national average, and amongst the best in a very good school. Business studies, another subject which develops pupils’ skills in a workplace context is also very successful, though these two subjects together only cater for about half the pupils in Years 10 and 11

44. Teaching and learning are very good in the two specifically work-related courses in Years 10 and 11. Pupils are satisfied with the careers education which forms part of the personal, social, and health education programme in every year group. They are given clear advice before they make option choices in Year 9, and get good support from Connexions advisors in Years 10 and 11. They have open access to a wide range of information about careers, and feel that their needs are fully met. The curriculum does not include the range of additional activities which some schools provide to introduce pupils to the conventions, demands, and requirements of the workplace. Nor is there any planned focus on enterprise or industry. Instead the school has kept a very tight focus on success in GCSE examinations, and supplemented this with a well-organised programme of work experience. This is carefully evaluated in English lessons when pupils come back into school, though there is no system for assessing pupils work-related skills or understanding. A small number of pupils who find it difficult to match the work rate and motivation which dominates Years 10 and 11, do benefit from individual work placements which are designed to help them to keep in touch with learning.

45. Work related learning is satisfactorily led and managed. The established provision is carefully organised. To meet recently introduced requirements the governors have commissioned a comprehensive analysis of what the school needs to do to meet statutory requirements, and the local options available, This report explores in great detail the developments which would be needed to match the scale of work-related provision in other schools. It offers governors and senior managers a range of choices between the current provision, which is very effective in relation to GCSE, and the new requirements, which place more emphasis on a broader perspective. To clarify the scale of any conflicting priorities the school has also begun an audit of the work-related elements within the existing curriculum, and the scope for integrating the new requirements into the existing provision,