A DROITWICH academy given a notice to improve is coming along well, according to Ofsted inspectors.

Inspectors revisited Droitwich Spa High School and Sixth Form College for a monitoring inspection in May and found the school was making good progress in addressing issues for improvement and in raising the level of student achievement.

A report last October found that the school was not performing as well as it should and needed to improve the rates of progress for all students, along with the quality of teaching and assessment.

The latest inspection noted staff changes had been made, with the appointment of a second deputy head and six new appointments to the science department coming into effect in September.

Pupils had improved in this year’s GCSE examinations across the board for the third year running.

The number of students who gained five or more passes at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, had increased from 49 per cent in 2010 to 57 per cent – a figure which is expected to rise further to around 62 per cent.

In mathematics, the proportion of students with a C grade or above at GCSE had risen from 52 per cent in 2009 and was likely to be close to the academy’s target of 65 per cent for the 2012 examinations.

More students were attending each day with the number of those regularly absent below the national average. Students with disabilities and those with special educational needs had also made similar progress.

Inspectors said the quality of teaching observed in eight lessons ranged from outstanding to satisfactory. In the best lessons seen, the teaching was dynamic and exciting and engaged students to a high level.

Teachers were said to be fully aware of the abilities and learning needs of the students in their class.

However, there were some occasions when this knowledge was not fully translated into tasks to meet the needs of all students effectively.

Students were given feedback for improvement, but this was not consistent in all lessons.

Accountability had also improved both for heads of department and teachers and extra support for students was provided through an inclusion centre, resulting in fewer exclusions.

No one from the Droitwich Spa High School and Sixth Form College was available for comment.