BEHAVIOUR, teaching and achievement continue to improve at Neale-Wade Community College - and principal Jason Wing is in “pursuit of excellence”.

Cambs Times: Neale-Wade.Neale-Wade. (Image: Archant)

That is the verdict of Ofsted inspectors, who returned to the March school for a second monitoring visit last week. For the second time since it was placed in special measures last year, they found Neale-Wade to be making “reasonable progress” towards the removal of that tag.

Exam results are improving rapidly, there is “meticulous tracking of students’ progress” and pupils are “considerate and polite”.

There is less inadequate teaching and more lessons were judged to be “good or outstanding”.

Mr Wing said: “The inspectors judged 64 per cent of the lessons to be either good or outstanding.

“We told them when they came through the door that 63 per cent were good or outstanding - so it’s nice to have our internal assessments validated.

“My staff are fantastic - they have worked their socks off. The whole culture at the school has shifted and we are getting a lot of positive feedback from parents.

“The best judgement that you can get is that you’re making ‘reasonable progress’. My staff find it a bit of an anti-climax that they work so hard and all they get is ‘reasonable progress’ - but that’s the very best we can get.”

Mr Wing’s leadership was praised by the inspectors, who were pleased to see that staff “receive regular feedback on their performance.”

The report said: “Standards are rising, behaviour has improved and teachers want to do their best, taking part in regular training and sharing good practice.”

Inspectors said a “common remaining weakness” in teaching was that brighter students were not fully challenged - but they hailed some lessons as “exciting and imaginative”.

The report said: “For example, students moved around a science laboratory being water and sugar molecules to demonstrate saturation; others were inspired by their teacher’s outstanding subject knowledge to devise complex drumming rhythms in music.”

Inspectors said exclusions had fallen and teachers had made use of new procedures to manage poor behaviour. Neale-Wade has also received praise from members of the public about the “considerate way pupils behave on the way to and from school”.

Mr Wing has this week appointed a new vice-principal, Ben Samuel, who will start in September.

Neale-Wade is set to become an academy next month.