Free school celebrates ‘good’ Ofsted rating

ONE OF Yorkshire’s first free schools is celebrating improving to be rated as good in its latest Ofsted inspection.
Batley Grammar School Headteacher Brigid Tullie.Batley Grammar School Headteacher Brigid Tullie.
Batley Grammar School Headteacher Brigid Tullie.

Batley Grammar, which converted from the independent sector to become a free school in 2011, has been praised for its teaching and the progress pupils make.

The report means two-thirds of the six free schools in the region, which have been rated by Ofsted, have been judged to be good or better. Inspectors from the education watchdog highlighted that the school was closing the gap between the results of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The school had the highest five A* to C including English and maths GCSE score of the non-selective schools in Kirklees last summer. The new report also praises the school’s headteacher, Brigid Tullie.

It says: “The headteacher is relentless in her push for improvement throughout the school. She has a clear vision for the school and uses information from a variety of sources in order to provide the best for all pupils.”

Two years ago, Ofsted had placed Batley Grammar in the requires improvement category, and it has now been graded as good overall. Teaching, pupil achievement, behaviour and safety of pupils and the school’s leadership and management are all rated as good.

But Ofsted said the school’s early years and sixth form provision requires improvement. The school announced last year it was to close its sixth form in 2016 because the numbers were not sustainable.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In a letter to parents announcing the good judgment, Mrs Tullie and the chairman of governors, Alistair Hartley, claimed the inspection had been “a great opportunity to demonstrate all the hard work” that had taken place since the watchdog’s last report in 2013.