A newly-appointed Oxford headteacher has unveiled ambitious plans to improve standards at his school.

Ian Johnson, who has just taken over at Oxford School, Glanville Road, Cowley, is aiming to nearly double the proportion of youngsters getting high grades at GCSE level in just two years. The upper school currently sees 24 per cent of its youngsters gaining five GCSE passes at grades A to C.

The 38-year-old headteacher told the Oxford Mail/Times: "It's already a good school but I want it to be the best. The staff here are good. They're experienced, they're competent. It just seemed very obvious to me there was real potential."

In his previous job as deputy head of a school in Hounslow, London, Mr Johnson saw the percentage of children gaining five GCSEs at C or above rise from 17 per cent to 34 per cent in three years.

The headteacher, who taught at Cheney School, Headington, earlier in his career, is married with three daughters. The family also has two young refugees from Kosovo staying with them.

In two weeks' time Oxford School, which became co-educ- ational last year, faces a more immediate challenge with its Ofsted report.

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