Hamilton Grammar School
South Lanarkshire Council
17 March 2009
This report tells you about the quality of education at the school.
We describe how young people benefit from learning there. We
explain how well they are doing and how good the school is at
helping them to learn. Then we look at the ways in which the
school does this. We describe how well the school works with
other groups in the community, including parents1 and services
which support young people. We also comment on how well staff
and young people work together and how they go about
improving the school.
Our report describes the ‘ethos’ of the school. By ‘ethos’ we
mean the relationships in the school, how well young people are
cared for and treated and how much is expected of them in all
aspects of school life. Finally, we comment on the school’s aims.
In particular, we focus on how well the aims help staff to deliver
high quality learning, and the impact of leadership on the school’s
success in achieving these aims.
If you would like to learn more about our inspection of the school,
please visit www.hmie.gov.uk. Here you can find analyses of
questionnaire returns and details about young people’s
examination performance. Where applicable, you will also be
able to find descriptions of good practice in the school and a
report on the learning community surrounding the school.
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Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to
include foster carers, residential care staff and carers who are
relatives or friends.
Contents
1. The school
2. Particular strengths of the school
3. Examples of good practice
4. How well do young people learn and achieve?
5. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s
learning?
6. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving their
school community?
7. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
9. What happens next?
1. The school
Hamilton Grammar School is a non-denominational school which
serves central and eastern areas of the town of Hamilton. The roll was
1139 when the inspection was carried out in January 2009. Young
people’s attendance was below the national average in 2006/2007.
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2. Particular strengths of the school
•
The innovative World View initiative which improved young
people’s learning across subjects and raised their awareness of
global citizenship.
•
The achievements of young people who need additional support
and the quality of the support they receive.
•
The positive attitudes and skills young people have developed
through their involvement in a wide range of opportunities to
achieve in and beyond school.
•
Mutually respectful relationships across the school and a widely
shared pride in the school’s achievements.
•
The quality of young people’s learning experiences across a range
of subjects and through partnership initiatives.
•
The commitment and enthusiasm of all staff to ensuring that all
young people achieve their full potential.
3. Examples of good practice
•
High-quality support to young people in the Communication
Disorder Unit (CDU).
•
Delivering the digital curriculum using blogs and podcasts.
•
Support for young people moving from P7 to S1 through the
‘enrichment task’.
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4. How well do young people learn and achieve?
Learning and achievement
Almost all young people work conscientiously and are keen to learn.
They are well motivated to learn both in and out of class. Their ideas
and suggestions are valued and they take part in lively discussions in
many subjects. Most young people respond positively to high levels of
challenge and pace of learning. At times, they need to be more
involved in setting their own learning targets. Most respond very
positively to wider opportunities to learn new skills. These wider
opportunities are developing positive attitudes to learning in and
beyond school.
Young people have good opportunities to take responsibility, learn
from each other and develop leadership and independent learning
skills. These skills are developed through activities which include
Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, John Muir Awards, volunteer awards and
sports groups. Young people are improving the local environment
through the Eco Schools programme. They are engaged in charity
initiatives which are raising impressive sums of money. As part of a
global citizenship programme, young people and staff are
communicating with a Ghanaian school and orphanage. The World
View project is helping young people develop citizenship skills, learn
about international issues, promote health awareness and take part in
enterprise initiatives. Participation in the student council and other
committees is strong and enthusiastic. By involving themselves in
these activities, young people gain confidence, important knowledge
and skills and develop self-esteem and positive attitudes relevant to
their lives beyond school. The school should now ensure that all
young people benefit from these opportunities, to raise their
achievement.
Most young people in S1/S2 perform well in their coursework and are
making appropriate progress in reading, writing, listening, talking and
mathematics. The number of young people achieving at least five
awards at Foundation or General level is below the national averages.
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This is not as good as other schools which serve young people with
similar needs and backgrounds. Performance at Credit level is notably
better. Results in national examinations for young people by the end
of S6 have been above the national average and better than in schools
which serve young people with similar needs and backgrounds.
Young people who require additional support are making very good
progress. Overall, most young people leave school for university,
college or employment. Those with English as an additional language
(EAL) are progressing well.
Curriculum and meeting learning needs
The curriculum has important strengths, including the broad range of
courses and activities for young people. Learning experiences are
enriched through inter-disciplinary projects at P7/S1 such as ‘Planetary
Colonisation’ and again at S2 with ‘Great Scots’. This approach has
had a positive impact in motivating young people and providing more
opportunities for them to make links in their learning. From S3, the
school provides a growing range of programmes to ensure that young
people have varied options to suit their career aspirations and match
their learning needs. The school has effective arrangements at S4 to
support young people leaving school for work or college. At S5/S6 the
school needs to extend the opportunities for all young people to
participate in high-quality physical activity. There is a well-considered
and relevant curriculum for young people in the CDU. The school
works effectively with local schools, colleges and community partners
to increase learning opportunities for young people. A number of
departments have begun to improve the curriculum in line with the
national initiative Curriculum for Excellence. Pupil support staff give
very useful advice to young people to help them choose subjects at
transition stages.
In most lessons, teachers encourage active learning and engage
young people in tasks and activities which stimulate and challenge
them to perform well. An extensive and effective programme of
cooperative teaching is helping to capitalise on strengths from a range
of staff to support young people’s learning needs. Teachers’
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understanding of the needs of specific groups of young people, for
example, those with dyslexia and autism, is having a positive impact
for all young people across the school. It is helping to develop
teachers’ skills and confidence in teaching for effective learning. In a
range of subjects, young people benefit from effective use of
information and communications technology (ICT) to help them with
their coursework. Innovative and interesting ‘podcasts’ and ‘learning
blogs’ allow young people to review key work covered in a number of
classes, including business education, computing, social subjects and
science. Young people within the CDU are making very good
progress in their learning within a supportive and challenging setting.
They are involved in all aspects of school life and are achieving well in
national tests and examinations. Staff work closely with young people,
their parents and others to ensure that individual needs are met.
Across the school, most staff are aware of any specific needs young
people have but some need to take more account of these when
planning lessons and support. Some teachers rely too heavily on
textbooks or use resources to lead learning rather than focusing on
how best to meet individual needs. The library and the librarian make
a valuable contribution to young people’s learning.
5. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s
learning?
The school works very well in partnership with local organisations and
other services to support learning. Strong links with Motherwell
College and community learning and development providers help to
broaden learning experiences and prepare young people for work.
The Home School Partnership is helping young people and families in
school and in the community. The campus-based police officer has
helped the school to overcome problems and has improved safety.
The use of Access, ASDAN, and beauty therapy courses at S3/4
extend the learning experiences available to young people. These are
improving progression to employment and further or higher education.
The school should continue to work with its partner organisations to
ensure the sustainability of these programmes in the longer term.
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6. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving
their school community?
Young people are very positive about the range of opportunities they
have to be involved in the school community. Increasingly, young
people are directly involved in helping to make improvements by giving
teachers feedback on their learning experiences and aspects of
courses. Systems are in place to evaluate the quality of learning and
teaching and young people’s progress but these are not yet used
consistently across the school. The school should continue to develop
these systems and focus more on their impact on learning. Many
members of staff and young people have enthusiastically taken
leadership roles in groups and activities to develop aspects of the work
of the school.
7. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
Hamilton Grammar is very welcoming and staff provide a high
standard of care. Young people respond well to the staff’s high
expectations of their learning and behaviour. They feel that teachers
encourage them to work to the best of their ability. All members of
staff have very positive relationships with young people and show care
and concern for their wellbeing, dealing well with any incidents which
may occur. The school actively promotes healthy living. Many young
people take part in out-of-class activities and school clubs. School
lunches encourage them to make healthy choices in eating. Staff are
very active in promoting equality through raising awareness of global
citizenship and of the rights and responsibilities of young people. The
school has appropriate arrangements for religious observance.
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
The headteacher’s commitment to the school and his vision that all
young people should achieve the best they can has helped to give a
positive lead to staff and to the community. The school’s team of
depute headteachers has been very effective in bringing about recent
improvements. Senior managers, faculty heads and principal teachers
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have worked successfully with staff and young people across the
school to improve achievement and relationships, attendance and
behaviour. All members of the school community are clear about the
next steps necessary to fulfil the vision set out by the headteacher.
9. What happens next?
We are confident that the school will be able to make the necessary
improvements in light of the inspection findings. As a result, we will
make no more visits in connection with this inspection. The school and
the education authority will inform parents about the school’s progress
in improving the quality of education. We have agreed the following
areas for improvement with the school and education authority.
•
Continue to develop the curriculum in line with Curriculum for
Excellence to improve achievement for all young people.
•
Continue to increase the impact on learning of the school’s
approaches to improvement through self-evaluation.
Quality indicators help schools, education authorities and inspectors to
judge what is good and what needs to be improved in the work of the
school. You can find these quality indicators in the HMIE publication
How good is our school?. Following the inspection of each school, the
Scottish Government gathers evaluations of three important quality
indicators to keep track of how well all Scottish schools are doing.
Here are the evaluations for Hamilton Grammar School.
Improvements in performance
good
Learners’ experiences
very good
Meeting learning needs
very good
We also evaluated the following aspects of the work of the school.
The curriculum
good
Improvement through self-evaluation
good
Managing Inspector: David M Martin
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17 March 2009
To find out more about inspections or get an electronic copy of this
report go to www.hmie.gov.uk. Please contact the Business
Management and Communications Team (BMCT) if you wish to
enquire about our arrangements for translated or other appropriate
versions.
If you wish to comment about any of our inspections, contact us
at HMIEenquiries@hmie.gsi.gov.uk or alternatively you should write in
the first instance to BMCT, HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm
House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way,
Livingston EH54 6GA.
Our complaints procedure is available from our website
www.hmie.gov.uk or alternatively you can write to our Complaints
Manager, at the address above or by telephoning 01506 600259.
If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our
complaints procedure, you can raise your complaint with the Scottish
Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO is fully independent
and has powers to investigate complaints about Government
departments and agencies. You should write to SPSO, Freepost
EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also telephone 0800 377 7330,
fax 0800 377 7331 or e-mail: ask@spso.org.uk. More information
about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website
at www.spso.org.uk.
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements
made by inspectors.
excellent
very good
good
satisfactory
weak
unsatisfactory
outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas for
improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
Crown Copyright 2009
HM Inspectorate of Education.
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