WEAVERHAM High School has received a glowing report from Ofsted inspectors and has retained its ‘good’ rating.

Representatives from the education watchdog heaped praise on students, who are well-behaved in lessons and contribute to a happy and friendly school environment.

Staff were also commended for their determination to ensure pupils are ‘the best version’ of themselves and their strong leadership.

In their report, inspectors said: “The pupils who we spoke to said that Weaverham High School is a wonderful place to learn.

“Pupils feel safe, cared for and well supported. They enjoy learning and they work hard.

“The headteacher, along with her senior leadership team, has fostered a culture of high expectations for staff and pupils; and leaders and governors have a clear insight into what the school does well and what needs to improve further.

“In many subjects, strong leadership is responsible for well-thought-out curriculum plans, and these plans enable the majority of pupils to achieve well.”

Inspectors also said that pupils told them that bullying is rare, and when it does happen, staff are on hand to deal with it effectively.

Pupils are able to take advantage of a vast range of leadership activities available and can enjoy local and overseas visits, sporting clubs, and drama and musical productions.

Inspectors noted that pupils talked with excitement about such opportunities and activities.

To improve and possibly achieve an ‘outstanding’ rating in the future, Ofsted inspectors said that the school could work towards improving attendance figures for pupils who are disadvantaged and those who have SEND.

Despite levels improving, they said that attendance is ‘not as high as they should be’, and that leaders must continue to identify the key reasons behind absences are and take ‘robust action’ to ensure that these pupils attend school more regularly.

Inspectors also say that while the quality of the school’s curriculum is good overall, leaders are in the process of refining their curriculum plans in some subjects.

This is because some teachers do not sequence subject content with precision in order to ensure that pupils remember even more.

They recommend that all teachers benefit from subject-specific ongoing training so that all pupils can connect new learning to previously taught knowledge.