Kensington Aldridge Academy rated ‘Outstanding’ in first full Ofsted Inspection Report

by Vashti Turner  on January 17, 2018  in  Academy News

Students and staff are delighted with the news that Kensington Aldridge Academy (KAA) have been rated “outstanding” in our first full Ofsted inspection. Inspectors graded KAA outstanding in all categories, saying that “what the school has achieved is remarkable.”

Ofsted praised the school’s leadership and management, saying “Leaders have created a culture of high expectations and a commitment to excellence from all staff. The quality of leadership at all levels is exceptional.”

Inspectors highlighted the success of the school’s sixth form, saying, “The sixth form is outstanding. Students make excellent progress, including the most able.” They noted the partnership KAA has with local independent schools, stating, “Godolphin and Latymer support sixth form students by giving additional advice and guidance to students on the university admission process.”

Teachers’ have “excellent subject knowledge” and teaching at the academy is “highly effective”. One quote states, “as a result of high-quality teaching and a demanding subject curriculum, pupils develop strong subject-specific skills that help them to become confident mathematicians, linguists, historians and scientists, for example.”

Inspectors observed that the personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils is outstanding, saying that “pupil’s behaviour is excellent. They take great pride in their work and have highly positive attitudes to learning.” The report adds that KAA students are “confident, resilient and hardworking and develop into mature and thoughtful young adults. They use words like, ‘inclusive’, ‘family’ and ‘community’ to describe the school.”

KAA student Leah (10 Simmons) said, “Hearing about the ‘outstanding’ rating made me proud to attend the school. I think that fact that KAA is like a family is what makes it outstanding.”

David Benson, Principal at KAA, said, “I’m delighted for students, parents and staff with this news, which comes at the end of a very tough year for the academy. It’s important for our community to know they have a school at their heart which, in Ofsted’s words, delivers not just outstanding but “exceptional” outcomes.”

Chair of Governors, Mick May OBE, said, “This excellent result is richly deserved and reflects the consistently high standard of commitment given by KAA staff. We are very grateful to our sponsors Aldridge Education and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for everything they have done to get us to this point.”

Sir Rod Aldridge OBE, Chairman of the Aldridge Foundation and Trustee of Aldridge Education, said, “I am immensely proud of the achievement of the academy, its students, staff, governing body and the Trust Team that supports our schools.”

The full inspection report can be viewed as a PDF here.