It is always good to see a school improving. It gives confidence to the young people, parents and the staff. Well done to the staff who have brought about this change for the good. See the press release below:
“Thomas Clarkson” Community College continues to improve and its capacity for further improvement is good, according to Government inspectors.

A team from “Ofsted” the Office for Standards in Education – said teaching had continued to improve and significant improvements had been made in students’ behaviour. They said the college was led and managed well.

“Teaching continues to improve. It is now particularly strong in the key subjects of English and mathematics. The proportion of teaching that is good or better has improved to 68%, with more examples of outstanding teaching than ever before.

“Key strengths in teaching include a very positive learning environment with teachers using questions and discussions well to help students make progress. Pace and challenge were also strong in many lessons,” said the inspectors’ report.

“In the better lessons, teachers plan well, make lesson objectives explicit, understand the needs of individuals and plan for, and monitor, students’ progress accurately. Relationships are very productive and teachers have high expectations. As a result, students enjoy their lessons and show very good attitudes to learning,” it added.

Inspectors said Principal Maureen Strudwick and her staff had successfully established a strong culture of high expectation and achievement.

“They work well together with joint vision and determination to bring about improvement, using a basis of accurate self-evaluation. Recent changes have brought about raised expectations, improvements in confidence and a positive ethos on the part of students and staff.

“Morale is now high, with staff committed to improving the quality of teaching and learning and outcomes for students,” said their report.

Governors were also praised. “Governance is good, with good use made of governors’ knowledge and experience to drive improvement. The college’s self-evaluation process is thorough, very detailed and supported by a wide range of evidence.

“The rate of improvement is increasing and many of the initiatives are starting to bear fruit. The college has successfully accelerated students’ achievements. Governors hold the college to account well,” added inspectors.

The college was encouraged to raise the quality of teaching from satisfactory to good, improve attendance and maintain the positive improvements seen.Principal Maureen Strudwick said: “We are delighted. This judgement reflects the commitment and hard work of a great team. We are now looking forward to moving into our new building and continuing to raise standards with the additional support of our sponsor, the Brooke Weston Partnership. I would like to thank all of the parents who have worked with us over the past few years and look forward to the wider Wisbech community putting its trust in us.”