Debenham High School, near Stowmarket and Diss, is rated ‘good’ in first full Ofsted inspection since 2008

A high school where students make ‘excellent progress’ has been graded ‘good’ overall with ‘outstanding’ features in its first full inspection for 15 years.

Debenham High School’s previous full inspection by Ofsted was in January 2008 – when it was judged ‘outstanding’ – before the school became an academy.

A team of four inspectors assessed the school in Debenham, near Stowmarket and Diss, over March 2 and 3 this year and rated it good for overall effectiveness, with outstanding behaviour and attitudes and personal development. Quality of education and leadership and management were felt to be good.

Inspectors praised pupils’ ‘exemplary behaviour’ and said they worked ‘exceptionally hard’ in lessons and were ‘strong role models’.

The inspection report said: “Pupils leave Debenham High School having made excellent progress.

“Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and academic effort, and pupils rise to meet these.

“Pupils receive highly focused, good-quality teaching, which enables them to make progress.”

It also said students had access to an exceptionally wide range of trips and clubs, they had excellent relationships with their tutors and pupils were highly respectful of each other.

It continued: “There is very little bullying. Where there is unkind behaviour or language used, pupils are confident that staff will resolve it quickly. Pupils are very happy and safe attending this school.”

Students have many opportunities to develop leadership skills and there is a wide range of support services in place, inspectors said.

Careers education was described as ‘thorough and ambitious’, with the report saying pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of education.

To improve, Ofsted said the support for those who join the school with weak reading and maths needed to be more rigorous so pupils can catch up quicker, and there needed to be strategies to encourage older pupils to read more widely, beyond the core curriculum.