Good report from Ofsted for University Academy Holbeach before Easter holidays

Students and staff at University Academy Holbeach (UAH) have started their Easter holidays on a high after a positive report from Ofsted.

The school has been praised for ensuring that its students are "well-prepared for life in modern Britain".

A two-day inspection last month resulted in the school being judged good in all areas, according to a report from Ofsted published on Thursday.

Principal Steve Baragwanath and senior staff were recognised for setting "high expectations" for students, as well as having a "good understanding" of UAH's "strengths and weaknesses.

The main area for improvement raised by Ofsted inspectors was in the school's use of information to measure students' progress, particularly those with special educational needs or disabilities.

However, strengths of the school highlighted by Ofsted included homework, behaviour, pastoral care and its sixth form curriculum.

The report said: "Leaders have high expectations and aspirations for all pupils, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good, pupils are well cared for and, in recent years, pupils have made good progress from lower starting points than is typical of pupils in most secondary schools."

"As a result, they have brought about consistently good teaching in most subject areas, with a focus on preparing pupils well for success and the next stages in their education, training or employment.

"However, lack of precision means there is not a consistently sharp appreciation of the progress of some groups of pupils."

The Ofsted report was published four months after UAH University Academy Holbeach (UAH) has led to it emerging as the most progressive post-16 school in south-east Lincolnshire.

Figures from the Department for Education (DfE) released this month put UAH second for the progress made by students between Year 10 and 13, or from GCSEs to post-16 qualifications, in 2017.

The DfE figures showed the average A-Level grade for UAH was found to have one of the most progressive sixth forms in Lincolnshire.

Figures from the Department for Education (DfE), released in November 2018, showed the school's average A-Level grade to be C, second behind only Lincoln University Technical College.

Speaking to the Lincolnshire Free Press at the time, Mr Baragwanath said: "Our sixth form has been very successful and shown remarkable growth."