Cradley Heath school's results improve after warning

The headteacher of a Sandwell school today told how exam results had vastly improved since Ofsted inspectors called for improvements.

Heathfield Foundation Technology College in Cradley Heath was given a notice to improve in January. Ofsted found good progress overall was showing as early as July, under a new acting principal.

Council chiefs have since praised the school's 90 per cent pass rate and the number of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at A*-C, up six per cent on last year.

The number of pupils achieving the standard now stands at 48.3 per cent.

Early indications suggest progress markers for English, which track youngsters' improvement from Key Stage 2 to GCSE in Year 11, place Heathfield second best school in the borough.

Average A-level grades jumped from 2 Cs and a D to three Cs. Confidence inspired by the results has seen the Wrights Lane school's sixth form swell from 321 students to 339.

Acting principal Phillip Weale said improvements would continue. He added: "This puts the school in the top three per cent in the country based on the Ofsted report and what we've been told by the Ormiston Academies Trust."

The school is due to become a sponsored academy, with the Ormiston Trust, a national charity aiming to improve prospects for young people, as its partner, in the new year.

In January Ofsted gave the school notice to improve. An interim executive board replaced the old governing board. But in the latest report, inspector Brian Cartwright said: "There is a palpably positive professional ethos amongst staff at all levels. Pupils are also well motivated to learn."

A new principal will be appointed when the academy is formed.

By Alex Homer