Childwall Sports and Science Academy

° The headteacher, ably supported by senior leaders, governors and the trust, has navigated the school through difficult financial and staffing challenges well. The school is now stable and improving quickly.

° The school’s curriculum, including the personal, social, health and careers education programme, is highly attuned to pupils’ needs, and aspirations.

° Pupils’ behaviour and conduct are good. They feel safe and well supported.

° Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is commendable.

° Low-attaining pupils and pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress.

° Since the last inspection, pupils’ progress by the end of key stage 4 has been weaker in English, mathematics and science than in other subjects.

° Some pupils in key stage 4 have not benefited from improvements in teaching for long enough to tackle weaknesses in their knowledge, understanding and skills.

° Although pupils’ progress in science overall has improved, their progress and attainment in the combined science qualification are too weak. This is due to gaps in pupils’ knowledge caused by previous weak teaching.

° Leaders have managed a very turbulent staffing period very well since the last inspection but teaching in some areas of the school requires improvement.

° Some teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils, especially boys and the most able.

° Teachers do not develop pupils’ writing skills, effectively across the school.

° Not all teachers use pupils’ support plans as well as they could to improve the progress of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.

° While attendance in the sixth form is improving, some students do not attend school frequently enough. Some students do not complete the courses that they start. Those studying GCSE mathematics do not make as much progress as those who are studying for their English examinations.

° Some teachers do not insist that the most able complete the more challenging tasks which are routinely set. Consequently, these pupils do not practise writing in more depth, or thinking more deeply about the work that they do, often enough. This hinders their progress.

° While boys demonstrate confident oral skills in class, their written work does not reflect their understanding. Some teachers are not insistent enough that sufficient work is completed and to the required standard. Boys’ performance, especially at key stage 4, lags behind that of girls in many subjects.

° Teachers’ strategies to support pupils’ writing skills are variable across the school. In some subjects and classes, pupils use their grammar, spelling and punctuation knowledge well to structure their writing accurately. Elsewhere, teachers provide little Inspection report: Childwall Sports and Science Academy, 6–7 June 2018 Page 6 of 14 or no guidance to develop pupils’ writing. Consequently, pupils continue to make basic errors and do not build up the stamina to write at length.

° In previous years, too many students, especially those who are of low ability, dropped out of the courses that they had started. Too many did not continue into Year 13 from Year 12. While this year fewer students than previously did not pursue their original course and the number of students staying on to Year 13 increased, student retention and course completion remain issues for the school.

° While students’ attendance to school has improved compared with previous years, it is still not high enough.

It was known as Holt High School on Queen's Drive. It had around 600 boys and a three-form entry in the mid 1940s.

It became the coeducational Holt Comprehensive School in September 1967, when Holt High School for Boys merged with Olive Mount School for Girls. It later became Childwall Comprehensive School, then Childwall Community School. Then after becoming a specialist Sports College, the school was renamed Childwall Sports College.

• Alison Steadman OBE, actress
• Marion Studholme, soprano with the Sadler's Wells Opera Company, now English National Opera (ENO)
• Pauline Yates, actress

The Ken Dodd Elective Scholarships - University of Liverpool

• Maj-Gen John Bartlett CB, Colonel Commandant from 1987-90 of the Royal Army Pay Corps
• Prof John Horton Conway FRS, mathematician and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University,[3] known for Conway's Game of Life
• Sir Ken Dodd OBE, esteemed creator of his Diddy Men
• Michael Montgomery, former barrister and head of the BBC's Brazilian service (BBC Brasil) in the late 1960s
• Les Owen, CEO1995-99 AXA Sun Life plc, CEO 1999-2006 AXA Asia Pacific, Chairman Royal Mail 2018 -
• John Shirley-Quirk CBE, bass-baritone
• Sir David Webster, Chief Executive from 1945-70 of the Royal Opera House

• Rt Rev Nicholas Baines, Bishop of Croydon from 2003, subsequently Bishop of Bradford.
• Mark Womack (British actor) actor
• Tony Bellew, British former professional boxer
• Neil Danns, a professional footballer