A SENIOR school in Yate has received has received its first Ofsted inspection since being ranked in the top 1% of schools in the country.

Yate Academy, in South Gloucestershire, was awarded a ‘Good’ overall by the watchdog in a recent inspection following a huge transformation since it joined the Greenshaw Learning Trust in September 2017.

The school that currently has 745 students enrolled was rated by Ofsted as outstanding for behaviour and attitudes; outstanding for leadership and management; good for the quality of education; good for personal development and good for Sixth Form provision.

The report said: "Pupils are proud of their school. They said that the school is ambitious and teachers want the best for them."

Ofsted's inspection team said the high expectations of behaviour set by staff is responded to positively by pupils.

The report went on to say: "The headteacher has an ambitious vision for the school. This is shared by staff, pupils and parents, who are overwhelmingly supportive of the school’s aims.

"Leaders and teachers have made effective use of educational research, expertise from within the multi-academy trust and continuing professional development, to design an ambitious curriculum. Leaders expect most pupils to follow subjects that qualify for the English Baccalaureate. Pupils are now keen to do so."

The inspection team visited in January 2022 and also found the schools curriculum to be ambitious in particular for students with special education needs or disabilities and appropriate strategies to support these students are in place.

Natalie Wilcox, Headteacher of Yate Academy, said: “The success of Yate Academy is testament to the passion and tireless work of the whole school community. We are particularly delighted that our ambition for students to achieve academic excellence, as well as the quality of our character education, was highlighted in the report.”

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Will Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Greenshaw Learning Trust, added: “Yate Academy has been on a rapid improvement journey and we are delighted for the school about this significant achievement. "The community of Yate can be confident of the very best education provision, with the latest results putting the school in the top 1% in the UK.”