Two Boats School

At Two Boats School, we make excellent provision for the educational needs of all children aged 3-16 on Ascension Island. Our class sizes and exam success would be the envy of most schools around the world.

The report of our inspection carried out in November 2014 by School Inspection Service, one of the contractors licensed to conduct inspections under the Ofsted-accredited regime for British Schools Overseas found the school’s provision to be good with many excellent features. Specifically:? 

• Two Boats School is highly successful in meeting its aims
• It provides a good education for its pupils, making use of its stimulating location
• Commitment by staff to the interests and education of the pupils is paramount
• Pupils’ behaviour is excellent
• No teaching is less than good and a third of that observed was outstanding
• The curriculum is good, and is broad and balanced
• Pupils make good progress
• Social and moral development of the pupils is excellent and their cultural and spiritual development is good
• The school puts great emphasis on communication with parents
• The school is very well led and managed
• The school is well resourced
• The school is successful in achieving high standards of performance
• Strong emphasis is placed on safeguarding
• Attention to the welfare, health and safety of pupils is excellent.

Pupils follow a curriculum modelled on the National Curriculum for England and take English National Curriculum tests at age seven and eleven followed by IGCSEs at age sixteen.  71% of pupils leaving in 2014 achieved 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Maths, up from 56% in 2013 and 60% in 2012.  The other two pupils in the 2014 cohort achieved a range of A-G passes despite their profound special educational needs.  These were Two Boats School’s best results ever, and the best results in the South Atlantic by some distance, with very pleasing results at other key stages.

Although this is a state school maintained by the Ascension Island Government, it has many features of a British International School and membership of COBIS. The school enjoys strong support from the island community and a parent group with the high expectations indicated by their decision to move here to work with their families. Ascension has no permanent population so the majority of our pupils are St. Helenian British with significant minorities from mixed and UK backgrounds. We have a committed and supportive staff team from the UK and St. Helena.

In the most positive way possible, this job is like no other, and this school is like no other. The pupils are amongst the most well-behaved, caring, assured and engaged that you are likely to meet anywhere. Whether as prospective pupil, parent, member of staff or interested observer, I commend the work of Two Boats School to you.

Headteacher