THE "steely determination" of a Droitwich headteacher has helped turn around a struggling school.

Ofsted inspectors found Witton Middle School was a good school with an outstanding leadership team after an inspection last month.

The inspection found results at the school had improved strongly since 2013, when staff were told the school required improvement.

Headteacher Cath Crossley was praised for her highly effective leadership which had strengthened staff performance.

The inspectors said there had been a high turnover of staff over the last few years as the head had tackled weaknesses in teaching.

However, leaders now set high expectations with all pupils expected to make the same levels of progress and had a clear understanding of areas that needed improvement.

Mrs Crossley, said: “We are very proud because this is the first time in over a decade that the school has been judged as good by Ofsted."

Inspectors found teaching and learning was good with teachers knowing their pupils well and encouraging them to challenge themselves.

The progress made by pupils by the time they leave at the end of year 7 has risen over the last three years.

Most were making at least good progress and, in some instances, especially in maths, it was outstanding.

Standards have also risen among disadvantaged pupils with the gap narrowing between them and their peers.

Most recently, the proportion of most-able pupils who made more than expected progress and gained the highest possible levels of attainment in reading and writing was very high at the end of Year 6.

However, in maths, it was not as high as pupils nationally, so this will be a key priority for the school this academic year.

Work in pupils’ books in Year 6 also showed they were not making such rapid progress with writing.

Inspectors found pupils behaved well and a strong work ethic was established in most classes.

In a small number of instances, activities lacked challenge or were uninspiring.

Pupils listened to each other and staff kept pupils safe.

A small number of parents believed bullying was not dealt with effectively but inspectors said they found no evidence of that. Pupils themselves said bullying incidents were few and dealt with firmly.

Attendance is improving and compared well against the national average.

The level of persistent absence has increased slightly, which the school believes is as a result of a small number of harder-to-reach families.

Mrs Crossley said: “All of the schools in Droitwich have now been judged as either good or outstanding overall, which indicates the level of confidence shown by Ofsted in our three tier education system.”

She thanked staff, pupils and parents for their continued support and added a special thank you to chair of governors Barbara Humber.

What the school does well

*Leadership is outstanding

*Most pupils make consistently strong progress

*Highly articulate pupils behave well

How the school can improve

*Consistently engage and challenge pupils

*Improve year 6 writing

*Prioritise the progress of the most-able students in maths