Inspectors concluded that in the areas of overall effectiveness; outcomes for pupils; leadership and management; teaching, learning and assessment; and personal development, behaviour and welfare, Parkside meets the criteria for the highest grading available. Inspectors concluded that “in a culture of inclusive learning, the headteacher, governors and senior leaders demonstrate an unwavering commitment to securing the best possible outcomes for all pupils.”
Parkside Sixth, the school’s sixth form, gained a good rating, with inspectors praising staff and students. They highlighted the excellent destinations that Parkside Sixth students go on to. “The proportion of students who are successful in gaining university places is higher than the national average. Most students who choose this route gain their first-choice university place. These include opportunities to study in some of the best-performing higher education institutions nationally.”
Parkside’s GCSE results have been consistently the highest for attainment among Cambridgeshire state schools for the past few years, while GCSE progress in 2016 was in the top 5% of school nationally. The pass rate for students taking the rigorous International Baccalaureate is well above the world average, while the average BTEC grade is a distinction. Inspectors noted that these excellent outcomes are complemented by an inclusive approach to education.
Headteacher, Jodh Dhesi, said the following: “We are so happy that our students, staff, governors and families have achieved this. A result like this comes through hard work on everyone’s part, and it is a just reward for the efforts put in by the whole school community over the past few years. We now look forward to taking Parkside even further.”
In Autumn 2016, only 4% of schools converted from good to outstanding under the Ofsted framework.
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