Watchdog praises Wigan school that pupils love to attend

Orrell Holgate Academy, part of the Greengate Academy Trust, was visited by the inspectorate last month, earning a “Good” rating.

It is one of the first Wigan schools to be reviewed under the new education standard assessments.

The report said that pupils enjoy their learning and say that it is fun. They behave exceptionally well around school and in their lessons. They are polite, well mannered and care about others.”

Children at the school in Moor Road also told inspectors that bullying was “very rare” but that, if it does happen, staff deal with it effectively.

Head Gail Worrall said: “I can’t begin to describe how delighted we are with this report. At every level the inspector not only praised what our pupils and staff have achieved, but also applauded how we have achieved it.

“The final report says our pupils are polite, well-mannered and care about others. Our staff are recognised for their strong subject knowledge that ‘ensures that pupils achieve well in a range of subjects’ and our leadership team, in the broadest sense, have ‘high expectations for all’.

“In fact, the inspector really understood what I think makes this school so special: we are not just here to help our children achieve, we want to ensure that our pupils really are the pride of our community on every level.”

The report says parents are “overwhelmingly positive about the school” and praises the wide-range of activities to support pupils’ personal development, an “ambitious” mathematics curriculum, a school passion for reading and how much pupils enjoy their lessons.

As a result, the report concludes that Orrell Holgate Academy “continues to be a good school”.

Jane Chambers, CEO of the Greengate Academy Trust, said: “I would just like to congratulate every single person who has a role to play in supporting our amazing children.

“Just to highlight how special this school is, given the outcomes that our pupils achieve, we believe that under the old framework we would have been pushing for outstanding.

“The inspector rightly noted that we need greater focus on our pupil’s long-term memory, but the fact that was the only real barrier goes to show that we think we were very close to being one of the first schools to be awarded the very top grade under the new, more challenging, guidelines.”