site post-16 provision, so that they can be confident that any improvement work has the intended impact.

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