The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You provide strong and determined leadership aimed at ensuring a high-quality education for all pupils, regardless of their ability or circumstances. You are tenacious in your pursuit of excellence, while balancing your drive with the well-being of staff and pupils. Therefore, staff at the school trust and respect you and the leadership team. Morale is high and everyone at the school shares your determination to provide the best for every pupil. There is a caring and stimulating ethos in the school, which enables pupils to make strong progress and achieve well. However, you and your leadership team are not complacent and you are implementing plans ambitiously to help pupils make even greater progress. Pupils behave well at the school. They are kind and respectful towards each other and their teachers. Pupils wear their uniform with pride and they take good care of their school environment. The wide range of clubs and activities on offer are appreciated by pupils. Pupils and staff are rightly proud of the many successes of the school’s sports teams in local and national competitions. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy school and this is reflected in their good levels of attendance. The attendance of most disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is improving. Leaders monitor the quality of teaching closely and the effect it has on the progress of pupils. As a result, leaders know the many strengths of the school, including the strong progress made by pupils in English, the humanities subjects and modern foreign languages. You also know where you can make further improvement, such as in helping pupils, particularly lower-ability pupils, make the same strong progress in science as in other subjects. Leaders are also determined to improve the rate of progress made by boys in some subjects, which is slower than the rate of progress made by girls. Leaders have developed meticulous systems to assess and track pupils’ progress. Consequently, teachers are able to provide prompt and effective help to support pupils who are at risk of falling behind. For example, when pupils’ progress in a GCSE subject causes concern, they are given appropriate individual support in lessons after school and they then quickly begin to make more rapid progress. As a result of this focused support, the progress of pupils is accelerating steadily in all year groups. Governors know the school very well and provide strong challenge and support to you and other leaders. Everyone shares your ambition that pupils achieve their best and develop into well-rounded citizens. The community holds your inclusive school in high regard and, as a result, the number of applications for admission to the main school and the sixth-form school is increasing. Parents and carers speak highly of the school and almost all parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, would recommend the school to another parent. Safeguarding is effective. Safeguarding is a strength of the school. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. All records are detailed and of a high quality. All staff and governors receive regular training on how to keep children safe from abuse, sexual exploitation, radicalisation and extremism. Before appointing staff, leaders carry out all the required employment checks. These are then recorded meticulously on the school’s single central register. There is a strong culture of vigilance and support to ensure that pupils are kept safe. Staff are knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and practices because they receive regular training and updates. A team of dedicated staff works with sensitivity and determination alongside parents and external agencies to support pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable. Parents say that their children feel safe in school. Pupils state that staff are approachable and that they know an adult they can turn to if they have any worries. Pupils appreciate the concern that staff members have for their welfare and well-being. Inspection findings During the inspection, inspectors focused on the following lines of enquiry: how successfully leaders are tackling the areas for improvement from the previous inspection; the extent to which the attendance and progress of disadvantaged pupils is improving; the extent to which boys’ progress is accelerating to match the strong progress of girls; and how effectively leaders are planning for the increased numbers of pupils attending the sixth form.