A SCHOOL is celebrating a remarkable turnaround that has seen it progress from 'requiring improvement' to a 'good' overall Ofsted rating.

At their most recent visit to Moorside Junior School in Ripon, Ofsted inspectors found that the school provides an 'excellent standard of education,' and is 'good' in all areas - including outcomes for pupils, teaching, behaviour and welfare.

The report represents a major milestone for Moorside; just four years ago the school was deemed to 'require improvement,' in all four areas with half of the pupils failing to make consistently good progress in reading and maths.

Executive headteacher Louise White is delighted with the transformation, describing it as "an incredible four year journey".

She added: "In that time we have developed a new leadership team and governing body, who have embraced the challenges and been determined to put in place the right provision to enable all our children to excel.

"There is a strong and positive culture throughout the school where governors, staff and parents work together to give our children the support they need.

"The quality of teaching and learning at Moorside has secured excellent outcomes, especially the achievement of our most-able pupils."

The inspection, which took place last month, found that teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and the impact of teaching is reflected in the strong progress that pupils now make in each year group.

The report also said that progress in all subjects is strong from pupils’ individual starting points on entry to the school.

Mrs White said: "We are delighted that inspectors found our bespoke curriculum to be rich, balanced and exciting.

"We work hard to meet pupils’ needs and interests in the diverse community that we serve."

The Ofsted report also commented on the creative use made of visiting specialist teachers, especially in PE and art to enrich the curriculum.

It specifically highlighted the children's art displays, describing them as "stunning".

However the school is not resting on its laurels as Mrs White explained: "We will continue to enhance what we do; building stronger links with our community, strengthening our engagement with all our parents and setting ourselves aspirational goals to inspire all our children to aspire to be and to do their best."