terms, Pupils are well prepared by very good teaching of the statistics element of GCSE mathematics in Year 10.

Mathematics across the curriculum

63. Because of the high standards in mathematics, pupils are competent to use their mathematical skills in other subject areas. The department has carried out an audit which has resulted in departments across the school identifying mathematical skills required in their subject areas. Mathematics teachers have run training so that other subjects can develop pupils’ mathematical skills.

SCIENCE

Provision in science is very good.

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Very good leadership and management combined with excellent teamwork are driving the department forward.
  

  Many lessons provide a wide variety of activities that enrich learning.
  
• Well-structured schemes of work provide both quality and equality of access.
  
• Teachers reflect carefully on ways to improve their teaching and act on their reflections.
  
• The use of ICT to support learning is developing well.
  
• A small number of lessons are not pitched at levels that meet the needs of all pupils in mixed ability classes.

Commentary

64. Standards in science are very good. At the end of Year 9 pupils achieved results that were well above the national average in 2004 examinations and GCSE examination results were excellent. Pupils’ work seen during the inspection confirmed these well above average standards across all years. Achievement is very good across all years. There is little difference between the achievement of boys and girls. Pupils with special educational needs achieve very well but in the 2004 tests at the end of Year 9 more able pupils achieved below expectations. Pupils achieve very well because lessons are carefully structured by capable and energetic teachers who have very good subject knowledge. Small class sizes in science mean that teachers know their pupils well and pupils get individual attention in every lesson.

65. Teaching is very good. In the best lessons seen, teachers provided pupils with a well planned variety of activities that kept concentration levels high and maintained pace. Well-designed practical work was linked to learning objectives that had been clearly shared with pupils. Questioning and other activities required pupils to think for themselves. Investigative science is a strength of the department and is well integrated into the scheme of work. In a small number of lessons seen the older booklets for pupils did not provide a spread of activities to match the ability range in the class and closed questions limited pupils to factual answers rather than promoting deeper understanding. The department is already revising and improving these booklets.

66. Learning is very good. Pupils concentrate very well and their behaviour is exemplary. Because relationships in classrooms are supportive they readily turn to the teacher or to other pupils for help and they discuss work with their peers to clarify their thinking. Revisiting topics in different ways, for example, in practical work, role play, written work and discussion, means that they approach the same work a number of times and this reinforces their understanding. Learning is least effective in lessons in Years 7 to 9 where pupils’ knowledge is not probed by follow-up questions to factual answers and hence pupils miss the opportunity to explain thinking and address misunderstandings. The printed booklets used by all pupils work best where they outline the learning progression clearly and where they reflect the imaginative activities of the best-taught lessons. They are least effective when they limit the attainment of