A glowing report published this week by Ofsted found that Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School was a safe and happy environment where pupils receive a high quality of education. In the ungraded report, inspectors found there was significant evidence that the highly successful Wotton-under-Edge school would have been judged as outstanding if this had been a graded inspection.

Highlights of the findings included the strong sense of community, the prevalence of warm and respectful relationships and excellent pupil conduct. The Sixth Form was remarked upon as a source of strong positive role models for younger students, and an ‘impressive range’ of opportunities beyond the classroom was noted. The curriculum itself was found to be well designed and well delivered by teachers who were also reported to be proud to work at the school.

Additional citations were awarded to the school’s leadership team, the strong guidance provided by Trustees and to the safeguarding of children’s personal and emotional wellbeing.

In the first ungraded inspection since the last full-team visit in 2017, the school was found to have made progress in many areas and there were no areas identified as requiring significant improvement.

Headteacher, Hannah Khan, said, “We are delighted that the Inspection team saw our values shine through and described the school of which we are so proud. This is a special community and to see the commitments and the achievements of our students and staff recognised in this way is truly rewarding. Inspections can raise the level of anxiety in any school, especially coming at the end of a long year, but I would like to thank the Ofsted team for their thoughtful and measured comments and for coming to what we feel are fair and accurate judgments.

“This is not a time to sit back and feel that we have made it – we have exciting strategic work ahead of us next year to make our long term vision for KLB a reality – but it is a tremendous way to end the year. I would like to thank our staff and parents for their support, and our students for being such wonderful ambassadors for KLB. I am proud of all who contribute to the KLB community in such a positive way.”

See the full report here: