Following its inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in November 2016, The Royal High School in Bath is celebrating the publication of the report which found that the school had delivered excellent academic achievement and personal development. This is the highest accolade a school can attain.
Head, Mrs Jo Duncan, commented, “The judgment of ‘excellent’ for both pupil achievement and pupil development reflects the superb quality of the education on offer at The Royal High School Bath. I am delighted that this has been recognised by the inspection team who looked at every aspect of RHS life during the course of their visit in November.”
The report stated that ‘by the time they leave school, pupils have highly developed skills for the next stage in their life. They are responsible, thoughtful and mature. Pupils are keenly aware of their social responsibilities and are eager to seize the opportunities that lie ahead’.
Jo Duncan continued, “We are very proud of the girls in our sixth form where we aim to prepare them for the next stage in their lives as well as delivering top grades so they can realise their personal goals.”
The inspectors determined that the school provides an ‘outstanding education’ and ‘pupils make a full contribution to an exceptional school community’. Pupils achieve ‘highly’ and in particular, attainment in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is ‘very high’. Girls in the Senior School are ‘expecting to succeed’ and the teaching they receive is both ‘skilful and knowledgeable’.
The inspectors also found that ‘pupils throughout the school communicate exceptionally well orally and express themselves with ease in their writing’ in response to ‘the encouragement that they receive in class to speak and voice their opinions, and in making presentations’.
The new Educational Quality Inspections (EQI) report is focused on two areas: the quality of pupils’ academic and other achievements and quality of pupils’ personal development. RHS achieved the highest rating of ‘excellent’ in both. In addition, the school was fully compliant with the regulations set out in the Independent School Standards and the National Minimum Standards for boarding.
With regards the quality of pupils’ personal development, the inspectors noted that ‘pupils are mature for their ages and develop high levels of self-knowledge’. Behaviour was described as ‘exemplary’ both towards one another and to staff, and it was noted that pupils are ‘extremely proud’ of their school community.
The report highlighted a particular area of strength of achievement and skill in both technology and art, describing this as ‘exceptional’.
Boarding pupils spoke ‘enthusiastically of the benefits that boarding provides them’, and 100% of the parents of boarders who responded to the questionnaire agreed that the RHS boarding experience ‘helps their children’s progress and personal development’.
Read the full report at www.royalhighbath.gdst.net