Last week the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) published the results of its most recent inspection of St Leonards-Mayfield School (‘Mayfield’). The report confirms that the quality of education offered to the students at this East Sussex boarding school is outstanding.
The report is the outcome of a rigorous four-day inspection by the ISI, which took place from the 25th to the 28th October. The inspectors have concluded that the quality of academic provision, the pupils’ personal development at School, and the effectiveness of the School’s governance and management all rank as ‘excellent’.
The inspectors looked in detail at each aspect of school life. The quality of teaching, the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the knowledge and understanding demonstrated by the pupils and the results in public examinations were all graded as ‘excellent’.
So too were the quality of pastoral care, the quality of relationships within the classrooms and the boarding houses, and the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development displayed by the students.
Both the provision of extra-curricular activities and the pupils’ achievements in those activities were offered very high praise.
The report credits the School with first-rate provision across a diverse range of activities. For example, the inspectors remarked that, ‘Mathematical knowledge is particularly strong and is used effectively across all areas of the curriculum.
Confidence in scientific knowledge and ICT is evident’, whilst at the same time noting that, ‘The pupils have exceptional creative skills, and achievement is particularly high in the artistic subjects’.
Headmistress Antonia Beary commented: “We are clearly delighted that the ISI has again recognised the many and diverse strengths of the School. The focus was on the outstanding success of the girls in our care. The inspectors were impressed by our academic rigour and support for individual pupils, our pastoral care, the girls’ achievements both inside and outside of the classroom and the quality of teaching, but I am particularly pleased that they applauded the culture of our community: our commitment to tolerance, respect, social and cultural awareness, and moral and spiritual development. These are long-standing characteristics of the School, ones which set us apart from most other maintained and independent schools.”