THE last of Burnley’s new secondary schools to be inspected by Ofsted has received a glowing report.

Blessed Trinity RC College has been rated as a good school by government watchdogs, who give particular praise to the “outstanding” leadership of headteacher Bernadette Bleas-dale, and the support pupils receive.

The report rates the school as good in every major category, making it the best given to all of the secondary schools created under Lancashire County Council’s £250million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project in September 2006.

Five schools were opened in Burnley, replacing the town’s eight secondaries, and two in Pendle.

Blessed Trinity was one of three new schools created by merging two – St Hilda’s and St Theodore’s – and continues to operate out of separate sites four miles apart.

The inspection report said: “Under the outstanding leadership of the headteacher, the school has developed a strong sense of common purpose in a relatively short time.

“Difficult transition arrang-ements have been well managed and, as a result, disruption has been kept to a minimum and pupils’ learning has not suffered.”

Inspectors praise the above average standards, particularly in English, and the school’s “relentless focus” on improving standards.

Consistently good teaching and an effective curriculum, and a Catholic ethos which underpins pupils’ good development, mean pupils enjoy school and are polite and confident young people, the report said.

Inspectors added: “Parents were overwhelmingly positive in their views. One comment that ‘we are very happy with every aspect of Blessed Trinity’s schooling and would recommend it to anyone’ was typical.”

Miss Bleasdale said: “This report is a credit to the hard work and dedication of all our staff and to the wonderful trust and support given to us by the parents of our pupils.”

The good report means that the school will not be re-inspected in the next 12 months.

“We can now concentrate on and enjoy the design process for our fantastic new building,” added Miss Bleasdale.

As part of the third BSF building phase, Blessed Trinity’s new building in Ormerod Road is scheduled to open by 2010.

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