Pupils and staff at Harrogate Ladies’ College, Highfield Prep School and Bankfield Nursery are celebrating receiving an Excellent in All Areas rating by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI).
The family of three schools, located in the Duchy area of Harrogate, was inspected by the ISI over a three-day period and was given the highest possible rating at the end of it – Excellent in All Areas from 2 to 18 years.
The inspection included lesson observations, meetings with a large number of pupils and staff, detailed parent questionnaires, analysis of assessment and examination data and a review of academic planning.
The team of independent inspectors from ISI, the Ofsted equivalent for independent schools, concluded, “The quality of pupils’ academic and other achievements is excellent. A very positive culture of learning permeates the school. Even the youngest pupils recognise that they must take responsibility for their own learning. Pupils of all ages demonstrate high levels of initiative in their studies.”
The inspectors went on to report that, “The quality of the pupils’ personal development is excellent. The school provides a consistently nurturing culture which allows pupils to develop self-confidence, embrace new challenges, discover talents, respect themselves and others, and understand the wider world.”
Sylvia Brett, Principal of all three schools for children aged from 2 to 18 years, said: We have been awarded the highest rating possible for an independent school and I am absolutely delighted that the ISI has confirmed what we already knew, that we are an excellent family of schools!
The ISI inspectors focus on the outcomes of the pupils and this mirrors our own ethos of putting the children at the heart of every decision we make. Achieving the top rating of Excellent In All Areas is not easy and I hope that the children, their parents and our amazing staff are incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved.
