INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INSPECTORATE - Radley College

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Radley College 8 The Quality of Teaching (Including Assessment) 2.29 The teaching is highly effective. A large proportion of the lessons observed were outstanding, with none being less than satisfactory. The clear attainment of the college’s aim that boys should exceed their academic expectations is demonstrated by the excellent results in public examinations, given the relatively wide range of ability as reflected by performance in nationally standardised tests. 2.30 The level of learning support is exceptional and the close monitoring of pupils, both on entry and during their progression through the college, enables boys of all abilities to make excellent progress and to grow in confidence. The use of the e-grey book, the college’s ICT management system, ensures that the dons have full access to all relevant information concerning LDDs, and this is clearly used in the preparation of most lessons to ensure that teaching is pitched at an appropriate level. 2.31 The dons show outstanding care and concern for the academic progress made by the pupils. This is highly appreciated by both the boys and their parents. When asked what was best at Radley, the most frequent response from the pupils was the quality of the teaching, whilst the parental pre-inspection questionnaire produced comments about the inspirational, encouraging and committed teachers. Many departments have society meetings in the late evening and these are well attended by both pupils and dons, as was observed at a lively meeting of the mathematics society. 2.32 At its best, the teaching demonstrates the huge enthusiasm of the dons for their subjects and this fosters real interest from the pupils and a thirst for knowledge. Much of the teaching in modern foreign languages was clearly inspirational. A pupil in Year 13 had been moved to read Proust in French in his spare time, as a result of the highly stimulating teaching that he has received. In many areas, particularly in the creative subjects, boys are encouraged to undertake independent work, in line with the college’s desire that they should be encouraged to think and research for themselves. Good practice in this area was seen in ICT, chemistry, geography, art and DT. However, elsewhere the style of teaching is occasionally didactic and, where this is the case, pupils are not greatly involved in the learning process. 2.33 Lessons are well planned and, at their best, utilise an appropriate variety of activities. However, some teachers are rather limited in their approach and, although the end result of excellent examination performances might be forthcoming, the wider aims of education are not always addressed by the teaching methods employed. Whilst definite progress has been made in this area since the last inspection, particularly through the implementation of the extremely thorough appraisal system and encouragement of mutual lesson observation, it is clear that gaps remain. Some excellent examples of team teaching were witnessed in biology, DT and drama. All dons demonstrate extremely high standards of professionalism and this encourages the outstanding discipline and work ethic of the boys that are apparent across all age and curriculum groups. 2.34 The level of knowledge and understanding of their subject shown by the vast majority of the dons is considerable and this allows for some exceptional teaching. This knowledge is complemented by the outstanding resources which are evident in all academic areas of the college, and much excellent use of appropriate technology was observed, for example the use of tablet PCs in mathematics, webcam demonstrations in chemistry and computer sequencer programmes in music. Best practice makes use of all the teaching resources available through web links and the intranet.
Radley College 9 2.35 The school provides an extensive range of excellent resources. The library strongly supports learning, providing a welcoming and stimulating environment to study, research or read for pleasure. Boys benefit very much from the ICT facilities. These support and enhance the educational experience through speedy communication, plentiful research opportunities and the development of ICT skills. 2.36 Assessment of pupils’ work takes place on a regular basis and, through the use of three weekly interim reports and the end of term reports, the boys are aware of the progress that they are making. Marking is detailed and gives pupils clear advice on ways to improve their work. Similarly, reports address the issues of individual pupils and leave the pupils in no doubt as to what is needed to develop academic performance. In Year 9, pupils are initially setted on the basis of performances in entrance examinations, but regular checks are made through the use of year-wide assessments, such as the warden’s algebra test in mathematics in Years 9 and 10, to provide more accurate information, and re-setting occurs to ensure that the most suitable level of education is provided for every boy. The outstanding e-grey book enables the teaching staff to have full access to the progress made by the boys, and a collegewide grading system for effort and attainment is both universally understood and utilised, ensuring maximum transparency of performance. 2.37 The quality of the teaching staff is one of the real strengths of the college, and the boys and their parents are grateful to have the benefit of such a highly motivated group of dons. 2.38 The college meets the regulatory requirements for teaching [Standard 1].
Page 1 and 2: INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INSPECTORATE IN
Page 3 and 4: Radley College 1 1. INTRODUCTION Ch
Page 5 and 6: Radley College 3 2. THE QUALITY OF
Page 7 and 8: Radley College 5 Pupils’ Learning
Page 9: Radley College 7 ages to be thought
Page 13 and 14: Radley College 11 3.7 The college i
Page 15 and 16: Radley College 13 The Quality of Bo
Page 17 and 18: Radley College 15 4. THE EFFECTIVEN
Page 19 and 20: Radley College 17 4.14 A recommenda
Page 21: Radley College 19 6. SUMMARY OF INS

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INSPECTORATE - Radley College

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