Wick High School

Overview

The inspection found that Wick High School benefits from strong leadership that fosters an “aspirational culture” and collaborative staff approaches. Positive relationships between staff and young people create a “calm and orderly learning environment,” while pupils demonstrate strong community pride and a keenness to learn.

Strengths

• Effective leadership by the acting rector, supported by depute headteachers and faculty heads, underpins collaborative staff efforts that are “improving outcomes for young people.”
• Respectful interactions between staff and pupils support a positive climate for learning.
• Young people are described as “friendly, keen to learn” and take pride in their contributions to school and local community life.

Areas to improve

• Create learner pathways that “meet better the needs of all young people” by working closely with partners to plan a wide range of experiences.
• Further develop whole-school approaches to health and wellbeing, including providing more opportunities for young people to be “actively involved in decision-making.”
• Raise attainment by setting “appropriate and aspirational goals” and developing consistent assessment approaches to help identify effective targets.

Safeguarding

The report evaluates the quality indicator for “Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion” as “satisfactory” and notes the need to further develop approaches to the health and wellbeing of young people as a whole school responsibility.