Secondary Subject Report Comments (KS3 and KS4), Years 7-11
In secondary schools in England, each subject teacher writes a short comment on the report: what the student does well in that subject and a specific target. Headteachers must report to parents at least once a year, giving brief particulars of achievements and highlighting strengths and developmental needs in each subject (GOV.UK guide for headteachers, updated 8 May 2024). There is no national subject scale; these examples use Excellent, Good, Developing and Needs support.
Each page below covers one skill for one grade band, with sample strengths and next steps at every level and tips for writing your own. These comments are written for the subject teacher comments on a secondary school report in England.
Comments by skill and grade band
Also: opening and closing sentences for each report period.
The 4 comment levels
| Code | Level |
|---|---|
| E | Excellent |
| G | Good |
| D | Developing |
| N | Needs support |
The four levels describe how secure, accurate and independent the learning is, never a grade. Excellent suits precise, perceptive work that applies ideas to unfamiliar contexts; Good suits usually accurate with occasional guidance; Developing suits sometimes, or with a worked example; Needs support names what is emerging and the help that works. Show the level through the work rather than writing the level word.
Tips for subject report comments
- Keep attainment out of the subject comment. Many schools show grades or working-at bands in a separate table, so describe the learning itself and leave out marks, targets, predictions and exam board or specification names.
- Write about learning in the subject, not effort, equipment or behaviour, which usually sit in the attitude to learning section. Box sizes vary by school, but one strength, one concrete target and an optional home tip is usually enough.
- Students often read their reports too. Name a piece of work they will recognise, such as a source analysis, a practical write-up or a sketchbook page, and phrase the target as something they could start in the next lesson.
This site shows 376 of the 4,216 sentences in the pack. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department for Education, Ofqual, Ofsted, any exam board, any local authority or any academy trust. Subjects, year groups and key stages are named for identification only.
How these sentences were made, and what has been checked: About these comments.