A South Lakeland secondary school is looking forward to a brighter future this week after schools inspectors ruled it was no longer in need of special measures', reports Jennie Dennett.

A gruelling regime of termly inspections by schools watchdog Ofsted was officially over on Friday (April 4) when a team of three inspectors concluded that The Lakes School was providing "an acceptable standard of education and had the capacity to continue to improve".

"It's good news for everybody connected with the school and for the whole community," said chair of governors Oliver Acland.

"The children were delighted," added head teacher Julia Gilchrist, who completed a celebratory circuit of afternoon classes to broadcast the announcement. "They felt there was a stigma to being in special measures and are delighted they have had that lifted and have recognition that they do go to a good school."

The Troutbeck Bridge secondary has been following an improvement action plan ratified by Ofsted and local education authority Cumbria County Council as part of the special measures system since April 2001 when inspectors decided it was "likely to fail to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education".

Some younger pupils took "delight in being disobedient and rude to teachers", inspectors reported in 2001, while teaching was found to be unsatisfactory in a third of lessons.

But today, inspectors are satisfied that behaviour has significantly improved. Suspensions are down from 23 two years ago to 11 this year and a supervised quiet room' where teachers had sent disruptive pupils has been shut due to lack of use.

"What we have done overall is improve the quality of teaching and learning by making the lessons more challenging, more interactive and engaging," said Mrs Gilchrist. "Pupils' behaviour has automatically improved as a result."

Mrs Gilchrist said teachers were now using nationally produced and locally adapted schemes of work for 11 to 14s and were applying the schemes' three-step lesson plan. Each class now starts with an activity to engage the children's attention, followed by the main element of the lesson and rounded off with a session to check pupils' understanding such as group discussion.

Teaching techniques have been further bolstered by a series of in-service training days with help from advisers laid on by CCC. Facilities have also been improved thanks to £350,000 of investment from county hall for refurbishment and IT kit.

Inspectors have now praised the school for improving academic attainment. In the 2002 curriculum tests, Lakes pupils managed an average score of 35.2 compared to the nation's norm of 33.7 and the typical Cumbrian tally of 34.5. At GCSE, 62 per cent of students notched up five or more A* to C grades ten percentage points up on the national tally.

Mrs Gilchrist said pupils' behaviour was being further improved by a new system of pastoral care where children were placed in the same tutor group throughout their time at school.

"Parents have enjoyed that reassurance and expectations are made very clear before the child starts at school in terms of behaviour, uniform, homework," she said.

Meanwhile, the lack of an "effective senior management team" cited by inspectors in 2001, has been remedied according to Mrs Gilchrist by "a complete change of personnel".

"We now have a very good blend of experience and young people," she said, while remaining silent on how many staff changes there had been.

The school is now getting to work on a bid for specialist school status, starting by deciding which subject to go for.

"Now we have been through this process, you know from what the inspectors have said that the school is in first class shape," said Mr Acland.

April 11, 2003 09:00