Rathfriland High School

Overview

This sustaining improvement inspection was conducted during industrial action, meaning teachers did not cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) states it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the children.” Evaluations are based solely on documentary evidence available at the time.

Strengths

• Public examination results at Key Stage 4 have “improved further over the last three years” and remain a “key strength of the school.”
• The proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C is “consistently above the Northern Ireland average” for similar schools.
• Outcomes for pupils entitled to free school meals have “increased significantly” and are above the national average for this group.
• The school conducts a “thorough and detailed annual review” of its curriculum to align courses with pupils’ “individual interests, abilities and career aspirations.”
• Pupils benefit from a “very good range of academic and vocational subjects,” including those via the Banbridge Area Learning Community.

Areas to improve

• The report identifies no specific areas for improvement, as the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully” the school’s capacity for improvement due to the industrial action.

Safeguarding

The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education,” and pupils reported they “feel safe and secure in school,” though the ETI could not fully evaluate the outworking of these arrangements.