A SECONDARY school has been taken out of ‘special measures’ and is celebrating its “best ever” GCSE results.

Education watchdog Ofsted has backed the improvement at Forest High School in Cinderford under headteacher Paul Holroyd following its latest inspection.

Three years ago the school was judged ‘inadequate’ and placed under the close scrutiny of special measures.

Mr Holroyd, said: “This report, although very much a ‘work in progress’, recognises the hard work and professionalism of staff, the support of the parents and community of Cinderford and the effectiveness of the governors who oversee the school performance.

“Cinderford needs – and deserves – a very good secondary school. The significant challenges at Forest High School in 2015 meant that the changes needed were extensive and had to be made whilst ensuring we still provided a safe site, an effective curriculum offer, and at a time when schools have had to deal with real time cuts in funding.

“I hope that the community now has confidence that this school will remain open, it will only get stronger academically and the future of secondary education in Cinderford is here to stay.”

The inspectors’ report praised the headteacher’s “calm, determined leadership” and the accurate assessment of attainment and feedback to students by teachers, attendance and the strength of the governing body.

The school was “improving quickly, especially in English”, said Ofsted, following the arrival of the new head at the start of 2017 and many new teaching staff.

Forest High, which was taken under the wing of South Gloucestershire Stroud College Academy Trust in 2015, was placed in special measures after being judged “inadequate” in leadership and management, quality of teaching and achievement of pupils.

The behaviour and safety of pupils required improvement, and among the criticisms were “teachers’ expectations are too low” and “in some subjects, teachers’ marking doesn’t help students to improve their work.”

A Forest High spokesperson said that since entering special measures, the school had worked tirelessly to address serious issues, including the appointment of the new head and many new teaching staff to improve the effectiveness of the school.

Kevin Hamblin, chief executive of SGS Academy Trust, added: “I would like to thank the governors, headteacher and all the staff at Forest High School for the hard work and belief they have placed in the actions taken to begin putting everything in place to improve the life chances of all pupils at the school.

“When SGS Academy Trust were asked to sponsor the school in 2015, it was in a very weak state and the school was at risk of closing unless it improved. That improvement has now been recognised by Ofsted, although we are ambitious and agree with Ofsted that it still requires further improvement.

“We are on a journey and this is the first stage in creating a stable, vibrant and academically strong school for Cinderford. The site still requires significant investment in its buildings which is being actioned, and the financial challenges affecting all schools means quick fixes are difficult to action.

“Schools in Cinderford are now working together to improve standards and are discussing ways in which we can partner each other.”

This year 57 per cent of students achieved a Grade 4 pass in both English and Mathematics, up from 43% in 2017. Grade 5 passes at both English and Mathematics also rose and there was a “pleasing” improvement in attainment in English and Humanities.

Mr Holroyd said: “This is a fantastic set of results for our students and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of students, staff and parents… these results show that the school is rapidly moving forward as indicated by Ofsted.”