St Benedict's Roman Catholic Upper School

St Benedict's Roman Catholic School is a co-educational Roman Catholic state school in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England.[1] Opened in 1967, it is part funded by the Catholic diocese of East Anglia and Suffolk Local Education Authority. The school has around 880 students.[2]

St Benedict's Catholic School
Address
Beetons Way

Bury St Edmunds
,
Suffolk
,
IP32 6RH

England
Coordinates52°15′30″N 0°42′07″E
Information
TypeComprehensive
MottoOra et Labora
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1967
Local authoritySuffolk
Department for Education URN124861 Tables
OfstedReports
HeadteacherImogen Senior
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 19
Enrolmentc.880
HousesCaritas, Industria, Patientia, Humanitas
Colour(s)Green, Silver and Black
Websitehttp://www.st-benedicts.suffolk.sch.uk

St Benedict's is a Mathematics and Computing Specialist School.[3] Whilst the school is based in Bury St. Edmunds, many of its students travel from a wide area, including Haverhill, Thetford, Sudbury, Stowmarket, Newmarket and other surrounding villages and towns, because it is the only Catholic upper school in the vicinity.

Ofsted

In September 2014, a snap Ofsted inspection (which were introduced after Operation Trojan Horse), was held at the school.[4] Following the inspection, the school's previous rating of good was downgraded to "needs improvement".[5] Inspectors found St Benedict's to be in breach of rules surrounding guarding against extremism and radicalisation, and were failing to prepare students “for life and work in modern Britain”.[6] The report was withdrawn within hours,[6] with Ofsted stating that "quality assurance checks" were required.[5][6] In November 2014, the school was one of 11 highlighted by Ofsted as failing to promote British values.[7]

The wording of the report was later revised, with references to extremism and radicalisation removed, but the needs improvement rating was maintained.[8][9] The decision to downgrade the school was criticised both by the Head teacher of the school and the Catholic Education Service.[7] An interim inspection then took place in January 2015, and Ofsted wrote to the school to confirm "the school has made progress in key areas since the inspection."[8] Later that month the school was ranked second in the West Suffolk league table, with Head Teacher Hugh O'Neill stating, “The results vindicate the work we do here. I think you will find that there is a disparity between schools’ Ofsted ratings and their position in the league table across the county.”[10]

The school was graded as Outstanding or Good in all areas in its most recent Ofsted inspection carried out in September 2016.[11]

Curriculum

The school follows the National Curriculum and offers a range of subjects at GCSE and A-Level. As a Catholic school, Religious Education is taught from that standpoint and is compulsory at GCSE and sixth form students are obliged to enrol in a course leading to a certificate in Religious Education.

The school offers a sixth form for students over the age of 16, covering Year 12s and Year 13s. Overlapping timetables with neighbouring County Upper School has given students the opportunity of taking A-Level courses from both schools. A range of compulsory courses such as Finance Management are mandatory.[12]

References
  1. Suffolk County Council school profile. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  2. Direct Gov School profile. Retrieved 15 May 2009
  3. Ofsted Profile. Retrieved 15 May 2009
  4. "Bury St Edmunds: Why did Ofsted inspectors choose to spot check highly regarded St Benedict's Catholic School?". Emma Brennan. East Anglian Daily Times. 17 September 2014.
  5. "Bury St Edmunds: Ofsted accused of being 'heavy handed' following judgement of St Benedict's School". Mariam Ghaemi. Ipswich Star. 5 October 2014.
  6. "Catholic school breaches 'Trojan Horse' Ofsted rules". Richard Adams. The Guardian. 3 October 2014.
  7. "Catholics demand apology after Ofsted makes 'unsubstantiated' extremism claim against school". Graeme Paton. The Telegraph. 15 December 2014.
  8. "Inspector's visit puts St Benedict's Catholic School on track to 'reclaim' 'good' Ofsted rating". Matt Reason. East Anglian Daily Times. 13 February 2015.
  9. "Ofsted backs away from 'British values' claims in Suffolk school row". Richard Adams. The Guardian. 14 November 2014.
  10. "St Benedict's Catholic School 'vindicated' by high flying league table position after Ofsted rating downgrade". Matt Reason. East Anglian Daily Times. 29 January 2015.
  11. "St Benedict's Catholic School". Ofsted. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  12. St Benedict's Catholic School - Sixth Form Brochure 2011/2012 Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
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