Inspection Reports
Independent Schools Inspectorate Inspection
Inspection Date: 26th to 27th January 2010
“A School Where 'Good' is No Longer Good Enough"
To read these reports in full please click on the above right hand link for Framlingham College or click on Brandeston Hall. These have been sent to our parents and if you require a hard copy please contact Miss Suzie Angove on 01728 723789.
Framlingham College and its preparatory school, Brandeston Hall, have both received excellent inspection reports from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). The schools were visited separately by the ISI inspection teams in February, and the reports were published in April. The ISI has a standard framework for inspection which it has laid down for the purposes of ensuring that standards in education are maintained and that the school complies with relevant legal requirements. This framework enjoys the full support and endorsement of both the DCSF and Ofsted.
Framlingham College, a co-educational boarding and day school for 13-18 year olds, was described as being 'highly successful in meeting its stated aims and mission' of providing a first class, holistic education, in a safe and inspiring environment, accessible to a broad range of boys and girls. The College has a fine record in stretching the most able pupils, and claims that its 'value-added' rating for those pupils who are not automatically destined to achieve A grades at GCSE and A Level stands alongside the very best in the country. DCSF figures covering recent years confirmed this when placing the College among the top 5% in the country at improving pupils' grades between GCSE and A level, and this is reflected in the report which describes much of the teaching as 'outstanding'.
The inspection reports offered high praise for the pastoral and extra-curricular provision at both schools, commenting in particular on the excellent relationships enjoyed by the pupils with both their teachers and their peers. The 'excellent standard' of boarding at Brandeston was recognised, and both reports speak of the 'feeling of mutual respect and trust (that) pervades the schools', describing the children at Brandeston (aged 3-13) as 'unfailingly polite to visitors'. The social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of the pupils was described as 'outstanding'.
Part of the inspection process included a survey of parents at both schools, and the reports describe their response 'overwhelmingly favourable' at Brandeston Hall, while parents at the College 'particularly approved of the good quality of teaching, the range and quality of academic and extra-curricular opportunities, and the quality of pastoral care'.
Headmaster Paul Taylor was full of praise for the 'thorough and professional inspection process', and said he was 'delighted to have an objective affirmation of all that the schools do. As a new Headmaster, it endorsed all the positive impressions I have had of the energy and vitality of the pupils here, and for me the report's assertion that this "is now a school where 'good' is no longer good enough" says it all. I couldn't have chosen the words better myself!'.