Prudhoe Community High School is smaller than average mixed 13-18 comprehensive of approximately  750 students  with a teaching staff of 50. The school lies on the southernmost boundary of Northumberland, on the banks of the Tyne, about midway between Newcastle to the East and Hexham to the West. It serves a diverse social and academic mix of students. Around half live in the immediate environs of Prudhoe, a former mining town, now centering on light industry; the rest of the catchment ranges from farming to commuter belt. It provides a 16 to 19 study programme in addition to secondary education for pupils in the age range 13 to 16.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  There are very few pupils from minority ethnic groups and very few speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.  A below-average proportion of pupils is supported through pupil premium funding. The school moved into new buildings in September 2016.

Our school aims:

We want our young people to:

• Strive for excellence wherever and however they can

• Develop their values and learn to live by them

• Participate actively

We shall:

• Strive for excellence

• Create a hard working and caring, safe and stimulating community

• Work in partnership with our parents and carers and local, national and international organisations to enrich our outcomes

Prudhoe Community High School has improved substantially since the previous inspection because good leadership and management have lifted the quality of teaching and raised outcomes.  The school now provides pupils in all year groups with good teaching, which enables them to progress well. GCSE results in 2016 were better than the above-average 2015 performance and reflected pupils’ good achievement.  Effective tracking systems enable leaders and teachers to check pupils’ progress accurately and provide good-quality support for those who fall behind.  The marking of pupils’ work has improved substantially and is now good overall but with some variation.  Good arrangements for pupils’ health, safety and welfare mean that they are kept safe and benefit from effective support.  Pupils in Years 9 to 11 and learners on 16 to 19 study programmes have a very positive view of the quality of education that the school provides.  Well-managed 16 to 19 study programmes enable learners to benefit from a wide range of vocational courses and academic subjects at A level.  Teaching, learning and assessment are good at post-16 and enable the vast majority of learners to complete their courses successfully.  Most learners successfully move on to university or their chosen careers.  Pupils take a pride in their appearance and conduct themselves in a sensible manner in class and around school.  The large majority of parents and carers have very positive views about the school and fully recognise the improvements that have been made.  However, there is still much more scope to relate pupils’ work across the curriculum to everyday life and the world outside the classroom. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is embedded firmly into the entire curriculum. Pupils have plenty of opportunity to study topics relating to life in modern Britain. The school strongly promotes British values such as tolerance and democracy. Pupils appreciate that their own locality is almost exclusively White British, but they can speak with confidence about the cultures that make up Britain and where they are to be found. A wide range of extra-curricular activities enables pupils of all ages to develop new skills well, make new friends and generally become more rounded individuals.

Whole school priorities are as follows:

Improve the current good teaching and achievement to outstanding by: ensuring that teachers plan to make maximum use of lesson time so that pace and challenge increase and students are always fully engaged in learning activities clearly relating work across the curriculum to the world outside the classroom, so that students can understand the relevance of the topics they are studying.

Ensuring that all teachers follow the school’s marking policy fully so that consistently good practice prevails.

Successfully tackle the persistent absence of a small number of disadvantaged students.

Specifically our Modern Foreign Language department is working on:

Improving the progress that students make in GCSE and A level.

Making students more spontaneous in their reading and writing.

Improving student’s cultural awareness.

Fostering enthusiasm and resilience in students.

Raising the aspirations of disadvantaged students

The headteacher provides the school with vibrant and effective leadership. She has a clear vision for the school and constantly seeks to improve the quality of education to ever higher levels.  She has very successfully communicated her vision to the senior team and middle managers, who are all keen to play their part in ensuring that the school provides well for all groups of pupils.  The efforts of managers at all levels have ensured that teaching, assessment and pupils’ attainment are much better than they were almost two years ago.   Leaders have high expectations of staff who work in their areas. Monitoring of teaching by leaders at all levels provides an accurate assessment of the rates of pupils’ learning in all subjects. Leaders provide teachers with pointers for improvement as a result of their visits to lessons and provide plenty of extra help when teachers need it. Staff morale is very good. Members of staff are keen to ensure that the school continues to improve. This means that pupils progress well in most but not yet all subjects. The broad and balanced curriculum enables pupils to study a wide range of subjects at GCSE and beyond. Highly academic courses in physics, chemistry, biology and other subjects at GCSE provide pupils with a secure base for further study in these areas at A level. For pupils who prefer a more practical approach, the very successful engineering, design and technology courses augment their studies in English, mathematics and science.

PCHS is an inclusive and caring school that strives to meet the needs of all students regardless of ability. However we face competition for students and welcome the opportunity that this program will bring in elevating the position of the subject and the school. We are an ‘outward facing ‘ school and see international links as key to our development as an organisation.

The MFL dept are at the forefront of reflective practise and develop active learning strategies that have been shared in workshops across the school. They have already established links to schools in France but would like to develop this further.

• Jose DP(Native Spanish) newly qualified teacher.

• Thomas L(Native French, 4 th year of teaching, teaches Spanish to GCSE (16).

• Lara H experienced French teacher, Spanish to GCSE.

• Charlotte W Head of Department - experienced French and Spanish teacher.