News

Another outstanding secondary school in the North East? We’re not surprised to hear it, but we are absolutely thrilled.

Congratulations to St Mary’s Catholic School! The secondary school, based in Newcastle, received the highest Ofsted judgement of ‘Outstanding’ for all five key areas.

Plus, they received a glowing report that praised students, leaders, the staff and the wider school family. Team work really does make the dream work.

“High expectations, a nurturing ethos and a highly-effective curriculum”

As we’re all more than familiar with by now, Ofsted has significantly raised the bar in all judgement areas, creating more stress and pressure for school staff.

Because of this, fewer schools across the country are now achieving the highest judgement of ‘Outstanding’.  Yes, the system is much trickier to finesse right now, and yet St Mary’s Catholic School aced it.

High expectations, a nurturing ethos and a highly-effective curriculum all led to an Outstanding award for this Newcastle school.

Even better than that, St Mary’s was awarded the prestigious ‘Outstanding’ rating for all areas! This included:

• Quality of education
• Behaviour and attitudes
• Personal development
• Leadership and management
• Sixth-form provision

Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “The current Ofsted framework was introduced from September 2019 and, let’s be honest, it’s an exceptionally challenging framework.

“For St Mary’s to have achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating in every area is incredibly impressive, and we hope the staff are as proud of themselves as we are of them. All that hard work has paid off!

“Positive Ofsted inspections are always brilliant to hear, especially in these demanding times. Thanks for sharing the news with us.”

“The school ensures pupils are ready for their next steps”

A member of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, the school has 1,444 pupils aged from 11 to 18. The report that followed the inspection had many positives to highlight, which is always a pleasure to read.

“St Mary’s is an ambitious and nurturing school where pupils thrive. They are taught how to live out the school’s Christian values in everything they do. This includes a continual focus on the importance of positive relationships, gratitude and service of others.

“Pupils are happy and safe in this exceptionally supportive atmosphere, where leaders ensure that pupils benefit from a high-quality and expansive curriculum,” says the report.

Among other areas highlighted by the inspection team are the school’s exceptional academic outcomes for all pupils, as well as the excellent behaviour climate and strong attendance and punctuality of students.

“The school’s high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are modelled by all staff in the school. As a result, the school is a nurturing and warm environment”.

Emma Patterson, Head Teacher, said: “This is a tremendous achievement for everyone in our school community and is testament to our incredible students and our very dedicated teaching and support staff team.

“It is wonderful to see so much strong practice being recognised, in all areas of school life.

“Most importantly, it was fantastic to see the inspection team clearly recognised the very warm and nurturing ethos in the school, with our Christian values at the heart of this ethos, and the ambition, care and support that we embed for every child in a happy and safe school community.”

The inspection team also highlighted that the school ensures pupils are ready for their next steps, and is committed to a strong careers education.

They also highlighted the inclusivity of the school, noting that, “the school ensures pupils engage with a variety of beliefs and ideas that are different from their own. Pupils are considerate when exploring these sensitive issues”.

Congratulations again, St Mary’s! Give yourselves an extra pat on the back from Schools North East.

St Mary’s Catholic School is a Schools North East Partner School. If you’d like to find out more about our Partner School membership, click here.

We love to hear good news from North East Schools, to share your news with Schools North East please tag @SchoolsNE on Twitter or fill in this short form.