Ripon Grammar School‘s boarding school has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.
A report published on Saturday said children “enjoy boarding at this school”, safeguarding arrangements are “effective” and “the school is very well supported by a skilled, experienced governing body”.
Government inspectors rated the boarding provision ‘good’ in all areas assessed. It was rated ‘outstanding’ at its previous Ofsted inspection in 2017.
Ripon Grammar has 929 boys and girls aged 11 to 18 years, of which 94 are boarders. Yearly fees for years seven to 11 are £11,719.
Accommodation is provided in two houses: School House for boys and Johnson House for girls.
School House
The latest Ofsted visit took place from February 8 to 18 this year.
The report said:
“Children enjoy boarding at this school. They make new friends and enjoy socialising with children of all ages. Older children help the younger children, or those new to boarding, to feel at home.
“Children feel they are fortunate to board at this school. They believe that the experience helps
their overall development.“Children are helped to settle as boarders. There is a well-established routine of visits
to the school before children begin boarding.”
Headteacher Jonathan Webb
Boarders told inspectors their boarding houses were like ‘big families’. The report said:
“Everyone has someone they can talk to, which means that children feel reassured
about being away from family members.”
Areas to improve
Ofsted recommended improvements in three areas. It described the arrangements for auditing medication as “mixed”, adding:
“This reduces the effectiveness of the oversight of medication that is stored in the boarding houses. The head of boarding accepts this shortfall and plans to improve these processes.”
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Inspectors also said that although most areas are well maintained “the physical condition of the boarding houses varies” and that “some bathrooms need improving and one of the houses lacks homely touches” .
“Given that some children stay in the boarding houses for long periods, this is detrimental to their experiences.”
Ofsted also said there was a potential risk to children, recognised by leaders, due to the siting of the artificial playing field and their were plans “to improve screening to enhance the protection afforded to children”.
Headteacher ‘extremely pleased’
Mr Webb said:
“Overall we are extremely pleased with the outcome of this report given the increased rigour, now evident from Ofsted, which is being applied to the inspection framework.
“Since our last inspection in 2017, boarding at RGS has most definitely moved on with some essential, possibly less eye-catching, initiatives such as the considerable amount of investment we have made to site and fire security in both houses, extensive upgrades to staff accommodation to ensure we recruit and retain highly qualified and committed staff, and improvements in some of the social spaces such as communal kitchens and common rooms.
“Last year we also added a further 10 new bedrooms in School House to accommodate boarders. In addition, a huge amount of work has been done to standardise routines across both houses and promote boarders’ independence.”
