'Good' for Alphington and Bowhill schools

It's good news for two Exeter schools after the dreaded inspectors from Her Majesty's Government swooped. Bowhill Primary and Alphington Primaries' reports have arrived - and they say both schools are 'good'.

For Alphington, that's the same rating as its last report nearly three years ago. Not up. Not down. Just right. Ofsted's said the new headteacher, Sharon Tarr, and her top team has worked hard to ensure that children are safe and happy. Inspector Tom Morrisson, who spent two days at the school, says pupils enjoy going to Alphington Primary and are proud of it. He applauded what they call 'hook' days, such as a visit to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, where the children learned what life was like as an ancient Egyptian and can now spell words such as 'artefact' and 'mummification.'

He's a tad worried that some children are not learning the content of lessons well enough and that holds them back later. But there's a new curriculum, children feel safe and behaviour (presumably of the pupils) is good too.

After inspecting Bowhill Primary, Ofsted's Wendy Marriott reported that she saw children "measuring Jack's beanstalk with a programmable toy." The large school, which has nearly 500 pupils, is a busy place where pupils: "follow the rules and routines and work well together." The children here got to grips with Egypt and, after studying maps of the Exe, understood maps of rivers so well that they could quickly spot: "the source and mouth of the River Nile." They're surrounded with books, teachers read stories every day, but sometimes teachers of children with extra needs move on too quickly with reading so that, although older children can read accurately, they don't always understand what they've read. Sports and clubs go down well and 'green bin goblins' help ensure the environment is taken seriously.

Alphington Primary and Bowhill are in the Exeter Learning Academy Trust, along with St. Thomas Primary and Ide Primary.