OFSTED has offered up overwhelming praise to a ‘harmonious school’ which sees ‘pupil flourish’ according to its latest inspection.

Cartmel Priory C of E School has maintained its rating of ‘good’ following an Ofsted inspection in March.

The school, which has 329 pupils aged 11 to 16 on roll, was praised in an Ofsted report published online.

The reports state that pupils enjoy being part of a close-knit community and feel proud to belong to the school.

“Pupils respond well to the high expectations set by leaders and teachers to achieve their best,” the report states.

“Pupils enjoy visits to places of interest and the opportunity to experience other cultures.

“Leaders have developed a broad curriculum with a balance of academic and vocational subjects.

“Pupils show their care and empathy for the local and wider community through charitable work. Pupils embrace the many leadership opportunities, including the chance to be head boy or head girl, library assistant or mathematics mentor.

“They benefit from a well-developed curriculum to support their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.”

The report also praises the management of the school and said that members of the governing body are ‘highly committed to the school community’.

“Teachers feel well supported with their workload and well-being, and are proud to work at the school,” it continues.

In areas to improve, inspectors said that pupils do not have sufficient opportunity to develop their learning and subject-specific vocabulary and, consequently, some pupils do not learn some of the key knowledge and vocabulary that leaders want them to.

Inspectors said that leaders should ensure that in these subjects, teachers design learning that enables pupils to develop significant knowledge and understanding by building well on their earlier content.

Headteacher Sarah Beestone said: “We are really pleased with the outcome of our Ofsted inspection which reflects the excellent educational opportunities at Cartmel Priory School.

“We have just one target which was already part of our development plan. To be described as a ‘harmonious school where pupils flourish’ is a great source of pride for us.”