A SCHOOL has been praised for its ‘supportive and caring culture’ by Ofsted inspectors, who rated the academy as good for the second inspection running.

Colchester Academy, which is headed by Jenny Betts, received the visit from four inspectors in March, before their findings were published.

The school is part of the South Suffolk Learning Trust and has close to 1,000 pupils.

Between 2012 and 2015, the school endured three consecutive inspections where Ofsted rated it as inadequate or requires improvement but the school has since bounced back and has now been rated good in both 2017 and this year.

In the six-page report, inspectors said pupils are happy and safe, learning from a broad and ambitious curriculum which was described by inspectors as being more traditional and “more closely meets the needs of pupils at the school”.

Spanish, which has been developed into the teaching programme by the school’s leadership team, was noted as a subject which pupils particularly enjoyed.

The Greenstead school’s annual intake of Year 7 pupils often lags behind the national average when it comes to reading ability, inspectors said, but officials praised the support offered by the school to help students catch up.

One line of the report read: “These strategies are ensuring that all pupils develop their reading skills quickly so they can successfully access the rest of the curriculum.”

There were some gaps in the teaching offered to students however, and the report said bullying does take place on occasion, but inspectors also said poor behaviour is addressed.

Ms Betts, who was part of developing the school’s new curriculum, thanked the staff and the community in a statement responding to the recent rating.

She said: “Colchester Academy is not just a building or an institution but it is a community with people at its very core, a community which is not only good, but one that continuously strives to improve.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our whole community, the entire staff body, parents and carers, governors, trustees and trust, and, of course, our students, who are the reason we strive to excel.”