Ofsted report is good news for Berwick Middle School

Following a two-day inspection in March, the report on Berwick Middle School has now been made public and it continues to be a Good school.

There were positive comments about the standard of teaching and the curriculum, the school’s SEND provision, behaviour, personal development, safeguarding and reading, among other areas.

The changes being proposed by Northumberland County Council would see Berwick Middle School, Glendale Middle School and Tweedmouth Community Middle School close on August 31, 2026.

The first schools in the Berwick Partnership would expand their age range up to 11 to become primary schools from September 2025 and Berwick Academy would become an age 11 to 18 secondary academy from September 2026.

Reacting to the Ofsted report, Berwick Middle School headteacher Glen Bird said in a message to parents and carers: “This report is overwhelmingly positive and this is down to the passion, hard work and dedication of the staff and governors, the fabulous pupils that we get to work with each day and the support from yourselves and the community we serve.

“I would like to personally thank you all for the support you offer – it really does make a difference to your child's learning.

“We pride ourselves on our broad and balanced curriculum, and we are delighted that this comes across in the report.

“Despite being extremely impressed by the lessons they observed, to improve our curriculum further Ofsted have asked us to think about the sequencing of our lessons in some of our planning. Because we received this feedback confidentially on the 14th of March, this has already taken place.”

The report also says that the children at Berwick Middle are very active in school life and “all pupils attend at least one extra-curricular activity, either at lunchtime or after school”.

A statutory consultation on the planned changes to the Berwick Partnership is currently taking place, with a report to the county council’s cabinet on its findings and a final recommendation expected to be produced in July.