The school has been a Specialist Technology College since 1998 resulting in curricular enrichment, improved provision and an increased focus on target setting. There has also been an increased focus on developing teaching and learning in the specialist subjects, in particular through the use of ICT, which now permeates the school.

There have been some notable achievements during the past year as we continue to consider national initiatives, and, not least, to improve further our working practices. We are not complacent as we strive for excellence and recognise that now we have introduced new organisational structures with associated roles/responsibilities from September 2006 the challenge is to ensure that they are effective and that they make significant and lasting impact on the raising of student achievement. At the same time, our school development priorities, offer us the exciting opportunity to provide for our young people an even better school in the future.

The essence of our school is perhaps summed up by the following;

If we see ourselves truly as educators then we must build/contribute to, in some small way, a better world future.

It starts with our community - a learning community which welcomes, inclusively, all young people on a journey which equips them with knowledge, skills, understanding, encourages their creativity and enriches them as unique human beings and encourages them to be caring, responsible members of this school community; our society and global society.

Ofsted, 2007 found Richard Lander to be a very good school with many areas of outstanding practice. Among the very many positive comments, the inspectors said , "The behaviour and attitudes of students are a credit to themselves and the outstanding supportive relationships which exist between students and staff and between students themselves. There is a very real sense of caring and happiness which permeates the school."