AN Ofsted inspector was left feeling impressed after recently visiting John Kyrle High School.

Dr Gwen Coates spent a day reviewing the Ross-based school's provision for most-able students as part of a national survey.

Subject-survey inspections of this nature do not lead to a grading for the school but rather will inform a national report from Ofsted on good practice to be shared with all schools in the spring.

Most of her day was spent with a selection of most-able students from Year Eight and the Sixth Form talking about their experiences at school and reviewing their work. She also had a tour of the school, including the soon-to-be-opened £1.25m Centre of Excellence for Mathematics, and attended a Year 10 assembly taken by the headteacher Mr Nigel Griffiths.

Dr Coates concluded that there is 'highly-effective' practice at John Kyrle in its provision for and the standards gained by its most-able students. She also noted it was clear every student mattered, irrespective of ability. She was impressed with the quality of teaching and learning and the impact it had on standards, the effective use of assessment and the expectation of students to respond to this, and the way in which students felt challenged and supported.

In terms of the Sixth Form, the school achieves among the highest standards nationally and this leads to many students progressing to top-performing universities.

Mr Griffiths said: "I am delighted with the outcome of this inspection which exemplifies the high-quality teaching and learning at the school leading to record results at both GCSE and A level.

"I commend the students and staff for the way they presented themselves during the inspection and how they evidenced the strong culture for learning at John Kyrle, a school in which every student matters."