Sheldon School in Chippenham given latest Ofsted rating

Sheldon School in Chippenham was visited by inspectors for two days in March this year and has now been named a ‘Good’ school, in a report published on Tuesday, May 14.

The 1,662-pupil secondary was previously rated as ‘Good’ but an ungraded inspection in December 2022 found this rating may have been lowered if the visit was graded.

Headteacher Peter Lynch, who took over at the start of this academic year, said both pupils and teachers should be “incredibly proud” of the rating.

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Students celebrate Sheldon School's latest Ofsted rating (Image: Sheldon School)

He said: “We are delighted with the 'Good' rating across all categories.

“It reflects the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, and the entire school community. Everyone should be incredibly proud of this school.

“The next step is to build upon this strong foundation and develop a truly exceptional school for Chippenham and its community.”

Inspectors rated Sheldon as ‘Good’ in all assessed categories during their visit, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management.

Last year Mr Lynch told this paper he had “raised expectations” on pupils by enforcing “stringent” uniform and behaviour policies.

This was reflected in the findings of the inspectors, who noted that incidents of bullying and discrimination had fallen following a “marked improvement” in tackling poor behaviour.

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The report said: “The school has refined and clarified its expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Both pupils and staff understand and value the impact of this.”

The school says it has taken action to improve standards since the challenges of the pandemic.

Mr Lynch added: “We will not be complacent and will continue to work with parents, carers and external organisations to get the best for all our students, including those with SEN, whilst recognising the challenges which Sheldon and schools nationally have been facing over recent years due to cuts in funding and support for families and schools.”

Sheldon School (Image: Sheldon School)

The school was also praised for having a “broad and ambitious curriculum” alongside a range of extra-curricular offerings.

Louise Carver, chair of the board of governors, said: “The recognition by Ofsted is confirmation of the progress that has been made at the school over the 14 months since the last inspection.

“I’m enormously grateful to our staff in teaching and non-teaching roles who have contributed to this outcome, to our students and to the Chippenham community for their support.

“Sheldon is a school of which we can all be very proud.”