A secondary school previously rated requires improvement is celebrating after it was rated good by Ofsted in a recent inspection.

Gosford Hill in Kidlington was given the good news after a visit from the national schools standards body in February.

The inspection team praised students’ “calm, courteous behaviour across the school” and recognised that staff “have significantly improved the quality of education”.

The report added: “Behaviour is typically good throughout the school.

“Leaders and teachers know their pupils well and work together to raise aspirations and support them to achieve their goals.

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“Pupils and parents enthuse about the sporting, drama and music opportunities on offer”.

This comes after Gosford Hill’s sixth form was rated good by Ofsted during an inspection in February 2018, and the secondary school although rated requires improvement, was recognised for taking “effective action” in order for the school to become a good school.

The secondary school is currently in the middle of a major refurbishment which will see a new sixth form centre open in September.

The Kidlington school is already committed to spending £1 million on repairs and improvements over the next five years in the Million Reasons to Love Gosford project, with a further undisclosed sum being spent on the new sixth form.

Oxford Mail:

The money for the work has been made available after the school joined River Learning Trust, the Oxfordshire-based multi-academy trust.

The Million Reasons programme is currently seeing new windows being fitted in the older parts of the school and new carpets being laid in corridors, with the refurbishment of toilets next on the agenda.

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Headteacher Nigel Sellars said he was “immensely proud of this tremendous achievement”, which he attributed to the “hard work, commitment and determination of colleagues in school, together with the support of River Learning Trust and governors.”

He added: “We are also lucky to have an incredibly supportive parent body and I’d like to thank parents and carers for their support and commitment to our school.

“This judgement means a lot to our tight knit community and is validation of the work that we have all been putting in as a community.

“We now look forward to the next phase of our school improvement journey. The ambition that we have for our school will absolutely continue. Our students get one chance at their education, and they deserve the best.”

Paul James, chief executive of River Learning Trust, said: “Kidlington deserves an amazing secondary school, and we will continue to support Nigel and his team in providing the very best education for young people living in the village.”

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