[H]unter Hall School in Penrith, had important visitors at the end of September as the Independent School’s Inspectorate (ISI), an independent body approved by the government’s Department of Education called for two days.
The inspectors who visited Hunter Hall; Cumbria’s only stand-alone preparatory school, looked at many facets of school life including the pastoral welfare of the children, safeguarding procedures and all aspects of health and safety. Parents and children were asked to complete questionnaires and the inspectors spent time talking to children, staff and governors, as well as pouring over policies and procedures and monitoring their implementation.
The school was delighted to get a 100% complete clean bill of health and therefore continues to be an outstanding school of excellence.
All standards were met with no further action required as a result of the inspection. The children, staff, parents and governors were thrilled with the outcome, a report richly deserved. Head teacher Donna Vinsome said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the results of our latest inspection. It has been a very worthwhile exercise and whilst it was never in any doubt what a super school Hunter Hall is, as a place to educate children, it was wonderful to hear a ringing endorsement that the school had met each standard with aplomb!”
The school opened in 1985 and has provided an independent education for hundreds of children from around the area since. Hunter Hall School provides a strong foundation for learning, with exam results and senior school destinations including 11+ pass rates extremely high making the school a very appealing place for children to begin their education.
Mrs Vinsome continues, “We work very hard to ensure our school and our pupils flourish and the results we achieve through inspections, exam results and secondary school places are evidence of this. All the team and each of our pupils should feel very proud”
Hunter Hall continues to provide very affordable independent education with fees well below the national norm offering extremely good value education. Fees are also inclusive of after school care which helps many hard working parents knowing that their children are being looked after at the end of the school day with fun structured activities taking place.
TES Education awards
Another reason to celebrate this week is that the school has been shortlisted for two awards from the Times Educational Supplement in the annual Independent School Awards – for Marketing Campaign of the year and an Independent State School partnership award.
The awards, which take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London in February, celebrate those schools making remarkable strategic contributions to independent education. From individuals to teams, TES look to applaud excellence and reward innovation; providing benchmarks for the sector as a whole.